Historic Austin Healeys at SpeedWeek 09

[PJQ]

Historic Austin Healeys headed for Speed Week
http://healey-oregon.org/2008/12/healeys-return-to-bonneville

(appologies if this is already posted)

[Peter Jack]

Thanks for the heads up. My very first race car was a road racing Austin Healey 100-4 I put together when I was 17/18. Up till then I was helping others build cars.

Pete

[Jonny Hotnuts]

more info:
http://www.healeysreturntobonneville.com/

[Stainless1]

Hey, the old Bonneville pictures thread post #268 has a couple of pictures from 79 and 80, the Bug Eye held the I/GT record in 79.  Not as cool as the streamlined one with the fin but it was a record holder....                

[Wester]

We stopped in Wendover on our way back to Fort Ord in August of 1956 and saw one of the Healey streamliners being serviced in a garage in Wendover.  That's a fun connection to have the reconstructed cars returning to the salt.

A likely reason that there are only pieces of the cars remaining is that they were shipped back to England and displayed, still covered with Bonneville salt.  When they moved one of the cars from it's display a few years back the body literally fell apart.
Hopefully they have learned from that and will clean the new cars up before putting them on display.

[Milwaukee Midget]

All I can say is . . .

[Blown Alcohol 57tbird]

Historic Austin Healeys headed for Speed Week
http://healey-oregon.org/2008/12/healeys-return-to-bonneville

(appologies if this is already posted)

Thanks for the info

My brother had an Austin Healey we took it on highway 1 on the coast full throttle it handled real well on the tight turns. I think if one was setup for the salt it would do good with engine modifications

[doug odom]

My Sprite holds two records at Bonneville now at over 200mph.

[argo19c]

Hello,
 Back when spares were hard to come by and while looking for spares in around 1970, for my 1959 Austin Healey, at a junk yard in Jacksonville, I stumbled across an odd looking Healey with a long aluminum nose and modified tail section. Later, while reading about the Healeys exploits at Bonneville I saw a photo of that very same car in the literature I was reviewing. Funny how things work out. When I went back to take another look to see if that car was still there, there was a new highway right through that property. Every thing was goneGood luck with you Healey Bonneville efforts.
Ralph Thomas

[Stainless1]

My Sprite holds two records at Bonneville now at over 200mph.

Now that really sounds historic... post a picture Doug...  OK, it's a slow day...  

[tomsmith]

Many, many years ago I read an article in (I think) Hot Rod magazine.  Someone had put a Chevy small block V8 and trans in an Austin Healey.  Purists complained about the desecration.  It was weighed and the total all-up weight was about 65 pounds less that the stock combo, while it doubled horsepower even with a stock Chevy engine.  The weight difference was attributed to the extreme heaviness of the Healy tranny.  Someone told me that the Healey 4-banger was basically a modified Model A.  The stock trans was no doubt designed to use up a lot of leftover iron slag.

I rode in one once, and was entertained by looking at the "142mph" plaque on the dash.  Downhill with a 90mph tailwind in a stocker... maybe.

[Tzoom]

Many, many years ago I read an article in (I think) Hot Rod magazine.  Someone had put a Chevy small block V8 and trans in an Austin Healey.  Purists complained about the desecration.  It was weighed and the total all-up weight was about 65 pounds less that the stock combo, while it doubled horsepower even with a stock Chevy engine.  The weight difference was attributed to the extreme heaviness of the Healy tranny.  Someone told me that the Healey 4-banger was basically a modified Model A.  The stock trans was no doubt designed to use up a lot of leftover iron slag.

I rode in one once, and was entertained by looking at the "142mph" plaque on the dash.  Downhill with a 90mph tailwind in a stocker... maybe.

I sold this '59 Austin-Healey 100-6 a year ago.  It was a "poor man's Cobra" with a Ford 289 w/toploader 4-spd.  It was fun and quick.  The 4.10 gear in the back wouldn't allow it to do 142mph but at 75 you felt like you were going twice as fast.  Whether or not is was a desecration is for others to determine.  The car was reclaimed from a salvage yard and put back into service.  I prefer to think of it as a resurrection.     

[PJQ]

The Healey guys plan to take the restored endurance car to the Phillip Island Classic races on weekend of March 14 - 15 (the Streamliner won't be there). It'll be tight, but I plan to be there for Sunday, after driving from our SpeedWeek event that finishes March 13.

One of our salt guys restores pre-war racers. He's madly trying to finish a 1921 Talbot Darracq for a customer who wants to run at the Phillip Island event. Would be great to see that thing finally going after a loooong restore job. Will post a couple of pics if we make it. Of course these pics might be overshadowed by Doc & Headgash's excitement posts - first salt runs with their tank.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Just received an e-mail from the team on this - they're looking at World of Speed in September. 

Yeah, I signed up for the newsletter.

Yeah, I'm a geek about this stuff . . .

[Milwaukee Midget]

http://www.healeysreturntobonneville.com/

Just an update.  I'm on the mailing list, and the cars are in transit for World of Speed.