September - Austin Healey Owners Club of Victoria

This Club is affiliated to the Confederation of Australian Motor Sports (CAMS), a member of the Marque Sports Car 

Association (MSCA) and the Association of Motoring Clubs (AOMC). 

We are dedicated to the maintenance, preservation and enjoyment of the Austin Healey motor car. 

OFFICE BEARERS 

President Bill Vaughan 0428 359 029 or 5988 4264 president@healeyvic.com.au 

Vice President Ralph Fletcher 0418 567 218 or 5367 1401 vicepresident@healeyvic.com.au 

Secretary Brian Aitken 0419 025 858 or 9775 3699 secretary@healeyvic.com.au 

Treasurer Mike Snelgrove 0418 320 524 or 9379 2836 treasurer@healeyvic.com.au 

Membership Bill Metcalf 0447 010 145 or 9876 2167 membership@healeyvic.com.au 

Clubrooms & CMC Chris Coughlin 040 0312 552 or 9822 7712 clubrooms@healeyvic.com.au 

GENERAL COMMITTEE 

Social Barb Meredith 0417 384 712 or 9499 4610 social@healeyvic.com.au 

Librarian Barb Meredith 0417 384 712 or 9499 4610 librarian@healeyvic.com.au 

Website Gordon Lindner 0418 540 920 or 9707 1294 webmanager@healeyvic.com.au 

Competition-MSCA Rod Vogt 0408 395 240 or 5962 1915 competition-MSCA@healeyvic.com.au 

Regalia Ron Boyle 0418 546 551 or 9758 5222 regalia@healeyvic.com.au 

AOMC-VicRoads Ken Styles 0431 481 082 or 9809 4382 AOMC-vicroads@healyvic.com.au 

CAMS Tony Barrett 0427 051 297 or 9725 5587 CAMS@healeyvic.com.au 

Registrar Iain McPherson 9850 3267 registrar@healeyvic.com.au 

Magazine Editor Harvey Pearce 0419 108 532 or 9836 7596 editor@healeyvic.com.au 

VICROADS CLUB PERMIT SCHEME 

Please address all enquiries and applications to Ken Styles, 9A Morey Street, Camberwell 3124 

HUNDREDS & THOUSANDS IS THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE AUSTIN HEALEY OWNERS CLUB OF 

VICTORIA INC ABN 21 230 686 083 

The statements of opinion or fact appearing within are those of the individual contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect 

the views of the Club or its members 

Registered by Australia Post. Publication No. VBH 1552 

CORRESPONDENCE: P.O. Box 97 Mulgrave, Victoria. 3170. INTERNET-ADDRESS www.healeyvic.com.au 

GENERAL MEETINGS are held on the first Thursday of the month at the Clubrooms, 19-23 Rosalie Street, Springvale. 

Meetings commence at 8.00pm. 

CONTRIBUTIONS: Items of interest, articles, technical information, correspondence, constructive criticism, photographs 

etc., are constantly being sought. Any material for inclusion to the magazine should be sent directly to the Editor, by 13 th 

of the month. 

The Next General Meeting will be held in the Clubhouse, Rosalie Ave Springvale 

on Thursday September 1 st commencing at 8pm 

Our guest speaker is Geoff Clarke who will talk about 'Travels with the RACV Foundation'. Many of you will know 

that the money raised through the Fly the Flag Tour and other RACV events is distributed to a wide variety of 

worthy causes. Geoff has had direct involvement with this task and promises an entertaining talk. 

The display car will be Ray Lodder’s 300SL Mercedes and Ray will answer questions on its restoration 

1 

THIS MONTH’S COVER 

Roger Menadue and NOJ 392 

Pictured here with previous owners Brian Dermott and John Gray 

and restorer Rob Rowland 

Photo: Brian Dermott Cover and design: Michael & Bill Ingham. 

Printed by GPD Digital 14/9 Elite Way Carrum Downs Vic 

HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS SEPTEMBER 2011

CONTENTS 

Editor’s Notes Page 2 

Coming events Page 3 

President’s Report Page 4 

Rusty Springs Page 5 

Meeting Minutes Page 7 

Feature Article - NOJ Part 1 Page 9 

Side Exhaust Page 14 

More from Iain McPherson on Healeys that raced in Australia Page 18 

ROF’s Report Page 22 

For Sale and Wanted Page 24 

FROM THE EDITOR 

You may notice a few changes to the magazine this month. Not too much, just a tweaking of the page format with the 

addition of a footer and a little less blank area at the top. The intention is to give it a bit more of a professional look. 

Our feature article is the first in a series of three on the life of NOJ 392 during its Victorian stay, put together by the two 

people who knew her best - Brian Dermott and John Gray. 

The committee, in its wisdom, has given permission for us to use colour in the centre pages to enhance the article. It’s 

a pity that some of the early photos are in black and white. The additional colour comes at a small extra expense but 

given the savings we have made and the additional advertising revenue derived this year we think cost is worth it for 

special articles such as this one. 

Iain McPherson has come up with yet another story on racing Healeys and “Side Exhaust” unearthed a rare photo of 

Donald Healey which inspired him to write something a little different this month. 

There is no competition report this month as Rod Vogt is away so even with the abundance of articles I was able to 

keep down to 24 pages. Watch out next month though - Rod has to get two month’s worth in! 

Just after last month’s edition went to bed (gee, I’m getting into the printing lingo).my copy of “RoyalAuto” arrived. On 

reading it I reflected on the metamorphosis it has undergone over the years from being predominantly a motoring 

magazine with lots of road tests and general motoring information to what is now a “lifestyle” publication with lots and 

lots of advertising. 

I remarked on this to another of our members who pointed out that the majority of its readers (ie RACV members) are 

no longer just “motoring people” but come from a great diversity of backgrounds and that the RACV now derives much 

of its revenue from insurance and travel. 

That may be the case, but given the RACV's participation in motoring heritage events, it is remiss of them that they give 

so little space in the aftermath of those activities, considering the effort they put into publicising them. Anyone see any 

references to our award winning displays at The Classic Showcase in the last two years or a photo of the Concours 

winner which they sponsored? Just my opinion for what it's worth. 

Whilst on that subject, included in this issue is an entry form for the RACV/AOMC Cilty to Club Rally on Sunday 23 rd 

October. 

President Bill, in his report, stressed the need for members to come forward and fill the committee vacancies that will 

surely occur at the end of the year. Mine will be one. To that end I am producing a “manual” to aid the new editor and 

will be happy to provide assistance for the first couple of issues. I came to the position with little skill in MS Word and 

none in publishing a newsletter. The improvements in our magazine are largely due to trial and error (lots of error) and 

bits and pieces of advice from various sources over the last three years. Even so, I still type using the "two-fingered 

hunt and peck” method. Apart from MS Word, all the programs I use were downloaded for nothing from the “net” 

including the PDF creator and editor. 

Harvey Pearce 

2 


DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 

SUPPER ROSTERS 

SEPTEMBER Selwyn Hall and Elaine Provan 

SEPTEMBER 

Thursday 1 st General Meeting in Clubrooms commencing 8.00 pm 

Wednesday 8 th Thursday 8 

Committee Meeting 

th 

ROF Run West 

Sunday 25th Winton Round Round 7 MSCA 

Sat/Sunday 24/25 

Sunday 25 

HSRCA Historic Wakefield Park, Goulburn, NSW 

th Bringing back A Brain Buster drive. Observation Run to Mirboo North. simple 

navigation and questionnaire. 

Meet at Tooradin - See Brian and Barbs notice further along in Magazine 

Wednesday 28 th Peninsula Lunch Run – RYE HOTEL , 2415 Nepean Rd, Rye Phone 59 85 2277 

OCTOBER 

Thursday 6 th Friday 7 

General Meeting in Club Rooms commencing at 8.00 pm 

th -Sunday 9 th 

Mildura on the Murray, combined Vic/SA Border Run. See full details in Barbs 

Briefing social report. 

