VOLUME 15, NUMBER 5 Sept -Oct 2010 The Healey Elliott Saloon Part 1 - The Exploits of 1502, the Second Chassis By Walter Reynolds (in part from an article writ- ten by Clive Randall for Marqueart.com) This little project arose from my research into the an- swer to “Identify This Car” in the June 2009 issue of the Fraser Valley British Motor Club‟s “The Highway Hooter” newsletter. The car shown was the Healey Elli- ott saloon, license GWD 42, and I was the first person to respond with the correct answer. I found so much information about the car that I decided to write an ar- ticle on it. The story requires two parts: The first part, this article, covers the making of the Healey Elliott pro- totype and its recent restoration, and the second part details the history of Healey Elliott GWD 42, chassis B1649, and its rallying career. Healey Badge In 1946, Donald Healey started his car company in the yard of a firm making concrete mixers. He didn‟t have enough money to buy the chassis and components he needed to start production. Even so, he announced that the company would have two forms of a high perform- ance sports car. The early brochures only had artist‟s drawings of the car. The first chassis they assembled for testing had all sorts of problems and needed regular sessions with a welder to keep it together. For the inquisitive, they also had a wooden model of the saloon. Chassis 1501 was the first chassis and the test “car” and was designed to be a tourer. However, its life was short; it was never registered or even had a properly finished body made. Surviving photos show a body de- signed to give the line of a roadster, but without details like door handles. The car, if it could be called that, was simply a test bed and photos show it as a bare chassis with a horn, headlight and seat for driving on a test track. Chassis 1501 was always known as, “The Hor- ror”. Chassis 1501, “The Horror” in Healey‟s shop, 1948. (Healey archives photo.) No published road tests were made using this car and the chassis was broken up by the factory in 1948. Chassis 1502 was a different matter: Still a prototype but showing most of the details of 1501‟s chassis, only a relatively mature one. This car was bodied, was good enough to sell and to be registered on the road – but not before it made history. The manufacturer of the body was Sam Elliott & Sons of Reading (pronounced „Reding‟), England. Donald Healey had a problem: Even though the com- pany had orders coming in, he needed to prove his claim that the Healey was a very high performance car. More than that, he wanted his car to be the fastest pro- duction car in the World. This would firm up the orders, but would also provide the incentive for suppliers to be flexible with their invoice terms in order to be associ- INSIDE THIS ISSUE What Was I Thinking? Part X 6 Cars of Branch Members 7 Monterey Historic Races 10 Monterey Auction News 11 VCB Meeting Minutes 12 Scuttlebutt 13 X-Mas Party 14 Autojumble / At The Wheel 14 UPCOMING EVENTS Tues. Oct. 5th - VCB Meeting— Rainbow Station, Bby. (Nigel Mathews Speaker) 7 PM Sat. Oct. 23rd —British Heritage Festival at Cloverdale Rodeo Show Barn (VCB members free admis- sion if you bring your old English Car) VCB might have an info table at this event, more info to follow. Tues. Nov. 12th —VCB Meeting— Location TBA Sunday, Nov. 7th —London Brigh- ton Commemorative Run starting at Delta Town and Country Inn Tues. Dec. 7th —VCB Christmas Party—Delta Hotel, Richmond (see page 14 for more details)
Transcript
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 5 Sept -Oct 2010
The Healey Elliott Saloon
Part 1 - The Exploits of 1502, the Second
Chassis
By Walter Reynolds (in part from an article writ-
ten by Clive Randall for Marqueart.com)
This little project arose from my research into the an-
swer to “Identify This Car” in the June 2009 issue of
the Fraser Valley British Motor Club‟s “The Highway
Hooter” newsletter. The car shown was the Healey Elli-
ott saloon, license GWD 42, and I was the first person
to respond with the correct answer. I found so much
information about the car that I decided to write an ar-
ticle on it. The story requires two parts: The first part,
this article, covers the making of the Healey Elliott pro-
totype and its recent restoration, and the second part
details the history of Healey Elliott GWD 42, chassis
B1649, and its rallying career.
Healey Badge
In 1946, Donald Healey started his car company in the
yard of a firm making concrete mixers. He didn‟t have
enough money to buy the chassis and components he
needed to start production. Even so, he announced that
the company would have two forms of a high perform-
ance sports car. The early brochures only had artist‟s
drawings of the car.
