A Salute to the Austin-Healey

BELLANCA AIRFIELD MUSEUM SHOW SALUTES Austin-Healey

By Don Mc Donald

Don Mc Donald in his 1962 Austin-Healey MK 3000 MK II Tri-Carb Roadster. He’s pictured here on his way to the Hagley Car Show. Mc Donald has owned this vehicle since 1971.

Here is a little history on the Austin-Healey, which will be the marque for this year’s car show at Bellanca Airfield Museum (2 Centerpoint Blvd., New Castle) on Sat., Sept. 11.

Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker established in 1952 through a joint venture between the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and the Donald Healey Motor Company (Healey), a renowned automotive engineering and design firm. Leonard Lord represented BMC and Donald Healey his firm.

BMC merged with Jaguar Cars in 1966 to form British Motor Holdings (BMH). Donald Healey left BMH in 1968 when it merged into British Leyland. Healey then joined Jensen Motors, which had been making bodies for the “Big Healeys” since their inception in 1952, and became their chairman in 1972. Austin-Healey cars were produced until 1972 when the 20-year agreement between Healey and Austin came to an end. The Austin-Healey was extensively raced by the Donald Healey Motor Company in Europe at Le Mans and at Sebring in the U.S., in classic rallies by the BMC competitions department, and was recognized from the very beginning by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Healey models raced in club racing in D, E, and F production classes, winning national championships in both D and E production. The last Big Healey to win an SCCA National Championship was the class E Production Austin-Healey 100-6 driven by Alan Barker at the Daytona ARRC in 1965.

In 1953, a special streamlined Austin-Healey set several land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

The name Austin is now owned by Nanjing, which bought the assets of MG Rover Group (British Leyland’s successor company) out of bankruptcy in 2005. After Donald Healey sold his original business, Donald Healey Motor Company, the Healey brand was registered to a new firm, Healey Automobile Consultants, which the Healey family sold to HFI Automotive in 2005.

I have owned my Healey since college. Only 5,-096 of the 1962 BT7 MK 3000 Mark II Tri Carb roadsters were produced. 1962 was the last year for the roadster where the top and side curtains come completely off. The tonneau cover protects the car from the elements. When caught in a rainstorm, the driver is exposed to the elements. The cover has a zipper between the two seats. If a passenger is not in the car, you can snap that side of the car and secure it. The rear trundle seats are also covered by the cover. The year 1963 was the first time the Austin-Healey became available with roll up windows and a convertible top — the BJ7 Model. When I get behind the wheel, I feel 25 again. The roar of the exhaust and winding through the gears is always a fun experience.

Thank you, Donald Healey, for designing such a fun car to drive and own.