Wednesday 12 th 

Committee Meeting 

Thursday 13 th 

Sat/Sun 15 

ROFS Run South. Please see separate notice for full details. 

th -16 th 

Winton Six Hour Relay Race – supporters and helpers wanted for Sunday 16 th 

21 st /23 rd Sunday 23 

MotorClassica - Royal Exhibition Buildings 

rd Wednesday 26 

RACV City to Club Rally - All models up to BT7/BN7 eligible 

th Peninsula Lunch Run 

Barbs Briefings 

Hi everyone, I am in Sunny Broome but back on Wednesday 17th just a quick trip to go to races- Broome cup. 

I have had a newish member, Lee Goodall, ring and offer a visit to his Garage full of classic cars and motor cycles. He 

has set it up for enthusiasts to visit. For future club events he had offered to host a BBQ / sausage sizzle. We will keep it 

in mind. Lee met members at the Flemington Showcase. He is no relation to John! 

Cheers everyone. 

Barb 

3 

Observation Run to Mirboo North 

Simple Navigation and Questionnaire 

Sunday September 25 th 

(AKA Brian’s Brainbuster) 

Start in the service road at Tooradin at 10.00am in the morning, travelling to Mirboo North via selected Healey Roads 

incorporating a non demanding observation run on the way. On arriving at the destination, a lunch at entrant’s expense 

will be held at the Commercial Hotel – typical pub food prices range between $10 and $30 a head. Following lunch, 

members may like to wander around this picturesque village to take in the sights before a gentle run home 

Contact Barb 0417 384 712 or barb@marengo.net.au 

CHRISTMAS HAMPER RAFFLE 

AT GENERAL MEETING IN DECEMBER, MICK IS ORGANISING HER ANNUAL CHRISTMAS HAMPER RAFFLE. 

TICKETS WILL BE FOR SALE AT THE DOOR. 

WOULD MEMBERS WISHING TO MAKE DONATIONS PLEASE BRING ALONG TO THE NEXT 3 MEETINGS, 

(September, October, November) AND GIVE TO MICK AND BARB 

The Lollies 

The Teacher gave the class some lollies and asked the children to identify each flavour by the colour. 

The kids were doing really well - 

Red.....................Raspberry, Yellow.................Lemon, Green..................Lime, Orange...............Orange etc. 

Finally the teacher gave them all HONEY lifesavers but none of the children could identify the taste. 

The teacher said, 'I’ll give you all a clue. It's what your mother sometimes calls your father.' 

One little girl looked up in horror, spat her lifesaver out and yelled, 'Oh my God! They're a**eholes!' 

The teacher had to leave the room 


4 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT 

Wow! September already! Yes, Spring is really here and it's time for more of us to get the Healey's out on the road, to 

show them off and to enjoy the drive. 

Selwyn's first 'Fang Run' attracted 7 or 8 runners plus at least a couple more who missed the start. At least half a dozen 

Members had entered for the Phillip Island MSCA meeting on the 21st and we are hoping for big turn out on August 28th 

for Barb's Big Lunch at Williamstown. 

At this stage, September is not looking quite so busy. That gives everyone some time to think seriously about the Club 

and our future. 

Our September 2010 cover showed the print that Jeff Gillard had organised entitled 'Your Club Needs You'. Once 

again, a number of those on your committee will not be re-nominating for 2012 and we need some others to put their 

hands up and help to run the Club's affairs next year and create a future for the Club. Please give this some thought over 

the next month or so and speak to current committee members to see how you may best help. Our Club cannot function 

without volunteers and we do need you to help. Be prepared for that tap on the shoulder and please don't pass up the 

opportunity to assist. 

We have had an invitation to exhibit some of our Healeys in High St, Armidale from 10.00 until 2.00pm on Father's Day. 

Please let me know if you are interested in attending. 

Ray Lodder has offered to bring his magnificent 300SL Mercedes to our next meeting and to answer questions on its 

restoration and driving experience. 

Our September speaker will be Geoff Clarke who will talk about 'Travels with the RACV Foundation'. Many of you will 

know that the money raised through the Fly the Flag Tour and other RACV events is distributed to a wide variety of worthy 

causes. Geoff has had direct involvement with this task and promises an entertaining talk. 

I would like to remind Members that the Motorclassica Concours and Classic Motor Show will be held from October 21-23. 

Last year's event was well recommended and it should be well worth a visit. 

The RACV City to Country Club Rally will also start from the Exhibition Buildings on the 23rd and entrants will have free 

entry to the Motorclassica show before embarking on the run to Healesville. 

All Healeys up to and including the BN7/BT7 models are eligible to enter the Rally (for models introduced before 1962) 

and it would be good to have another good showing of our fabulous cars at this event. More information is available at 

www.aomc.asn.au/citytoclub11. 

Bill Vaughan 


We missed out on last years “Murder Mystery” night at 

Rusty Springs because we were away on holiday, but after 

hearing about the good time everyone had who went and 

seeing the snaps in the magazine report, we resolved not 

to miss out if another opportunity arose. 

So when Gordon announced he was planning another 

Rusty Springs experience earlier this year, we booked in 

straight away – and are we glad we did! 

Two things. Firstly, Gordon and Elaine do the best job of 

organisation imaginable and secondly, Rusty Springs has 

to be experienced to be believed. 

On the subject of the first 

criteria, the planning and 

organisation was 

exceptional – numerous e 

mails giving updates 

leading up to the event, full 

activities programme, 

timing, maps and written 

route instructions before 

hand and even printed 

copies handed out at the 

meeting place, fabulous 

lunch venues and carefully 

selected drives, 

Master of Ceremonies 

Gordon ensuring that the disorganised rabble kept to the 

schedule so that we actually fitted everything in and on top 

of all that, FANTASTIC VALUE! 

Now we come to the venue – not a place but a destination. 

It’s actually hard to describe, there is just so much to take 

in. The first impression is that it’s obviously run by an old 

car nutter (tick for that) as there are lots of XJ6 and Mk10 

jags turning to rust around the place, albeit they are lined 

up neatly. Next is the iron sculpture everywhere you look 

and then there’s the buildings – no, not buildings, barns. 

And not just barns, BIG barns. 

Most of us (37 in total) found a home in “Brewery Lane” – a 

Dutch barn with interior “street scapes” down each side 

which formed the facades of the bedrooms – each room 

featuring a unique look based on it’s name – the Iron 

Monger, the undertaker, the Chapel of Love, the grocery 

“emplorium”, Patricia’s Palace etc etc. . 

5 

RUSTY SPRINGS WEEKEND 

The central “square” had dining tables and chairs at one 

end, a lounge area surrounding an old boiler (which kept 

everything cosy as a result of it’s prodigious appetite for 

fuel) in the centre of the space and a bar and second 

lounge area at the other end. 

Our hosts, Bob and 

Judi McGrath kept us 

entertained and 

magnificently fed 

from Judi’s “Road Kill 

Café” – I never knew 

road kill was so good 

– hmm- must keep an 

eye out in future…. 

“Christmas” Dinner 

Gordon even managed to turn on one day of outstanding 

weather – a beautiful winter’s day in Victoria is a day like 

no other anywhere and to be in a Healey, top down, in 

lovely green countryside roaring down an empty road, well, 

it just doesn’t get any better. 

And Finally, there was the opportunity for some of us 

Melbournites to meet our country AHOC brethren – the 

tyranny of distance means that it’s only occasionally we get 

the chance to spend some time with these terrific people – 

I ‘spose we shouldn’t be surprised we get on well with 

them – after all, they own Healey’s! 

Enough Said! Presents 

Stress relief 

One couple, Geoff and Ann Kerr run River Gate Wines at 

Axedale and kindly omitted to bring anything more than a 

change of undies so they could fit in copious quantities of 

their wine – I would not have believed you could fit so 

many bottles in a Healey. This may well have contributed 

to some peoples enjoyment of the week end! 


Healeys at the lunch stop at Euroa 

Thanks Gordon - We’re already looking forward to next year 

Brian A 

6 


AUSTIN HEALEY OWNERS CLUB OF VICTORIA INC. 