The first chassis they assembled for testing had all
sorts of problems and needed regular sessions with a
welder to keep it together. For the inquisitive, they also
had a wooden model of the saloon.
Chassis 1501 was the first chassis and the test “car”
and was designed to be a tourer. However, its life was
short; it was never registered or even had a properly
finished body made. Surviving photos show a body de-
signed to give the line of a roadster, but without details
like door handles. The car, if it could be called that, was
simply a test bed and photos show it as a bare chassis
with a horn, headlight and seat for driving on a test
track. Chassis 1501 was always known as, “The Hor-
ror”.
Chassis 1501, “The Horror” in Healey‟s shop, 1948.
(Healey archives photo.)
No published road tests were made using this car and
the chassis was broken up by the factory in 1948.
Chassis 1502 was a different matter: Still a prototype
but showing most of the details of 1501‟s chassis, only a
relatively mature one. This car was bodied, was good
enough to sell and to be registered on the road – but not
before it made history.
The manufacturer of the body was Sam Elliott & Sons
of Reading (pronounced „Reding‟), England.
Donald Healey had a problem: Even though the com-
pany had orders coming in, he needed to prove his
claim that the Healey was a very high performance car.
More than that, he wanted his car to be the fastest pro-
duction car in the World. This would firm up the orders,
but would also provide the incentive for suppliers to be
flexible with their invoice terms in order to be associ-
Sat. Oct. 23rd—British Heritage Festival at Cloverdale Rodeo Show Barn (VCB members free admis-sion if you bring your old English Car) VCB might have an info table
at this event, more info to follow.
Tues. Nov. 12th—VCB Meeting—
Location TBA
Sunday, Nov. 7th—London Brigh-ton Commemorative Run starting
at Delta Town and Country Inn
Tues. Dec. 7th—VCB Christmas Party—Delta Hotel, Richmond (see
page 14 for more details)
PAGE 2 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
ated with such a car. Indeed, great lengths had been
taken to make the Healey a serious contender for the
“fastest production car in the World” accolade.
Chassis 1502 was a streamlined saloon, tested in a
wind tunnel. The only window glass was the wind-
shield; all other windows were Plexiglas to save weight.
The seat frames were aluminum (purported to be from
an airplane), leather covered bucket seats in front,
bench seat in rear. The body was an aluminum alloy
over an ash and plywood frame. The suspension was
coil springs all round (much lighter than leaf springs).
As petrol was scarce, the petrol cap was located inside
the boot. The boot could only be opened using a pull
switch on the front of the rear seat armrest.
Healey‟s target was to produce a car that had 100bhp
and weighed a ton. What he managed was 104bhp and
just over a ton. The car used a tweaked Riley 2½ litre
engine with twin S.U. carbs and Riley gearbox and rear
axle. Compared to the Riley 2½ litre saloons using the
same running gear and weighing 3,192 lb, the Healey
saloon weighed 2,520 lb and was a real lightweight. The
104bhp was 14 greater than the Riley car.
Healey Elliott, Unknown Chassis Number on auc-
tion in 2010.
(Wouter & Pieter Melissen photo.)
The next step was to stage an event to test the car. In
Britain it was believed that there were no long high
speed roads capable of properly testing the car. Healey
also wanted to cover some mountain roads in the test.
The Editor of „The Motor‟, Christopher Jennings, who
had initially discussed the trial with Healey, owned one
of the new Riley 2½ litre saloons and mentioned the
idea to Victor Leverett, the Sales Manager for Riley.
The upshot was on October 29th, 1946 two Riley 2½ litre
saloons and the Elliott left Folkestone en-route to Italy
for the speed trial to test to see whether the Elliott
could do what the calculations said were possible. In
other words, achieve an average speed on test of
100mph.
On Saturday, November 2nd, 1946 the Healey and the
two Riley 2½ litre saloons (FDU 741 and HXC 440) set
off on the Milan-Como Autostrada. This was one of
Mussolini‟s first motor roads. The lack of maintenance
and age, plus the fact the road was still open to normal
traffic made Healey feel that even higher speeds could
have been obtainable. The Milan Autoclub agreed to
scrutinize the tests.
„The Motor‟ magazine photo, 1946.
