DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Look away now unless old British iron floats your boat.
After I sold my 911 I spend ages agonising about what to get next, I didn't want another 13 year Project and Ive been lucky enough to have a wide range of classics over the years so nothing really jumped out at me. I have an enormous love of the style of the 50's though and somehow identify with that period in terms of motor racing and gentle man drivers. I wanted competition heritage but not scary driving experience. I wanted basic agricultural engineering and sensible parts prices. It also needed to be moderately tunable and have a pretty good following for support.
In the end I bought an Austin Healey 100/6 . Its a short lived model between the 100 and 3000. I chose a 2 plus 2 BN4 on the basis of price and availability over the rarer BN6 which is a 2 seater. The BN 6 is a bit prettier but the price differential wasn't worth it to me and I always run a tonneau cover anyway .
The car was a driver needing improvement but nothing drastic. Best of all a new Dennis Welch chassis, hardly any rust a Rawles motorsport engine ( later with more power) uprated Girling Type 15 front brakes and good history.
I drove it for a year and loved it plus Mrs H also thinks its beautiful. The Club scene is a bit sniffy in the uk over modified cars and not as receptive to new comers as some but as ever if one seeks out a few key people information and support is there in spades, also States is a good source for info'.
I did a year of suspension strip up-rating and refurb with poly bushes anti roll bars anti tramp bars, negative camber front end, an lsd, a panhard rod etc I also fitted an oil cooler,uprated radiator and ducting a coolant recovery system oil catch tank and Dennis Welch filter. He already has an alloy head, big valves, twin 1 3/4 SU's, fast road cam all balanced with lots of other goodies....
I fixed a bit of rust in the drivers footwell and since the carpet was out decided on a full body paint as there's hardly any trim in a de bumpered Healey anyway .
So 6 Months ago I took "Harry" over to Mike Thomas at Mistyle in Weymouth. Mike has quietly been building a reputation for good quality traditional painting and body work amongst the local classic car folks here in Dorset, one look at his website will show you what I mean. I knew straight away Mike would get me and what I wanted , repairs and body work not just the default to new panels. We agreed a re-paint in the original black but in base and clear . Oh boy did he deliver ...the snaps below are in his workshop I'll do some more when I have time in the sun. I've had the seats modified and re-trimmed in Matador red hide, the rest of the interior will follow, the wheels too will be finished in dark red.
So not a predictable rally rep but a real fast road Healey for every day.....I hope .




Hope you like

Andy

We definitely like


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Yup....like...
More please....

You can't resit can you Andy?

All the old Brit stuff is great, much loved and very good parts support in the UK.
A friend a few years ago 'left' club motorsport after 40 years of his life and bought a TR7, 54K miles from new, never seen a winter road, beautiful condition car.
He found the TR club(s) very iffy, and distinct camps of "it's not a TR 3/3A/4/4A/ 5/6" so you are not one of us. So stuck up British.

Still has the car, just doesn't go to the Triumph events.

I hope my 73T comes back that shiny in 6 months time.
Look forward to more pics and info.

About time Andy !

Looking forward to more of the story ...

Looks lovely and a nice host of performance mods. I have one also that's in the queue, after the 912, oh and after the 944 that's nearly done.

Thanks chaps. I'll try to keep a thread running . Those who know me will recognize some of my input . I've made oil cooler duct inlets, rivited reinforcing at stress or stressed points on the alloy aprons. Couldn't resist nice dural towing eyes. I modified the driver seat to a deeper fixed back style. I've got a host of other tweeks to come too.....photos to follow..
The question is number roundels or not....I fancy hand sign written ones with a dark red pinline....too much ..??

At last!!

Nice one Andy - looks very cool and keep the pics coming.