Minutes of “General Meeting” held on 

Thursday 4th August 2011 

AT 19 – 23 ROSALIE STREET, SPRINGVALE 

Meeting opened at 8.25pm 

Present: 64 financial members 

No Visitors 

No New Members 

Apologies: Kathy Saul, Terry Grigg, Gayle Minter, John Olsen, Warren and Heather Gartner, Rex and Deanna Hall, 

Rob and Sue Raverty, Julianne McPherson, Rod and Sue Vogt. 

Minutes of Previous Meeting: 

Motion that the minutes of previous meeting, held on 7 July 2011, be 

accepted. Moved: Paul McPherson Seconded: Alan Cant Carried. 

Matters arising from the previous minutes: Nil. 

Welfare: No reports of sickness at this meeting thankfully! 

Correspondence In: 

Flyers 

Shannons Sydney “Motorex” Auction advice 

Allway matting flyer 

Walhalla Vinter Ljusfest flyer advertising events scheduled in Walhalla for August 2011 

E Mail 

E Mail from CAMS advising Bronze Scrutiny training course will be held on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21 st August 2011 

in Shepparton, Victoria. 

E Mail from CAMS advising Bronze Fire & Rescue course is scheduled for 7:30pm Tuesday 23 rd August in the CAMS 

Victorian meeting room 851 Dandenong Road, Malvern East, 3145. 

E Mail from CAMS seeking support for The Victorian Supersprint Championship 

E Mail from CAMS advising changes to the Khanacross regulations and the Speed Event Standing regulations. 

E Mail from CAMS advising The third Victorian State Council meeting of the year will be held at 7:30pm Tuesday 2 nd 

August 

E Mail from CAMS advising the agenda for the VSC meeting scheduled for 7:30pm Tuesday 2 nd August. 

Invitation to participate in the Longford Revival Festival in Tasmania from 31 March to 1 April 2012. 

Advertisement for anyone interested in purchasing an on line spares business – “sparesplanet” 

Veloce Publishing e mail news letter. 

Veloce Publishing e mail advice re publication of the Pat Moss biography by Stuart Turner. 

Magazines 

July/August “Open Topics” mag from Riverina Sports Car Association 

August “Crankhandle” SPCHCC (Southern Peninsula Classic and Historic Car Club) magazine 

July “Healeys West” magazine from WA AHOC 

July “Flat Chat” magazine from NSW AHOC 

July “Goblin Gazette” from Sprite Driver’s Club 

July “Cat-A-Log” magazine from Jag Car Club 

July “Healey Torque” magazine from Qld AHOC 

July HRA News (Historic Rally Association) 

July “Classic Lines” magazine – Classic Motoring Club of Wagga Wagga 

Letters 

Letter from RACV inviting the AHOC of Vic to participate in the Great Australian Rally to be held on Jan 15, 2012. 

Letter from Creswick Woollen Mills inviting car clubs to visit. 

Application for CPS from member. 

Letter from RACV inviting the AHOC of Vic to participate in Motorclassica in October. 

Letter from Graham Palich advising change of address. 

Correspondence out: 

Letter to Don McKay at the CMC Re establishment of “Sinking Fund” for building maintenance. 

REPORTS: 

Financial: 

Mike Snelgrove submitted the following report: 

Operating Account 

Opening balance as at 1 June 2011 $16,427.66 

Deposits $ 2,938.00 

Payments $ 2,541.02 

Closing balance as at 30 June 2011 $16,824.64 

Term Deposit Account at 17 April $51,393.68 

HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS SEPTEMBER 2011 7

Membership: 

Peter Heading reported that our membership currently stands at 583 – no change since July. 

Social: 

Barbara reported that the “Christmas in July” week end at Rusty Springs organised by Gordon and Elaine Lindner was a 

sensational event and that we will do another run to this venue in the future – see September magazine for detailed 

report. 

Barb also reminded members about Selwyn’s early morning “fang” run on 14 August – details in August magazine. The 

other event coming up is the Williamstown lunch on 28 August – anyone with suggestions for alternative lunch venues 

should talk to Barb – an e mail will be circulated with final details. Finally, the observation run to Gippsland on 25 

September should be put in members’ diaries – details in September magazine. 

Ralph spoke about the combined mini rally to Mildura in early October and noted that take up has been very pleasing, 

with a total of 61 Victorian and South Australian members booked in so far. Since 70 is the maximum number that can be 

catered for anyone wishing to go needs to put their hand up very soon! Final details will be published in the September 

newsletter. 

Editor: 

Harvey reported that printing and distribution of the August magazine went to plan and hoped everyone has received their 

magazine. He then asked for early submission of articles for the September magazine. 

Regalia: 

Ron noted that he has some examples of new Ladies jackets and invited anyone interested to have a look following the 

meeting. 

Cars/Parts/Sale/Buy 

Ron Smith is restoring an old caravan and asked if anyone has a caravan fridge or other second hand caravan bits and 

pieces they are looking to get rid of to please contact him on 9789 7698. 

Competition / MSCA: 

Rod is still on holiday so Bill V and Peter Jackson gave a brief run down of coming and past events. Bill V reported that 

his daughter has just achieved a regularity third place in an Historic meeting held at Warwick in Queensland last week 

end driving his old white Mk1 Sprite. 

The next MSCA event is Phillip Island on 21 August – most of the usual suspect plan to run there so anyone interested in 

supporting Team Healey could take a look. Bill also noted that the Winton 6 hour relay will run again this year but for the 

first time in around 10 years, without Peter and Anne Stanley managing a Healey team. Instead, our entry has been 

taken over by the Sprite Driver’s Club – there will be only 1 team of AHOC runners managed by Graham Palich. 

Peter Jackson reported that the Winton Historic meet on 13 – 14 August next promises to be a good event. There are 36 

cars entered for Groups Sa/Sb – Peter is running in Sa whilst Rob Jamieson is running in regularity. Ian Ross from 

VHRR has arranged for a number of Formula 5000s to run – will be interesting to see them on this track! 

AOMC/Vic Roads: 

BV reported that he and Brian Aitken attended an AOMC Seminar (Streamlining Your Club’s Operations) on Saturday 30 

July. There were a number of interesting presenters who discussed issues such as meeting formats, committee 

management techniques and the latest changes in Incorporation legislation. This will be discussed by Committee to see 

what we can gain. Also mentioned was the Vic Roads Club Permit Scheme – all agreed it is the best of it’s kind in 

Australia! The AOMC have issued an excellent Club Permit Scheme handbook ($5.00/copy) that answers all the 

questions often raised – we may issue to all Permit holders in future. 

General Business: 

Bill V discussed the upcoming “Motorclassica” and noted that the AHOC has been invited to participate with cars for 

display – entry details on the Motorclassica web site or see him. He also noted that the RACV “City to Country” run starts 

at the Exhibition Buildings on 23 October (cars up to 1960 or run on models eligible – that means all Healeys except 

BJ7/8s) and recommended participation if your car complies – a quick look around the Motorclassica event will be 

possible prior to the “off”! 

Another upcoming RACV event is the Great Australian Rally to be held on 15 January 2012 and finishing at Mornington 

Racecourse – once again, an excellent opertunity for the Club to display cars – more in a magazine closer to this event. 

Finally, the RACV sponsored “Fly the Flag” tour next years heads west – see BV or Gordon if interested in participating. 

Barb recommended that members take a look at the display cabinet outside our library in the Club rooms – there is a 

display of new books and DVDs that will soon be available to borrow once our new library shelving is installed. These are 

expected before the September meeting. 

Anyone interested in participating in the regularity section next year’s Classic Targa Adelaide should speak to Rod Vogt – 

this is a fairly low speed event with lots of navigation challenge – Tony Rogers is running in this years Classic Adelaide – 

report in next Magazine. 