All cars performed well. The Healey achieved 104.14
mph mean speed in tests and an average standing start
kilometer of 17.8 seconds giving 1502, and the Healey
marque the title of “Fastest Production Car in the
World”. History had been made and a reputation for a
marque was being established.
According to the story written up in articles and books,
the famous number plate VVV 214 given to the car (and
on at least one photograph of the prototype Westland)
was simply made up from a pile of numbers lying
around in the factory. When in Italy, she sported black
and red trade plates 199 NX, but when she was offi-
cially registered her number was GAC 506.
„The Motor‟ magazine photo, 1946.
PAGE 3 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
Because the company desperately needed funds, 1502
was sold, but not until August 1947. Until that time she
was too useful for testing and public relations. As she
was still a prototype she was sold with some consider-
able differences to her successors, thinner chassis steel,
numerous riveted rather than welded brackets, and a
number of other detail differences.
One of her siblings (GWD 42, the subject of Part 2) in
1947 ran at 111 mph in Belgium confirming what were
then some sensational performance figures, but 1502‟s
history book appeared to have been closed. However,
thanks to the work of a chap called Jack Ogden in the
1960‟s and Bryan Spiers (Healey Elliott club historian
at that time) more is now known.
Other variations of this Healey were made over the du-
ration of production, but with different names. Other
names include Healey Westland (roadster), and Healey
Tickford. As in the Healey Elliott, the name which fol-
lowed Healey represents the name of the body builder.
Healey Westland roadster.
(Date, location and photographer unknown.)
In October 1950, the Elliott and Westland models were
replaced by the Tickford and Abbot. The Tickford was
the saloon, while the Abbot was the drophead/roadster.
101 Elliotts were built along with 64 Westlands, 222
Tickfords and 71 Abbots. The Tickford and Abbot were
built between 1950 and 1954. The Healey Silverstone
followed thereafter.
1502‟s Recent History:
In 1961, Jack Ogden bought 1502 as a complete rolling
chassis. He bought it from a Mr. Leslie Walters of Brid-
gend, Wales. At this time spares were becoming hard to
find. Jack already owned a Healey Tickford plus a
Healey Elliott so he was keen to secure a source of
parts, hence the purchase of 1502.
1502 represented the usual sad story, the ash frame
had rotted and so Mr. Walters had scrapped the panels
and the cloth/leather interior with the idea of building a
fiberglass body. As with many such projects, nothing
happened and now he needed space. Mr. Walters had
owned 1502 since 1959 and it is suspected that the car
had fallen into disrepair and neglect long before then.
1502 when it was “found”. (Classic Restorations
photo.)
Ogden was in urgent need for an engine for the
Tickford, and so the rolling chassis, interior woodwork,
etc. were stored and the engine transplanted. Just
about this time, Bryan Spiers tracked down the car and
told Ogden what she was. However, in the 1960s it was
unthinkable to restore 1502 in that condition. Indeed,
the poor quality steel chassis problems of 1501, “The
Horror”, were probably also in 1502. With 1501‟s early
aluminum body panel problems, it is likely that 1502
started to deteriorate quite quickly in her life.
Years passed and the chassis of 1502 was stored in
damp conditions and deteriorated still further; the
parts were in dry storage, and the Tickford was happily
using the engine. Ogden noted at that time that the
engine was surprisingly standard for a speed trial car.
Even the inlet valves were small. The only change
seemed to be the light type of flywheel and the Lucas
special equipment dynamo and starter.
By the time Ogden passed away, his complete cars (a
very late Elliott C type and the Tickford) both needed
restoring. His son, Dave, decided to fully restore the
Elliott C type (it was the car his mother learned to
drive in) and sell the Tickford. John Japp of the Healey
Association bought the Tickford and started the long
restoration process.
Dave contracted with Classic Restorations of Bedford-
shire, England to restore his Elliott C Type. He also
told Classic about 1502 and the Company realized that,
although in very poor condition, parts of the chassis
could be saved and other replacement sections fabri-
cated, if only the engine and other parts could be lo-
PAGE 4 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
cated. Dave indicated he thought John Japp‟s Tickford
might be fitted with the engine and the other parts
would be in his garage.