I like the roundels as you suggest - if you get them done as decals you can always peel them off later if you change your mind

Interesting read and your carburettors are 2" HD8s from a MK3

In the sixties we used to go to Castle Combe and watch local racer John Chatham win or bin it fairly regularly and not surprisingly we started visiting his garage in the Gloucester Rd in Bristol. John was a lunatic on and off the road, a boozer, he liked the ladies and was always being banned for speeding or reckless driving. He was a hell of a nice chap and so my father bought a Healey, I did and so did my wife. We weren't married then, but she'd been given a Triumph Herald for her twenty first and John was happy to take it as a part ex. A year later we married and a year after that it was exchanged for an E Type because the row in the Healey made conversation impossible.

That was 1971 and I hadn't considered another until I was at a car show a few years ago when I spotted John Chatham leaning against an ice blue over old English White MK 11A, my favourite model. So I bought it. It wasn't a bad car, but it needed worked and it was slow. The plan was to visit the wife's sister in France with it, but it needed work and by the time it was done, she was too ill to travel in it and I bought the neighbour's shopping car, a Boxster for the trip.

My wife died last year and as a distraction from all the trauma that goes with these things I bought a BJ8 engine and, with the help of a local tuner and an ex BMC could competition dept head man, we gasflowed it as the works cars were done, balanced everything and had Piper supply tappets and reprofile the cam to standard BJ8. Two hundred miles later my son announced that he and his wife would like to borrow it for a holiday. He's still got it! They did 2,400 miles around Europe in ten days including driving it over the Alps and through Turin an Milan, back up through Switzerland etc. All without overdrive because the cheaper spares for Brit cars are often rubbish as was the solenoid. He had to cruise at 4000rpm!

Anyway I apologise for drifting off, but I'm glad there's another Healey owner on here, they are agricultural compared to a Porsche, but they're also a surprisingly good touring car and everybody seems to love them wherever you go. People, clap, smile, wave, crowd round them and it's impossible to park anywhere without lengthy conversations with people who love them had them or wanted one. It's quite extraordinary. It's a weird home made car but a Brit ikon and one of the most loved IMO.

I hope you have lots of fun with yours and that we see plenty of photos.

Ash

On a track day at spa a few years ago, after I'd been out on the track for quite a while I felt I was getting my speed up and doing nicely. On the corner before Pouhon I was going round at what I thought was a good speed when a racing Healey came past me on the outside on three wheels and disappeared into the distance. So agricultural doesn't need to mean slow.

They make an incredible noise and are very competitive in historic racing. Here's Marc Campfield.

https://youtu.be/UD7TjvMkHK0

Those of you familiar with early fifties cops and robbers TV programs might remember Wolesleys, not the Poirot ones, but the ones that look like big Morris Minors with a Wolesley grill. These had a Morris designed 2.2 litre OHC six cylinder engine that was very troublesome. Austin had designed the A and B Series engines and they were crude if reliable. Reluctantly Morris was asked to design the C Series and they were determined not to repeat the errors in their previous six and to make a better more powerful engine than the A and B Series. Thus it was that the truly rugged and massive 2.6 litre six appeared, all 611 lbs of it and 84bhp! They last for ever.

Now with a few mods they get 270+BHP but they don't tick over very well as you'll see in the video.

Personally, not at all a fan of racing rounders on road cars, but certainly can add to the look ESP if bumper less etc and a ride height with attitude!

Looks amazing Andy!

You still in the same place?

Thanks chaps , great stories. Yes I did mean 2 inch SU's. JC does some great cars, Im very taken with his 3000S especially the grille treatment. But Mrs H likes the original ...KJ yes still in the same place.
I borrowed a trailer front Alan at Canford and Brought the Healey home today. Very pleased with the paint exactly as I wanted . Got a lot of cleaning to do now as the paint shop dust does tend to spread . I think a spray down with some truck wash and a gentle rinse will do it though. Once it's clean again the refit will start. I'm going to aim to get driving and finish the interior and wheel paint etc over the winter.ad well as attend to a few oil leaks around the over drive ..