Raffel 

Finally, the evening raffle was drawn with Arthur Tuckett and Linda Fletcher taking the spoils. Prizes were donated to the 

Club by Tony Barrett and Mike Snelgrove. 

Meeting closed at 8.55pm 

Next meeting: 1 September 2011 – Guest speaker will be Mr Jeffrey Clarke of the RACV Foundation – car on display 

will be 300SL Mercedes Benz. Brian Aitken - Secretary 

8 


LUCKY RACER IN THE LUCKY COUNTRY 

How a Healey legend was rescued against the odds by Australian Healey enthusiasts 

Do you believe cars can be haunted? 

After a big rollover accident at Winton last year, its fifth 

incident in two years, the BMW 2002 was confiscated by 

the shaken owners' friends, stripped of its good bits, cut 

into three and taken to separate scrap yards for crushing. 

The haunted car was no more. 

Equally, cars can live a charmed existence. They are 

happy, sunny cars, which attract happy events, are always 

on the winning side, avoid disasters and spread a positivity 

all around. 

Such a car is NOJ392 - the UK registration number given 

to the second of three identical Austin Healeys by the City 

Treasurer’s Department in Longbridge on the 24th April 

1953 in the name of the Austin Motor Company. This car 

has become part of Austin Healey legend and on the front 

cover of this magazine you can see it restored and proudly 

on display at Como Park alongside the Yarra river in 

Melbourne in 1995. 

Between Birmingham in 1953 and Melbourne in 1995 this 

car had many adventures. But just when it seemed a 

disaster would happen, its luck always came good. 

From February 1969 until September 1980, it was mine. I 

sold it to AHOC member John Gray who later sold to 

respected Healey collector Warwick Sell in NSW. It was 

the Sell family who commissioned the fabulous restoration 

by Rob Rowland and the Healey Factory team which you 

can see here. The smiling gent in the photo is the late 

Roger Menadue, whose Experimental Department had 

built it 58 years ago. 

Over the next few months, John Gray and I are going to tell 

you the story of NOJ 392, the Lucky Racer, as we lived it 

over a period of nearly 20 years - cycles of near disaster 

and then triumph, with this wonderful old car always 

coming out on top. Weirdly, this pattern is continuing today 

- and it’s an up-period at the moment, if a little shrouded in 

secrecy, as we’ll see later. 

The story of the first Austin Healeys has been told many 

times but the most reliable account is that given by Geoff 

Healey in his book “The Healey Story” published after his 

death and after he had been to Australia and seen the 

progress on rejuvenating his old race car. 

Briefly, Geoff recounts that after the 1952 launch of the 

Healey 100, twenty cars were to be built at Healey’s 

Warwick base before production shifted to Longbridge. Of 

these, four ‘Special Test Cars’ were for competition by 

agreement with Austin - who paid for them - and 

constructed by Roger Menadue in the new purpose built 

experimental workshop. NOJ 392 was the sixth Austin 

Healey built at Warwick in early 1953 and the second 

racing car. All the first batch were of aluminium and 

Jensen built the special test car bodies out of top quality 

Birmabright alloy. Donald Healey wanted those alloy 

bodied cars to look identical to the steel bodies Longbridge 

would soon be pumping out. So although there were many 

lightweight features - such as polished alloy bumpers - 

outwardly they looked very standard. 

The engines had nitrided cranks, with standard but 

specially selected pistons and rods and lightened flywheels 

and a special camshaft gave higher lift and a longer 

overlap. By Le Mans the cars had been fitted with cold air 

boxes and 1 3/4 inch over size SU carburettors. Power 

was quoted at 103bhp at 4,500rpm. 

The clutch was a Borg and Beck competition item (after the 

Mille Miglia drama) feeding power to a modified 4 speed 

Austin Taxi gearbox with a really cool centre change. 

Behind this sturdy item went a heavy-duty quick acting 

high ratio overdrive unit giving a 32% engine speed 

reduction from a nifty little switch on the steering wheel. 

With wide spaced ratios and the overdrive dropping neatly 

in the gaps on 2nd, 3rd and 4th, this was a precursor to the 

later ‘Tulip’ ratios in the Abingdon rally cars. Importantly, 

with a 3.667 diff, this arrangement gave the NOJ cars six 

speed gearboxes with top geared for 205 kph. In 1953! 

The suspension had a thicker front anti roll bar and revalved 

lever arm shock absorbers - tubular Konis were still 

in the future - with Geoff quoting bump and rebound 

pressures just like a modern setup whizz. The list of mods 

includes special lightweight aluminium radiators, longrange 

fuel tanks and 11”x1 3/4” Girling drum brakes fitted 

with Mintex M20 fade free linings and Alfin drums - 

although these suffered the usual blue hot spots on the 

track ; even Lucas made a special effort to produce 

upspecced wiring and ancillaries. 

The cars were painted in metallic light green, since Donald 

Healey superstitiously thought that British racing green 

was unlucky but still wanted the cars painted in the British 

national racing colour. Green leather was used for the 

seats. 

These really were racers for the road - but looked exactly 

like the production cars which were about to start 

spreading through the dealerships, while the race cars 

were soon off to compete after some hectic development 

road trips by Geoff Healey across a war shattered Europe. 

In their first big event, the new Healey built racers failed. 

The Mille Miglia of 1953 had 502 starters but only 283 

were finishers, and these did not include the Lockett / Reid 

driven NOJ 392 (race number 552) which overcame 

throttle linkage problems only to suffer a disintegrated 

clutch 80 miles from the finish. The Lucky Racer had 

started with a DNF caused by component failure. This was 

not a good start. 

Next event was the Le Mans 24 hours in June. Although 

the clutch was soon replaced by a stronger one (with 

riveted and bonded lining) and the throttle linkage was 

fixed by more careful fitting, things started out badly. 

Firstly, conditions at the Healey team base near Le Mans 

in a dilapidated French chateau were poor and the team 

was soon hit by chronic food poisoning. 

Then journalist Gordon Wilkins was driving NOJ 391 back 

to the chateau after scrutineering when he was hit by a 

drunk and both 

Gordon and particularly Wilkins’s wife, a passenger in the 

car, were seriously injured. NOJ 391 was damaged too 

badly to continue and so all the sealed components had to 

be built back into 393 overnight. The team started out on a 

marathon event exhausted and a key driver carrying a 

painful injury. But as the race developed, things started to 

improve, and although 391 (393 with 391’s bits) had 

overdrive stick in and Wilkins had a close shave with a 

spinning Pegaso , the two little green cars lapped steadily 

at an average lap speed of 146 to 152 kph, which was the 

fastest lap for the pair, by Johnny Lockett in NOJ392 


The Healey Line up 

(Sourced from the Foundation Healey Museum in Bitburg) 

"Ace steerer Lockett was a keen lensman too - here is 

his snap of the Healey team for Le Mans 1953 - before 

the number plates were removed and race numbers 

added. His Austin Healey 100 shared with Gatsonides 

is NOJ392 and the sister car NOJ393 (the real car 

before the accident) for journalist Gordon Wilkins and 

Marcel Becquart flanks the special bodied Nash 

Healey; all three cars would finish. 

NOJ in pits 

(Sourced from CARS magazine Oct 1953 p 17) 

"Not long now. As the clock ticks closer to the 4 pm 

start at Le Mans in June 1953, the Healey team fits up 

the tonneau cover of car number 34 (NOJ392) ready for 

the start. The Nash Healey is on the left and NOJ393 

(rebuilt with 391's bits) car 33 is on the right." 

The speed down the straight was around 200 kph every 

lap, day and night. 

Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt won in the Jaguar C Type 

with Stirling Moss second, making full use of their new disc 

brakes. But Johnny Lockett and Maurice Gatsonides 

drove NOJ 392 (number 34) 3,445 kilometres in the 

twenty-four hours to finish in twelfth place overall and 

second in class to the Trintignant / Schell Gordini and 77 

kms more than 391(3). 

The Lucky Racer had starred in a satisfying demonstration 

of reliability and sporting performance, adding greatly to 

the credibility of the new model, so much so that by July 

1953 upwards of 2000 Austin Healeys had been sold by 

Austin and production was approaching 100 cars a week. 