Japp was approached over the engine in his Tickford,
and as luck would have it the engine was out of the car
and awaiting restoration. It also turned out his original
Tickford engine was in Dave‟s garage, so a happy Japp
was re-united with the correct engine for the Tickford
and 1502, now a viable restoration project, will receive
its original engine. The number of surviving parts of
1502 were surprising, all mechanical components, in-
struments and even much of the interior woodwork –
even the dashboard. This was all thanks to the care the
Ogdens had taken with their storage.
As with any historically significant restoration project,
it was important to validate that the chassis was indeed
1502. The engine was simple, as the numbers matched.
The other parts came from the rolling chassis, so if the
chassis was correct, they would be too. The local police
were enlisted to check the chassis using the same tech-
niques they use to identify stolen vehicles number
stamps. Apparently any number stamped on a car
leaves a bruise deep below the impression, so even if a
number is angle-ground off and a new number stamped
in its place, the original number will show up under
analysis. The challenge with 1502 was all the layers of
rust on the chassis. The technicians were not told of the
number sequence that they were looking for. The ana-
lysts report stated they had found a 15, a curved bottom
number and a 2, that is, „15?2‟. So, 1502, 1532, 1552
or..... Luckily, from vehicle identification number data
of surviving cars, the chassis numbers were matured-
quickly. Indeed, the chassis of 1502 is the only one to
ever be seen with rivets and plates where others have
welds – all of which align it with its prototype status.
Classic Restorations carried out the restoration, some
photos of which are shown on this page:
1502 back on four wheels. (Classic Restorations
photo.)
In my research for this Roundabout article one writer
noted that it was hoped that the restoration would be
finished in time for the 60th anniversary to re-enact its
record breaking „The Motor‟ road test when it achieved
104.14 mph on the Milan – Como Autostrada.
I contacted Classic Restorations to get more informa-
tion on the restoration because their on-line photos
show only the chassis work. I also wanted to find out if
1502 actually did get to the 60th anniversary of its Mi-
lan – Como run. The information that I received from
Warren Kennedy, Classic Restoration‟s owner is very
enlightening and adds a current interest twist to this
article. Here‟s what he told me: Front of 1502‟s chassis. (Classic Restorations
photo.)
1502‟s completed chassis. (Classic Restorations
photo.)
PAGE 5 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
“I now own 1502. I acquired the car from Dave Ogden
at the same time I was restoring his car UTO 3 (Elliott
C Type).
Restoration on 1502 is still ongoing. I am still research-
ing the final details as 1502 is very different to the pro-
duction cars. The rolling chassis is finished and the
original engine and gearbox are now installed. We have
started on the body work and the ash frame is com-
pleted. I have not set myself a completion date or time
scale as the car has to be correct and I am getting no
end of offers for it. So, if I don‟t complete it, I will not be
persuaded to sell it.
Also we have been very busy restoring most of the his-
toric Healeys over the last three years. Cars including:
Elliott GWD 42: Purchased in 1948 by Nick Haines
and Works-supported in the 1948 Mille Miglia (DNF);
entered the first race at Goodwood in September, 1948;
entered the Spar 24 hour race in 1948 and the Month-
ery – Paris 12 hour race also in September, 1948. The
car has been restored and entered the Mille Miglia in
2008 and 2010. We currently have the car for sale. [See
more details of GWD 42 in Part Two. W.]
Westland GWD 43: Donald Healey‟s own car, it was
campaigned extensively in 1948 and 1949, finishing in
the top 10 in the Mille Miglia in both years. It also com-
peted in the Monte Carlo, Monthery and Alpine to men-
tion a few, winning its class in most events. [See more
details of GWD 43 in Part Two. W.]
Elliott GUE 722: Works car driven by Count Lurrani
in the Targa Floria finishing 13th overall, then driven
directly to the Mille Miglia, changed a head gasket and
again finished 13th overall. These two events were the
only times this car raced and it was sold into private
hands. It has been off the road and garaged since 1965.
It is now under restoration.
Elliott JGO 7: Owned and raced extensively by Ken
Warton from new to the mid-50s.
Healey Elliott Woodie estate car: We recently fin-
ished this restoration. [See photos below.W.]
We are also currently restoring two other Westlands,
two Abbots and six Healey Silverstones.”
And so, 1502 is alive, almost well, but certainly living.
In the near future it will once again grace the roads on
which it travels and bring its new owner lots of enjoy-
ment (assuming, that is, that Warren Kennedy will
want to sell it after all his hard work).
