By John Sprinzel Rallying great Donald Morley and his wife Val (Domleo) visited our little island of Molokai recently. Don and his twin brother Erie were probably the fastest of the Healey works drivers of the ’60s. Valerie successfully co-drove for several of the top ladies, including Pat Moss and Rosemary Smith. In 1961, the…
I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sleep alone Sweep the streets I used to roam — From Viva La Vida by Coldplay I spend way…
Then as now, the places available to drive a sports car flat out are few and far between. As automotive production resumed following the cessation of hostilities in 1945, manufacturers were keen to gain publicity that could be used to push sales (particularly in the increasingly important North American market). During the Thirties, the press…
The Donald Healey Motor Company completed its first car immediately following the end of World War II and series production began with the Elliott saloon and Westland roadster in 1946. Both models were powered by the 2.4-liter Riley engine and featured a trailing arm independent suspension designed by Healey. In addition to the Elliott and…
There have been a lot of distressing items in the news lately about the future of the automobile as we know it and while we cannot predict with much accuracy what will transpire in the years to come, we are sure that it will be a different world from the one that we have known…
For six-cylinder Austin Healey roadsters At the second annual Moss British Car Festival this year I got asked by two separate Healey people, “How do you install the scuttle seals? I can find no information on how to do this task.” Well, they were right. There is no currently published set of instructions on how…
By John Sprinzel During my visit to Sugar Lake, Minnesota, for the Austin-Healey Club Conclave, it was a real delight to see a virtual armada of beautiful wooden-hulled Healey Speedboats at the meet. An even greater thrill was for fellow guest Bob Olthoff and I to be taken for a spin in John May’s immaculate…
A 30-year quest for the perfect time machine By Ken Smith Michael Grant is in charge of product management at Moss Motors, and he lusted after a Big Healey for the longest time. Seeing him drive into the Moss parking lot recently after his daily 45-mile commute from the Santa Ynez Valley, we decided to…
Over the years, Healeys have gotten a reputation for having a very hot cockpit. I’m here to argue that the reputation is undeserved, that heat in the interior is due to poor maintenance or careless restoration by previous owners, and that with some simple do-it-yourself repairs, you can correct this problem. The same solutions will…
(This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Donald Mitchell Healey, and as such, we would like to present an interview with him which Paul Chudecki undertook in 1986, and which gives an insight into the man responsible for those magnificent machines. Paul traveled down to Perranporth, Cornwall, to interview Donald just…