10 

The Vibe - Le Mans 1953 

(Sourced from the Foundation Healey Museum in Bitburg) 

"Lockett's view from his start spot as the crowd 

gathers for the start of Les Vingt Quatre Heures du 

Mans, mille neuf cent cinquante trois. Suits, ties, 

raincoats, baggy pants - the fashions might change 

but the atmosphere doesn't. The tension in this rare 

driver eye view of the build up to this ultimate test of 

endurance 58 years ago is palpable" 

"NOJ 392 at Le Mans 1953. 

(Sourced from The Story of the Big Healeys ISBN 0 905064 29 1 p 53) 

Works driver Maurice Gatsonides (Gatso went on to 

develop the hated speed cameras everywhere in 

Europe) nails the line through the Esses in front of 

Gordini and Porsche in direct top at 165 kph. Note the 

wide looking rear guards - the scrutineers made 

Healey put spacers in to cover the tyres - and the 

angled up front bonnet - do it with the hinges - lets the 

hot air out without being a non standard and illegal 

scoop. Both these tricks have been copied in modern 

times in Targa Tasmania" 

Back from Le Mans, the racer NOJ 392 was given a 

change of oil and new brake pads and instantly became 

the Austin Healey 100 road test car for Motor and Autocar. 

It would never compete again as a works car. 

Since it was around 150 kilos lighter than a standard car 

and still had the big SU carburettors, cold air box and all 

the other special modifications (you can see the centre 

shifting taxi box in the mags) the journalists and their 

readers were pretty impressed, even though they would 

not be able to reproduce the test performance in their own 

cars. 


NOJ at Arnage 

(Sourced from Ivo Visser Archives & Racing Sports Cars) 

"Ex Motorcycle racer Johnny Lockett hammers Car 34 

through the slippery right hander Tertre Rouge at le 

Mans in 1953 on his way to P12. Lockett had the 

fastest lap of the new Austin Healey 100's of 152.8 kph 

- that's an average speed remember, without modern 

sticky tyres and with drum brakes" 

Of the Special Test Cars only NOJ 392 remained in its 

original form, again so lucky. 391 was loaned to a French 

driver in 1954 to compete in Le Tour de France Automobile 

where it was involved in a fatal accident. Eventually, the 

wreckage of both 391 and 393 were turned into 100S and 

sold. 

After impressing the journalists, in 1954 the Lucky Racer 

was lent to Girling Ltd for tests of the new disc brakes, as a 

comparison with the Dunlop system and these brakes were 

eventually adopted for the 100S. 

There was a soft spot at DHMC for this car. Geoff Healey 

and Margot used it for holiday trips including their 

honeymoon in Italy (witness the GB plate on the boot lid) 

and Roger Menadue adopted it as his personal hack, 

towing his boat to fishing spots. 

Eventually Donald Healey gave it to him as a company car 

in reward for all his hard work when the car was 

transferred from Austin ownership in August 1958 to 

Donald Healey Motor Company. Roger ran the car as his 

daily transport until Feb 1962 when it was sold to a 

Warwick car dealer. 

This was the start of a sad downturn in fortunes for NOJ, a 

fate which befalls many obsolete, 9 year old racers. Austin 

Healey had moved on, their focus now on the works 3000 - 

Pat Moss had just come 2nd outright in the RAC and the 

Morley Bros were getting ready for the Tulip. The Monte in 

January had not been great. 

NOJ392 went into a death spiral - six owners in five years 

and it lost its identity. So convincing was the standard car 

disguise, no one knew anymore that this car was special. 

In 1967, one frosty night in Sussex, the owner was driving 

home when the corroded floor panel gave way underneath 

the seat and he lost control. 

By now painted the colour DMH feared, dark BRG, the 

famous Le Mans and road test star, the Lucky Racer, 

ploughed headlong into a lamp post. It’s corpse was 

dumped down the side of the owner’s house and stayed 

there for three long corrosive years. A crashed old sports 

car, a pile of worthless junk. 

Meanwhile, just as NOJ392 was being sold off to the trade, 

my club racing career was gathering pace. The P-Type 

MG had given way to a Healey Silverstone and I was 

slowly gaining confidence and pace in Austin Healey Club 

circuit racing events and sprints and on the hillclimb circuit. 

By 1966, GOW 686 and I were frequent competitors at AH 

Club events - and winners of the Healey Register Trophy 

three years running. These events were always won by 

John Gott or John Chatham or Stuart Hands in their 

Modsports Healeys but the old Silverstone was fairly 

competitive with the 100’s and MG’s and TR2’s and 3’s. 

Through running at Prescott and invitation events, I 

became involved with well known lady racer Betty Haig 

and photographer and collector Guy Griffiths in forming the 

‘Griffiths Formula' which developed into the Historic Sports 

Car Club. The cause was to provide events for unmodified 

sports cars from the 50’s and 60’s so they had somewhere 

exciting to run and be competitive without going the way of 

10” slicks. 

With three other Healey Silverstones, we took part in the 

inaugural HSCC race in May 1966 of what has become the 

biggest club of historic racing in Europe and battled 

(sometimes successfully) with the Frazer Nashes and 

Ferrari 166’s and other exotica. These events went from 

strength to strength through the later 60’s and always 

provided great racing; Silverstone and especially the 

wonderful Castle Combe were favourite circuits. 

During this period, I got to know Peter Browning, who took 

over from Stuart Turner as competition manager for British 

Leyland, as well as Les Needham, who ran the Austin 

Healey Club. I assisted in writing the Healey racing 

chapter of their book ‘Healeys and Austin Healeys’ and 

they knew that I was keen to get something faster which 

was still a Healey. 

One day in early 1969 I got a phone call at home from 

Peter Browning asking if I’d seen the ad in ‘Exchange and 

Mart’ for an accident damaged AH 100 with alloy body, on 

sale for only £100. No Peter but I’ll pop down to the shops 

and grab one. We discussed what it might be - Peter knew 

that the first cars had been made of alloy so we thought it 

might be one of those. But all the 100S cars had alloy 

bodies - could it be one of those? 

He asked Les Needham at the AH Club to look out the old 

workshop records to find reggo details of the early cars 

and posted them to me. 

Meanwhile I called the number in the ad and spoke to the 

owner, making out I was looking for a cheap sports car. 

He told me how it got damaged and that he had to move 

house, if it didn’t go by the end of February it would go to 

the breaker. Did it really have an alloy body? From his 

answer it sounded like it might just be the shrouds, so only 

an ordinary car. There was no mention of any history or 

that it was any kind of special car. 

Anyway it was worth having a look at, since I was keen to 

get myself a faster historic Healey to get nearer the front of 

the HSCC events. Having committed the magic reggo 

numbers to memory, we slithered through the snow to find 

the address. Down the side of this semi in Sussex was a 

Healey shaped pile of snow. Knocking on the door 

produced a scruffy person who was very hung over and 

didn’t fancy getting cold and wet outside, so I told him to 

stay in the warm while I helped myself. 

Walking up to the pile of snow I casually brushed off the 

boot and there was a battered old black UK reggo plate - 

NOJ 392. Shit! I knew immediately what it was but equally 

clear I had to hide any excitement from the grubby owner, 

who was by now watching me through a window - the toilet 

window, since he had just thrown up. 


Borrowing a broom I cleared away the snow to reveal a 

terrible mess. Fortunately the interior had been protected 

by a heavy tarp but the front was stove in and everything 

that was not alloy peeping through split paint was red rust. 

It had started to moulder into the dirt. I paid grubby £50 

and told him I’d pick it up in two weeks when he’d get the 

rest. 

The big black phone on my desk at the ad agency in St 

James Square was busy as I spoke to Peter and then Les 

about what I’d found and they were excited. Les spoke to 

Geoff Healey and wrote to me on February 18th1969 : “I 

had a quick chat with Geoff Healey yesterday and as 

far as he can remember NOJ 392 started life as a 100/4 

and was then rebuilt as a lightweight racer and was a 

team car at le Mans and the Mille Miglia ...” He went on 

to explain that the car never had a 100S engine - a 

disappointment for me as a racer. 