Next up is Part Two which details the exploits of Healey
Elliott GWD 42. Part Two will include a sidebar on
Donald Healey’s personal car, the Healey Westland.
Sources:
www.marqueart.com
Warren Kennedy, Classic Restorations
Clive Randall
Clive Randall‟s sources:
The Healey Story – Geoff Healey
Riley, the Legendary RMs by John Price Williams
The Motor, November 20, 1946
The Motor, December 4, 1946
Safety Fast „The Very First Healey‟, May 1967
The Healey Association
A Healey Woody photo used for the restoration.
(Classic Restorations photo.)
The Healey Woody restored and ready for paint.
(Classic Restorations photo.)
PAGE 6 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
Everything went to plan! At last, it‟s painted. It re-
turned from the paint shop at the end of August re-
splendent in bright new shiny blue paint. Probably a
better paint finish than when it left the factory some 44
years ago. And no doubt, the panels probably fit better
as well. So, now the real fun begins, putting it all back
together again. Unfortunately, due to one of the earlier
bodywork cowboys, I have to remove the front and rear
suspension because they didn‟t mask them off when
spraying the body with primer. So, subsequently, I have
a mist of grey primer all over my nicely painted suspen-
sion parts. So that‟s a one step back before I can go for-
ward.
One week later. The back suspension was removed,
cleaned up, repainted and then refitted. While it was off
I took the opportunity to clean up and touch up the un-
derseal. All new back brake pipes where then fitted.
The next step is to fit new brake and clutch master cyl-
inders so that I can run all the pipes from front to back.
I managed to work on the car all day Saturday and
Sunday that weekend. I found it very therapeutic. All
work and business worries gone for a whole two days.
This is fun. Quite a difference from a couple of years
ago when all I seemed to do was fight rust day in and
day out getting totally demoralized and filthy dirty. The
most enjoyable time was spent that weekend sorting
through all the boxes of new and restored parts looking
for items that could be fitted on. It was like Christmas
morning opening up my presents only this time I was
unwrapping car parts and not socks or underwear. I
remember thinking on several occasions “oh yea! I can
fit this on right now!” So far I am missing the radiator,
which I know I have somewhere as I remember paying
$200 to get it fixed and tested. I think? Mind you it was
a couple of years ago. It could have been a different car.
I make a habit of not keeping receipts in case I have, or
my wife has a desire to total up the total cost of this
restoration. That could lead to suicide or murder, de-
pends on who‟s doing the adding up. I‟m also missing
the small pivot pins that join the master cylinders to
the pedals.
Week two: I managed to thread the heater hose through
the rockers. There is one each side that run from the
engine and water pump to the heater up front. This is
no mean feat as there are restrictions inside the rock-
ers. It took only three attempts on the driver‟s side and
two attempts on the passenger side. I found those pivot
pins that I had lost. So both master cylinders are on
and connected along with the pedal box. Still can‟t find
that radiator. I spent a cou-
ple of hours going through a
box of lights and lenses that I bought on Ebay a couple
of years ago and brought over from England when we
came back from a vacation. Sorted out a good set of
rears, cleaned them up and fitted them on. I only man-
aged to spend a couple of hours each evening on the car
this week.
Week three: Bad news. I started fitting the front side-
lights on. The driver‟s side fitted perfectly but the pas-
senger side, where the car had had an accident, didn‟t
fit at all. Not even close. On closer inspection I found
that the raised boss on the fender that the light sits on
is not flat. It looks ok at a quick glance but when you
put the light fitting to it you can see that it‟s almost ¼”
out on one corner. I tried to push it out with a hydraulic
spreader but it only cracked the new paint. So once the
car is near completion I will have to take it back to the
body shop for rectification. If that‟s the only problem I
get I will be a very happy little boy. It‟s been quite a
task looking for the little odds and ends like special riv-
ets for the headlamp seals, semi blind rubber grommets
for the wiring harness and heater hoses. I visited many
car spares stores, hardware stores and electrical retail-
ers and wholesalers for semi blind grommets. None was
to be found. Eventually I found a web site of a company
in England that had quite a good selection so I placed
my order. I haven‟t started looking for the plastic clips
for the chrome trim yet. I expect that to be time con-
suming.