Anyway, on the last weekend of February 1969, NOJ 392 

was lifted from its near death bed and transported to a 

warm brick garage in Henley on Thames. My garage. 

The Lucky Racer had got lucky again and started a very, 

very long road to back to life. Although I now owned a 

famous Healey racer, it was in terrible condition and - as I 

thought at first - would take at least a year to get on the 

track. Meanwhile I would have to sell my Silverstone to 

fund the rebuild - a car which was my special racer. 

As Spring arrived, I began to have second thoughts. But 

there was no going back - GOW686 was sold to rival racer 

Eric Hall and I threw myself into the task of dismantling. Of 

course the more I did, the worse it felt, since the scale of 

the job became clearer. 

Everything was corroded and rusty or seized up. The front 

guard was bent and folded, the shroud was distorted and 

buckled. 

Front shroud 

"Crunch !! This is where the impact hit, stoving in 

panels, bending and splitting the frame." 

The chassis rail and cross member was bent in and split 

and severe corrosion inside the chassis was evident. The 

front suspension on the near side was bent. The bulkheads 

were badly corroded, the alloy structures were very brittle 

and corroded up about 9". Every bush and bracket was 

rusty and seized. Every component was rusty and the rear 

(and rare) Girling callipers were porous - you could poke a 

screwdriver through the powdery alloy. The rear springs 

and axle were red with heavy rust. 

It was a very depressing process for someone who really 

wanted to get this racer back into racing within a few 

months. 

12 

Through the summer and winter of 1969 and 1970 I slowly 

completed dismantling the car, sorting it into boxes and 

jars and tins. It was sole destroying work, since by now I 

realised that the task of restoring this machine to be my 

race car was financially and in terms of time way beyond 

my reach. 

NOJ Rear section 

"Junk? No, its a priceless, historic Healey. But this is 

how it was after the dismantling was finished. The 

rear section is intact but you can see the corrosion in 

the alloy panels and the red rust on the steering 

column. The door panel pulled back is where the 

notebook was found; and note the original colour in 

the door shuts where a cheap BRG respray had been 

done." 

Front scuttle 

"The front scuttle structure was not bent but very 

corroded with the alloy brittle and broken. Hard to 

believe, but the Healey Factory made this as good as 

new" 

There really was only one bright spot - the interior. The 

seats - remarkably undamaged - were stored to keep dry in 

the roof space of my house at 50 Makins Road, Henley on 

Thames. Then I spotted the corner of some paper 

protruding into the door pocket from behind the door trim 

panel. A few minutes later, I held some old papers and a 

red school notebook. 

The dusty warm wind of La Sarthe in June suddenly wafted 

through my garage as I read “Check engine oil - gearbox - 

water - hub nuts - remove front number plate - dim out OD 

light - tape atmosphere pipes from Carb No 1 to stop 

vibration with each one ticked and signed. 


The Book 

"This is a page of the notebook kept in each car which 

told the mechanics what to do after each practice 

session. The drivers would talk to Team Manager 

Geoff Healey who would write the instructions. The 

mechanics would sign off each item as it was done. 

Geoff was very precise - note the drawings to make 

sure the throttle return spring is done right." 

Overleaf were some practice lap times - Lockett at 9pm in 

the dark getting down from 6.29.5 to 5.52 in four laps. Oil 

at 190, water at 60. Gatsonides went a bit quicker, down to 

5.38. But oil was 215 and water 65. And brakes were very 

hot. 

Here was the actual notebook used by the Healey pit crew 

to record each cars’ practice - and where the drivers put 

down what they wanted done and the crew confirmed it. 

Immediately the grotty pile of rust and corrosion all around 

me was transformed into a lean and hungry race car, 

blasting through the night, yellow beams spearing the dark 

of the Mulsanne at 205 kph as Hamilton thundered past in 

the C Type going 100 kph faster.... 

This was 42 years ago, but I remember vividly bursting into 

tears as the depression of realising that I would never be 

able to drive this car in anger was transformed, just for a 

moment, by this discovery. As a lifelong Healey 

enthusiast, this was such a powerful moment - one only 

matched by standing with Linda on the Targa Tasmania 

podium in 2003 with our wonderful AH 3000 resting 

peacefully in parc ferme. 

The Lucky Racer had been rescued from destruction but 

18 months later was about to face an even greater threat . 

NOJ392 no longer existed as a compete car but a pile of 

components and structures which were vulnerable to being 

lost or sold off part by part and dispersed. And my life was 

about to fall into emotional turmoil and upheaval, with 

separation and a divorce settlement threatening my title to 

the car, this was a very real danger. 

How the Lucky Racer dodged this threat, how the first 

steps towards recovery were taken and then how a chance 

meeting at a gas station on the other side of the world six 

years later lead to its transfer to the Lucky Country for 

eventual complete restitution is the story for next month ... 


Leafing through some of the bottomless files of Healey 

adventures held securely by Side Exhaust in the roof of the 

shed, the fine glossy and full colour magazine of the Austin 

Healey Club Pacific Centre based in San Jose California 

turned up. It’s dated December 1976 - that’s nearly 35 

years ago - and inside was story after story of events and 

happenings and photographs which is always evidence of 

a vigorous, enthusiastic Club. 

Of course, these events are very similar to what appears 

every month in every AH Club, including our own. 

But there was one happening written up in some detail 

which is not common - the visit by Donald Healey to the 

Austin Healeys West meet at Eureka, California, on Labour 

Day 1976 when he was 78 years old. Of course there 

were lots of cars and plenty of social activities, but one 

photo in the magazine reminded us that Healeys and 

swimming seem to always be a good match. 

That Donald was a goer can be judged by the nearby 

photo of him sharing a moment with three young 

Californian beauties in a warm Californian pool - I wonder 

where Denise, Sheryl and Carol are now? 

Healeys and swimming also feature in an ad for the 100/6 

in California which The Boss (editor Harvey Pearce) sent 

me. This was a Road & Track ad from the late 50’s, the 

heart of the Mad Men era. 

Having been guilty of organising several car shoots by the 

ocean in the days before Photoshop meant you never had 

to do anything for real any more, I feel for the gofers who 

had to obliterate the tyre marks in the sand and the tractor 

drivers who got it down there. 

The tide looks like its coming in with only an hour or so to 

go, meaning there would have been some stress 

happening. Clients can be very grumpy when you deliver 

their photo car back full of sand and salt water. 

14 

HEALEY IN THE SWIM 

The photo crew probably didn’t get all the shots, which 

would explain why the lower photo was shot in a studio 

and stripped in. 

Much as we might feel embarrassed today about the gross 

sexist attitudes on display in this advertisement for Austin 

Healey, the reality is that that is the world for which our 

cars were created. We need not be too offended - after all, 

the message is simply “get a life, get a girl, get a Healey”. 

That this one is by the ocean with scuba gear and spear 

guns adds a frisson of adventure which sits well with the 

beefy six on the sand. 

Even here in Australia, on one of those glorious summer 

days when you’re out for a drive in your Healey through the 

Eucalyptus forests of the Victorian ranges, and you come 

across a deserted mountain lake, its very easy to be 

tempted to have a swim. The Healey can be a bit of a 

sweaty place when its hot. Skinny dipping might have 

been OK once upon a time, but these days, if you’ve got 

no cossy, then its undies to the rescue. 

It’s after the swim that the Big Healey shows why he’s such 

a great swimming partner. Rather than sit in a soggy mess 

for the cooler drive home through the sunset, open up that 

bonnet and you have a wonderful clothes dryer as the 

wafts of radiant heat which normally roast you in the cabin 

evaporate all that pure mountain water in no time. The 

picture shows this happening. 

In the few minutes it takes you to dry off on the (fairly) 

clean bit of old towel kept in the door pocket, your undies 

will be dry and toasty. Close the bonnet, fire him up and 

thunder home all tingling and satisfied. 

For Healey, its just been another typical lifestyle swimming 

job down by the water - just like in that old ad from the 

USA. 



16 

John Bowe Tests a Healey 

Just a follow up on our June meeting when our speaker for the night 

Phil Walker spilt the beans about a road test by John Bowe in my BN1 

Healey. Well it happened on a sunny day last month when they took 

the car for a run to Romsey via Wallan. I can report that we all had a 

good day and the Healey performed well for John. Over lunch he 

recounted stories of when he was a child in Tasmania and his father 

and a friend raced a red BN1. He remembered as a small child 

sleeping in the passengers foot well on the way home from a days 

racing and how warm it was! 

John made comment on how tractable the motor was and liked the feel 

of the steering. THe Holiday at the Healey factory last year must have 

had some benefit. 

For those of you who would like to read and view more photos I am told 

next month's UNIQUE CARS magazine will have a full article and 

hopefully a plug for our Club. 

May the HP be with you. 

Mike Snelgrove. 

Straight forward Male Logic this one: 

A wife asks her husband, "Could you please go shopping for me and buy one carton of milk, and if they have eggs, get 6!" 

A short time later the husband comes back with 6 cartons of milk. 

The wife asks him, "Why the hell did you buy 6 cartons of milk?" 

He replied, "They had eggs." 

(Women most probably won't understand this, so ask a man to explain it to you) 



One of the most elusive, little understood, but the most 

replicated Austin-Healey is the factory built 100/M. The 

difficulty is that these cars had no identifying numbers and 

the fact that it was also possible to have a kit retro fitted by 

the Donald Healey Motor Company at Warwick, or have a 

full or partial kit fitted by someone else, added to the 

dilemma. It is generally accepted that the factory built 640 

cars. 

Austin Distributors in South Melbourne imported a batch of 

6 examples of the factory built cars. I can account for 5 of 

these cars and it is interesting that although they arrived as 

a batch, their chassis numbers are over a range of 300. 

The car that was used as a demonstrator was a red/black 

car BN2 232128 which was registered GNS 814. This car 

also served as the daily drive for the Managing Director 

Laurie Purse, the father of our member Hugh, during the 

spring and summer of 1956. It was parked in the 

showroom during the day alongside the green/white 

100/M. Hugh has lasting memories of, when as a 12 year 

old, being driven in the 100/M to the family holiday home in 

the Dandenongs. This whetted his appetite to later 

purchase an Austin-Healey of his own. 

The car was eventually sold to Bruno Taverniti in 1957. 

This was his first car and he has some very fond memories 

of it. He recalls doing some silly things with the car but he 

never damaged it. His good friend Peter Mitchell, who 

owned two 100/6’s at the one time, always had one in the 

panel shop as a result of trying to keep up with him. He 

found that he had to fit new rings after 20,000 miles as the 

cold air box provided little protection from dust. He had 

one run with it up Templestowe Hillclimb, which must have 

been an Inter- Club Meeting as I couldn’t find any results 

for that event. He had the opportunity of buying the 

Drysdale 100/S, but made the mistake of telling his friend 

Terry Valmorbida about it, and the next time he went to see 

Terry there was the 100/S parked outside his home. The 

100/S continued to be used as a daily driver, but Terry did 

enter the car at Albert Park where he shared the driving 

with Paul Hawkins. Bruno recalls that Paul was 14 seconds 

a lap faster than Terry. The car was damaged in practice 

when it hit the hay bales. Bob Baker worked on it 

overnight and had it ready race the next morning. 

Bruno kept the 100/M for 12 months before trading it in on 

a Porsche Speedster. 

The next owner was Ken Pitts, who ran a small 

engineering works in Eltham. Ken continued to use the car 

on the road, but he also used it in competition over the 

next 18 months. 

At the September 1960 climb at Rob Roy, Ken briefly held 

the Class Record, only to have it broken later in the day by 

Bill Lucas in the XK150 Jaguar. 

During the period of owning the Austin Healey, Ken bought 

the ex Tony Gaze Alta 2 Litre Monoposto. By now this car 

was tired from many years of racing, so Ken fitted an 

Austin-Healey engine, Jaguar rear end and Peugeot front 

end, and raced the car as an Austin Special. 

At Hepburn Springs in May 1961 it was reported that –“The 

final entrant for the first run was Ken Pitts, the culprit for 

the long delay. Having his first hill run of the big Alta, Ken 

crossed his arms at the critical moment and obliterated the 

finish timing stand and came very close to obliterating an 

Official. Luckily only the car and the timing suffered any 

real damage. 

18 

AUSTIN-HEALEYS THAT RACED IN AUSTRALIA 

Ken Pitts at Tarrawingee 

The delay while the timing was reinstated took the better 

part of 80 minutes and the organizers reluctantly advised 

drivers that time remained for only two climbs”. Ken sold 

this car during 1961. 

At the April 1961 Meeting at Rob Roy Ken entered his 

XK150 Jaguar, and it was at the September 1961 Meeting 

that Ken again entered his XK150 Jaguar.“ Ken Pitts 

easily won the Over 2000cc Production Car Class from 

Keith Stedwell’s big Healey. Handling the XK with skill he 

steadily improved on his times through the day to finish on 

31.96 seconds, almost a full second better than Stedwell 

who frightened himself with a second run spin on Skyline”. 

The Stedwell car was a 100/6 which has been owned by 

Colin Thomas since 1966. 

Ken also started to build a single seater racing car using 

an Austin-Healey engine. I believe this car ended up being 

used as a Bush Buggy around the paddocks of North 

Eltham before they were covered in houses. 

Ken Absolom from Heidelberg was the next owner and he 

only used it as a road car. Shortly after the Club was 

founded in 1967 David Rapley received a phone call from 

the family of Ken Absolom asking the Club to find an 

appropriate owner for the 100/M. 

Bob Allison at Lakelands Hillclimb 

One of our Members, Bob Allison, had just bought a BN1 

which turned out to be a bad choice. David and I agreed 

that Bob would be a suitable owner for the 100/M, so David 

got the two parties together. The car had been sitting for a 

while and needed minor work to get it back on the road. It 

was reregistered KBM 429. 


Our judgment proved to be correct as Bob kept the car for 

nearly 30 years, used it sparingly, gave it an occasional run 

in Club events, and always kept it in top condition. 

Bob Allison at an Inter-Club Sprint at Sandown 

In 1995 Bob sold the car to Ken Brown from Tasmania in, 

who then had the Healey Factory commence a restoration. 

The car was sold before it was completed and John 

Sheppard finished it off. 

RACING HISTORY 

Fishermans Bend May 1959 3rd 

Rob Roy June 1959 33.53 sec 

Geelong Sprints August 1959 18.00 sec 

Rob Roy September 1959 32.52 sec 

Hepburn Springs February 1960 37.64 sec 

Rob Roy April 1960 32.25 sec 

Phillip Island Easter 1960 Class win 

Geelong Sprints August 1960 17.77 sec 

Phillip Island September 1960 Retired 

Rob Roy September1960 30.71 sec 

Rob Roy November 1960 31.24 sec 

Tarrawingee November 1960 1 st 

Iain McPherson 

He then sold it to Paul Samuels from Bowral in New South 

Wales in December 1998. The car now shared a stable 

with other desirable sports cars owned by Paul. Paul 

founded Wakefield Park Motor Racing Circuit and raced a 

Berkley B105 back in the days when Ross Bond was 

racing his 3000. Unfortunately the impact of an old motor 

racing injury at Warwick Farm in the 1960’s started to 

prevent Paul climbing into his sports cars, so in 2003 he 

sold them all off. In recent times Paul has had a 

successful operation on his back, so he went out and 

bought himself another Austin- Healey, but this time it was 

a BN1. 

The 100/M has found a new home, but still in Bowral. 