Week four. End of September: The grommets arrived
from England. I now have enough blind grommets to
last me many, many years. Life is good. I have man-
aged to acquire all remaining brake, clutch and fuel
lines for the car and hope to fit them on this weekend.
Once this is done I can fit the gear linkage, the hand
brake and the underside protection plate. This week I
also found time to clean up the wiring harness in the
car and in the engine bay. During the course of cleaning
the wiring I found two wires that had the insulation
burned off. These where replaced along with some bul-
let terminals that had deteriorated. I can now look at
fitting the petrol tank. Sorry, fuel tank and heater as-
sembly. The job that I‟m not looking forward to is fit-
ting the new headlining which has to be done before the
windows go in. I‟ve never done this before so that could
be quite an experience.
To be continued….
WHAT WAS I THINKING?
Or, the restoration of a demon Sunbeam Imp. Part X
By John Chapman
PAGE 7 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
Cars of Branch Members
and their Stories
By Walter Reynolds
The Car Collection of Bill Grant
Generally, this article covers Bill’s old British cars pur-
chased over the last ten years and describes Ford Zeph-
yrs and Zodiacs, Morris Minors, a Vauxhall UTE and,
for good measure, a Jaguar XJ6, bought 21 years ago.
This, then, is Bill’s story:
1964 Mk 3 Ford Zodiac: “This was my first foray into
British Fords in Canada, but sadly, not the last.
Mk.3 Ford Zodiac (steamcar.net photo)
While on a motorcycle tour of the east coast of Australia
in 1985, we spotted this Zodiac on the side of the road
in Brisbane. After a short conversation and a major
lapse of reason, I now owned a right-hand drive 1964
Ford Zodiac, having given very little (if any) thought to
the fact that we were on bikes 1,500 miles from our
Melbourne base and 9,000 miles from home. The previ-
ous owner agreed to take the car to the Brisbane docks
for shipping to Vancouver. After about six weeks, and to
my pleasant surprise, the car arrived in good condition
at the Surrey docks.
I kept the car stock for a number of years but found it
not quite fast enough so in went a slightly worked Ford
302 V8, with a 4-speed “top loader” gear box. A couple
of runs at Mission drag strip produced some reasonable
times, despite the announcer having no idea what the
car was. I later sold the Zodiac to a fellow in Abbots-
ford, who, I believe, still owns it.”
1953 Mk 1 Ford Zephyr:
“This car has a 2.2 litre 6-
cylinder engine with a stan-
dard-shift 3-speed gearbox. I
found this car advertised for
sale in Tsawwassen in about
1989. The owner did not
give the car a very good re-
port saying that it had
dents, rust and was really
slow. Because of his descrip-
tion, I took no action on the
car.
Many months later I was in
the Tsawwassen area and
again contacted the owner.
He still had the car for sale
and agreed to show it. When
I saw the car I thought that
this couldn‟t be the same car
because the car I was looking at was not as he had de-
scribed it in the first phone conversation. This car had
no rust at all, had really low miles and only had one
previous owner. I bought the car on the spot and drove
it home.
The car got a fair bit of use and still has the original
engine, paint and upholstery. The only change to the
car is an upgrade to a Mk 2 Zephyr differential with a
3.9 ratio to help reduce engine wear and revs at high-
way speed.”
(Walter’s Note: About 6 years ago, I was following Bill
and his ’53 Zephyr while we were on a run organized by
Les Hetherington to the B.C Railway Museum. We had
taken a break at Britannia and were leaving the restau-
rant, driving back onto the Sea to Sky Highway. It was
raining – hard! All of a sudden from the front of Bill’s
car flew this long black thing which landed behind my
car. It turns out that the Zephyr had shed a wiper blade.
I was able to tell Bill where it landed so he was then
able to retrieve it and put it back onto the car.)
1960 Morris Minor 2-door: “I found this car by acci-
dent in Victoria around 1993.
My son had been living in Victoria and asked if I would
come over to look at an Oldsmobile he wanted to buy. It
turned out that the Olds was a pile of junk. However,
on the way back I spotted the Morris at the top of a
driveway. No one was home at the house but I left a
note asking if the car was for sale. The owner called a
few days later to say the car was not for sale but if that
changed, he would call me.
About a year later he did call to say that the Morris was
now for sale. The following weekend I headed over to
Victoria by ferry, as a foot passenger. While test driving
At the Historic Stew-
art Farm OECC Pic-
nic, August 2009.
(Walter photo.)
PAGE 8 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
the car I had to drive down the steep driveway onto the
road but found although there was a hard pedal, there
were no brakes, causing me to make a very rapid turn
onto the road. Thankfully it was a quiet road at that
time and I met no other vehicle. It appeared that the
owner had been driving the car to UVIC every day and
would do it “carefully” by timing the lights and not us-
ing the brakes!
I was able to free-up the brakes enough in his driveway
to be able to drive the car home on a permit. At home
the complete brake system was overhauled. Approxi-
mately two years later, I gave the car a mechanical
make-over with complete MG Midget running gear
(direct bolt-in) and disc brakes.
The Morris has had the most use of all the cars and has
been to Reno, Nevada, and to the Portland ABFM three
times. It has also gone on two OECC „Brits Around
B.C.‟ trips. The car is a summer daily driver and will
happily cruise at 70 mph all day.”
(Walter’s Note: I’ve seen the Morris’ get-up-and-go. A few
years ago, after an OECC meeting, I was behind Bill
and his Morris at a set of lights on Marine Way in Bur-
naby. The Morris was first car in line. Along side the
Morris pulled up a BMW. When the lights turned green,
off went the Morris. The BMW driver tried to drag the
Morris, but was no match and the Morris pulled away
leaving the BMW in the weak glow of its Lucas rear
lights.)
1957 Mk 2 Ford Zodiac and a 1959 Mk 2 Zephyr. “A
friend told me about these two cars for sale in a field in
Langley. On contacting the owner, he refused to sell the
cars individually so as I needed more projects (not), I
bought both! The ‟57 Zodiac is quite rare in this country
being the first year the Mk 2 came here. This car had
all the windows smashed but was mechanically very
good. The ‟59 Zephyr was very complete but had a
seized engine. This has been repaired and the car is
now a driver (even passed Air Care). The „57 Zodiac is
still a project.
While on the subject of Zephrys, when I lived in Austra-
lia, I owned a 1962 Mk 3 Zephyr and my dad owned a
‟54 Mk 1 Zephyr. He could not understand or didn‟t
want to know why I wanted to use his old car for the
drive-in theatre when I had a much nicer and newer car
of my own. The secret? His car had a fully reclining
back seat!”
1969 Series I Jaguar XJ6 sedan: “I have owned this
car since about 1998, used it for about a year and then
stored it for the next 19 years. The car has the original
high-output 245 hp engine and runs very strongly but
needs a full restoration and is for sale. Over the years I
have owned a number of Jags: Two Series 1 XJ6s with
Chevy V8 engines (1969 and 1971); a Series 2 XJ6C
Coupe (1977); a Series 2 XJ6 sedan (1974), and a Series
2 XJS V12 2-door (1975).”
1950 Morris Minor: “I‟ve owned this car for about five
years having saved it from the crusher. The previous
owner contacted a friend of mine to say that the car was
free but had to be removed from the property that day
as the garage that it was in was being torn down. Natu-
rally I was over there in a flash. However, the garage
swing-up door had not been opened for 40 years and the
ground had grown over the base of the door to a depth
of six inches. I was able to get into the garage through a
small side door but found that, over the years, a few
parts had been liberated from the car. Gone were the
engine, gearbox, both bumpers, headlights, tail lights,
instrument cluster and the complete left front hub as-
sembly. I went back home to get a shovel and hub as-
sembly. At the garage and after an hour of digging, I
was able to get the garage door open. Next came the
hub assembly installation and the car was towed out of
Bill‟s 1959 MK2 Zephyr at the 2010 ABFM
(Alan Miles photo)
(Walter Reynolds photo)
PAGE 9 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
the garage using my old faithful Mazda truck to where
the tow truck could pick it up. As I recall, the last time
the car was on the road was in 1962. It is now back to-
gether and runs and is a totally rust-free car.”
1953 Vauxhall Velox UTE (Australian pick-up
truck): “This ute is believed to be one of four known to
exist in running condition.
1953 Vauxhall Velox UTE on Flicker web site.
(Flicker.com photo.)