Another of the first 6 100/M’s also resides in Bowral, so I 

imagine the main street of Bowral could be quite 

interesting on a Saturday morning. Of further interest is 

that these are the two cars that shared the Austin 

Distributors showroom as new cars back in 1956. 


20 

Retired Old Farts & Wannabe's 

2nd Thursday every Month - Meet at 10.15am for a 10.30 sharp departure 

What you need to know; 

This is an official AHOC activity. 

We drive on the 2nd Thursday of each month. 

We drive for about 1½ hours, plus lunch and other stops. We aim to drive North, East, West and South… 

turnabout. 

We use Free/Tollways whenever possible to get out of town - eTAG! 

Meeting points; 

North - Excelsior Hotel Motel, Cnr Mahoneys & Edgars Rds Thomastown - meet at 10:15am for a 10:30 

departure 

Northern runs arranged by Mike Snelgrove - 0418 320 524 

East - Kilsyth Club car park, Cnr Canterbury & Colchester Rds - meet at 10:15am for a 10:30 departure 

Easterly runs arranged by Warren Gartner - 0418 536 350 

West - McDonalds, Western Hwy & Westwood Dve (Melway 25 A6) - meet at 10:15am for a 10:30 departure 

Westerly runs - Mike Snelgrove - 0418 320 524. 

South - Basketball Centre car park - Stud Rd and Monash F'way - meet at 10:15am for a 10:30 departure 

Southerly runs - Arthur Tuckett - 0418 105 627 

Now…..the "big picture" stuff; 

Visitors with "other" cars are welcome. 

If it's not Healey weather….bring a tin top! 

This is not just a boy's day out. 

Send drive suggestions to the appropriate organizer above. 

If you want to go a bit faster than the guy in front - overtake him and have fun. 

We obey the road laws……yet we still have fun! 



ROF RUN EAST 

Thursday August 11 th 

With a weather forecast for the day, cold winds, rain and a top of 16 o I looked towards the hills – knowing that was where 

we were heading - and the question- “to take the Healey or not?“. After a phone conversation with Bill Metcalf we both 

decided to be smart and opted for the sedans. I then started feeling guilty – "not another Healey run without the Healy" - 

so the decision was made to take the Healey -with a compromise to leave the hood on. So I was surprised when arriving 

at our meeting point to see Bill already there – also with his Healey. The true Healey spirit prevailing! It wasn’t too long 

before more cars started arriving. Don & Nancy McCracken the only others in a Healey – they must have known 

something we didn’t about the day as their hood was down!!!!! In all we had 3 x Healeys 2 x E type Jaguars 1x Porsche 1 

x Mazda convertible & Gordon & Elaine in the very new, very smart, very red BMW 2 door coupe. 

Bends, bends and more bends was the theme for the drive! After heading to the hills and Monbulk we then navigated our 

way towards Yellingbo- Woori Yallock then into Healsville, The sun had decided to appear and we settled in for a 

pleasant drive through the countryside & lots of bends– to the delight of most of the guys – but not so some of the 

women! From Healesville we traveled to Kinglake (good to see the new growth on the trees after the fires) then more 

bends – steep and sharp, through to St. Andrews, Panton Hills Christmas Hills and onto the Melba highway and a good 

stretch of straight road – well almost - to our luncheon venue. – after a rather long and interesting drive!! 

The Croydon Golf Club - our lunch venue - is set in the beautiful Yarra Valley with sweeping views across the Golf course 

to the Hills. Lunch was in the Bar/Bistro (they also have a Dining Room) A long table against the window had been set 

enabling us to make the most of the views – and with the sun streaming through the windows, good food and lively 

conversation and the odd wine or two, the day finished on a very relaxing note. 

Warren Gartner 

PS Don’t forget next Month’s ROF Run out West 

UNBELIEVABLE BUT TRUE - FROM A WASHINGTON DC TRAVEL AGENT 

A US Senator, called and had a question about the documents she needed in order to fly to China . After a lengthy 

discussion about passports, I reminded her that she needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and 

never had to have one of those. 

I double checked and sure enough, her stay required a visa. When I told her this she said, ''Look, I've been to China four 

times and every time they have accepted my American Express!'' 

Yes folks - these people run a country! - and they breed! 

22 



24 

FOR SALE 

1990 Porsche 944S2 Cabriolet 

Black, Ttravelled only 135540 kms. 

Car has been well maintained and is in excellent condition. 

New Hood, New Koni rear shockers, Front Shockers overhauled, Front disc rotors replaced, Gearbox reconditioned, 

Radiator removed and cleaned, Air conditioner regased, Wheels repaired and painted, Power Steering hose replaced, 

Numerous maintenance items performed. 

$25.000.00 

Gordon Lindner, 9707 1294 or 0418 540 920 

100/4 parts 

A70 Head with valves and springs 

A90 Head (NCT) 

Sonic extractors 

Gear box casings with some gears and attachments 

1x Laygears new never used 

Crankshaft with mains bearing caps and matched conrods and gudgeon pins 

Camshaft with sprockets timing chain and cover 

Original 100/ 4 rocker cover 

Front suspension components upper wishbones and shockers lower wish bones springs and plates 

3x swivel pins 

4.1 diff with 4 stud rear axles 

steering column support 

Horn rod 

Steering box housing 

Oil pump and oil filter unit 

New Kilmartin 6 volt battery support with clamp holders 

2x rear springs with receipt for retensioning 

Steering idler 

Bonnet catch 

2x carby inlet manifolds 

Box of SU carby components 1½ and 2 inch 

4 wire wheels 

Dynamo 

Tachometer gear 

Numerous overdrive and electrical components and body parts 

John Stearne 98171052 or 0418 549 620 

100/4 crankshaft 10 thou under standard size and has been machined for the denis welch rear seal,ready to use 

$1800.00 ono. 

Pair of HS6 1-3/4” SU carbies $350.00 ONO 

Ralph Fletcher 0418 567218 

Mark Ingham 0411259229 

BN1 Austin Healey Parts for Sale 

Original inlet manifold with carburettors/air cleaners. After-market extractors, generator and starter motor $ 400 

Diff assembly brake drum to brake drum with 4.1 diff $ 400 

Diff centre 4.1 only 56,000 miles $ 300 

Diff centre 3.9 $ 400 

100-6 

Fibre glass bonnet new $ 120 

Front bumper bar assembly $ 220 

Ross Chilianis Phone 97812668 

BN2 Gear box serial Number I 4690 casting Number AEO 3174 the disc on the top is stamped Type C26A The bell 

housing is off a BN4 with linkage to convert to Hydraulic clutch. The gear box came with a BN1 I purchase and restored 

using the BN1 gear box and is not required by me. I was advised the gear box had been reconditioned. There is no Over 

Drive $1200.00 

Keith Bailey on 07 3351 5362 or keithbailey5@bigpond.com 

C/Over Reconditioned clutch bell housing fitted with modified First Motion Shaft seal & re-bushed clutch fork. 

Suits BN4, BN6, BN7,BT7 ( allside shift Healey’s )Price $180.00 

Bruce Dixon on 9511-6097 

WANTED 

Healey 100/4 tacho assembly & tail shaft. 

Serviceable parts or information appreciated. 

Garry Fitridge 0357522560 or 0432793748 or mfitridge@bigpond.com 

SOLD IT OR FOUND IT? Please let me know Ed 


A.C.N. 006 848 362 

646 Whitehorse Road, Mitcham, Vic 3132 Ph: (03) 9872 3900 Fax: (03) 9872 4445 

E-MAIL: healeyfactory@redcentre.com WEBSITE: www.healeyfactory.com.au 

Keith Louie BN2 

CAR SALES SERVICE RESTORATION SPARE PARTS 

DMD Australia manufactures high quality components for Austin Healey engines. 

The company’s range has been developed to extract performance improvements while maintaining maximum 

reliability for both competition and road use. All new products are subjected to extensive dyno and 

competition testing prior to release. 

www.healeyfactory.com.au

September - Austin Healey Owners Club of Victoria

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