While in Australia a number of years ago, I saw this ute
advertised in the Trading Post (like our Buy & Sell). It
caught my eye, so to speak. I had owned a Vauxhall
Wyvern for a short time when I lived in Melbourne. The
Wyvern is the 4-cylinder engine model which was
quickly changed to a 6-cylinder Velox engine. I di-
gress…. I bought the ute and dragged it to my friend‟s
shop where I was able to work on it. The left front
fender, grill and hood were in the truck‟s box as were
all the brake parts. As everything was still available in
Australia, it was only a couple of days and the ute was
running and complete after 20 years of storage. The ute
was then trailered to the shipping company for delivery
to me at home. It arrived a couple of months later and
the only damage was to the gear change linkage by a
heavy-handed tow truck driver at this end.”
1958 Mk 2 Ford Zodiac Convertible: “Only 1,500 of
these cars were made from 1956 to 1962.
A friend in Olympia, Washington told me about the car
in Portland, Oregon and, true to form, I raced down to
take a look. The car looked in very poor shape as it had
been in the open for a number of years with a ripped
top and, as a result, the car was full of muddy, smelly
water. The whole interior was totally shot and the en-
gine was seized. The good news was that the outer body
looked good except for rust and dents in the front of
both fenders. I bought the car on the spot and left a de-
posit. A few weeks later a friend and I went down to get
the Ford. To my dismay, it appeared that to move the
car, they had pushed it with a truck and had smashed
both rear lights, and dented the trunk lid and bumper.
When the water was drained out of the car, we found
the floor to be completely solid with no rust at all.
Most of the dents have been repaired and the rusted
bits have been replaced with new metal. The engine has
been rebuilt and is ready to go back in. With any luck,
the convertible will be on the road before I need a
walker!”
“1958 Morris Minor Convertible and 1965 Morris
Minor 2-door:
“The convertible is not at home yet but the idea is to
use the „65 Morris as a donor car being that the con-
vertible is missing everything. It appears that the pre-
sent owner of the convertible was going to make the car
into a hot rod with a Chevy V6 and an automatic trans-
mission. The worst part is that all the original bits, en-
gine, transmission, suspension, steering and rear end
were all disposed of, hence the need for the donor car.
With all these projects, it is very hard to focus on any
one car, but that‟s another story…..”
And so, readers, we have come to the end of Bill’s story.
In the next issue of the Roundabout, you will read about
Steve Hutchens’ stable of mighty British vehicles. Till
then, enjoy your cars, and call me to set up a time for
you to tell me your very own car stories.
1958 Mk 2 Ford
Zodiac Converti-
ble.
(Artofwheels.co.uk
photo.)
1958 Morris Minor
Convertible.
(Motorbase.com
photo).
PAGE 10 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
By Dennis and Pat Nelson
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2010 vintage
car race was held August 14th and 15th at the 2.238-
mile, 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Mon-
terey, California. A field of more than 600 classic race
cars took to the track, grouped into 19 different racing
classifications.
Three days of vintage car races, with action ranging
from the thundering Trans-Ams to the 34 Bugattis in
their own race. The Bugatti race was interesting in that
the cars ranged in value from $300,000 to $3,000,000,
with a likely average of $1m. The top picture below has
16 vintage cars, and a pace car that is worth more. The
race was won by a 1932 Type 51 Bugatti, worth be-
tween $1.1M and $3.2m, number 5 (bottom photo.)
The 1958 Scarab (top picture on the right) went home
in a box. It is not often that these cars get rolled, but
traffic got messed up ahead of the driver and his day
was over, but he was OK.
Pat and I have attended these races three times, and
much of the enjoyment comes from going through the
pits and trying to decide if you are supposed to know
the people or not. Dan Gurney was honoured this year
and we saw him, but we missed Jay Leno, who was
around for awhile.
At the 1955 Le Mans, a TR2, number 29, placed fifth in
class, and fourteenth overall. If you had asked, you
could probably have sat in the car to get your picture
taken.
Both a pit and a racing side view are shown here, for
one of the three most famous TRs. Those other famous
TR 2s finished fifteenth and nineteenth at Le Mans
that year. This year at Monterey, some Spitfires, and a
TR3 were also racing.
Monterey Historic Races - August 2010
PAGE 11 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 5 , N U MBE R 5
A wide variety of British cars raced in this reunion: Lo-
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