Gateway Relay

Vol III, No. 8 St Louis Sports Car Council April 2014

Council News & Notes Up & Coming  As this issue of the Relay goes to 18 Apr 2014 – Third Friday Free Party, “From Hot Rods to Teslas,” 6-10 press, the area’s experiencing PM, Third Degree Glass Factory, 5200 Delmar Blvd (314)640-7392. Gearhead’s some of those classic Midwestern delight; Mr C will show the art of hot rod pin striping, sample free treats by St springtime thunderstorms and Louis Snowcone, see Teslas and learn about electric and converted vehicles. rain. Apparently it got so bad Snacks, live music, cash bar and more, see www.stlglass.com/ or call (314)367- Sunday morning, the Boeing 4527. Play with fire! Sports Car Club had to cancel its autocross at Family Arena; we’ll 18 Apr 2014 – Sonic Car Cruise, 1002 S Kirkwood (Kirkwood and Big Bend), run the make-up date as soon as hosted by Outsiders Car Club, every Friday through 31 October, 6-10 PM. All we get notification. makes and models welcome, attendance prizes, 50/50 drawing for The Wounded Warrior Project. Tends towards American heavy metal and rods, but the cars are  Adding to the festivities, temps entertaining. are dropping and some weather 19 Apr 2014 – Cars & Coffee returns! Starbucks Coffee at 9616 Manchester Rd, guessers are speculating on the Rock Hill Plaza, 8:15-10:15 AM. On Facebook at facebook.com/groups/ possibility of snow (!). stlmetrocarsandcoffee.  But, be of good cheer: St Louis is 19 Apr 2014 – Gateway Association Wash-Up/Tune-Up, traditional now fully into that time of year day before prep for the Forest Park Concours. 8 AM until whenever, bring some- when the schedule’s full, with thing to share, at Keith Bester’s garage, 115 N Sappington, Kirkwood. plenty of opportunities for sports and special interest car owners, 19 Apr 2014 – St Louis County Police Welfare Association Car Show & incorporating a wide range of BBQ. Registration 8 AM, $20 per car, awards/dash plaques/music, 50/50 draw- activities. ing. Proceeds benefit the St Louis Police Welfare Association, helping officers in need. At Mehlville High School, 3200 LeMay Ferry Rd.  For example, this coming week- end (19-20) is a big one: a auto- 20 Apr 2014 – 53rd Annual Forest Park Concours d’Elegance, sponsored by themed party at the Third Degree the Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri. Open to all cars 1989 or earlier, $25 per Glass Factory Friday night, the vehicle (judged) or $20 (displayed); recommend you pre-register and arrive no start of the 2014 season for Cars later than 11 AM, show ends at 4:30 PM. This year’s activities included two judg- & Coffee Saturday morning, plus ing seminars, more information including registration at www.hccmo.com/ the Gateway Healeys annual id14.html. The concours will also serve as the site of the 6th Annual British “Wash-Up/Tune-Up” in prepara- Leyland Attendance Challenge (aka the Triumph-MG Challenge). tion for the BIG annual HCCMO Forest Park Concours on Sunday. 21 Apr 2014 – MG Club of St Louis Tech Session, w/ John Mangles, All Brit- ish Car Repair, 2618 Woodson Rd. Topic TBD, monitor www.stlouismgclub.com/  Oh, and the weather forecast for events-calendar/. the 20th? Partly cloudy, 0 chance of precip and temperature of 69. 27 Apr 2014 – St Louis Region SCCA Solo No. 1, Gateway Motorsports Park. We’ll see everyone on the lot at Info at http://stlsolo.org/node/98. the Muny. (Continued on page 2)

Note: Some club driving events restrict participation to club members only, primarily for national/chapter insurance reasons. If interested in joining in on a drive or other event, we recommend you contact the club’s event coordinator in advance for details.

In Print The March/April 2014 edition of Road & Track’s cover article is titled “The 51 Cool- est Cars.” Look inside and you’ll see a list which includes multiple Brit cars including a Jaguar E-Type Series I 4.2 coupe, along with a lot of exotics and classics. March’s Classic & Sports Car offers up a buyer’s guide to the MG RV8 (“Affordable,

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Up and Coming (Continued from page 1)

27-30 Apr 2014 – South Central VTR Regional, The Elms Spa & Hotel, Excelsior Springs, hosted by the Kansas City Tri- umph Club, Events include welcome reception, funkhana, gimmick rallye, autocross, model/craft show, dinner run and partici- pants’ choice concours. Several area attractions. Info and registration at http://kansascitytriumphs.com/Registration%20-% 202014%20VTR%20South%20Central%20Regional.htm. 3-4 May 2014 – St Louis County Air Show, featuring the US Navy Blue Angels and STEM (Science-Technology- Engineering-Math) Expo, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Spirit of St Louis Airport, 18270 Edison Ave, Chesterfield. Should be/might be some interesting cars there but hey, it’s the Blues! Info at www.spirit-airshow.com/.

4 May 2014 – St Louis Region SCCA Solo No. 2, Family Arena, St Charles. Info at http://stlsolo.org/node/98. 10 May 2014—JAGSL Tour of the Melvin Price Lock & Dam. On the Mississippi south of Alton, with a personalized tour of the facility. Meet at the Creve Coeur Plaza parking lot, southeast corner of Ballas and Olive; leave at 9:45, tour starts at 11 AM sharp, followed by lunch at Castelli’s in Alton. Please RSVP to Tom at [email protected]. 10 May 2014 – Boeing Sports Car Club autocross, Family Arena, St Charles, $35 for six runs, show about 9 AM. Con- tact Racer Steve at [email protected] for details and to get on the event email list. 10 May 2014 – Spring Fling & Car Corral, O’Fallon, IL. Hosted by Gateway Classic Cars, 9 AM to 5 PM at 1237 Central Park Drive, benefits Shriners Hospital for Children. For info, call Ashley Rodgers (618)271-3000. 16 May 2014—6th Annual Critical Days of Summer Car Show, Scott AFB. At the Base Exchange parking lot, all cars and motorcycles welcome, trophies will be presented for both stock and modified vehicles. NOTE: Military ID or DoD con- tractor ID card required for access to the base and the show. For info and registration, contact Staff Sgt Spring Philpott, [email protected] or (618)256-6311. 16-17 May 2014 – Heart of America Jaguar Club Concours d’Elegance, Crown Center Square, KCMO. Info at www.jcna.com/clubs/main.php?club=sc16&Vref=sc16. 17 May 2014 – Cars & Coffee. Starbucks Coffee at 9616 Manchester Rd, Rock Hill Plaza, 8:15-10:15 AM. On Facebook at facebook.com/groups/stlmetrocarsandcoffee. 17 May 2014 – Gateway VCOA Missouri Route 66 Tour, details to follow, in the meantime monitor www.sites.google.com/site/gatewayvcoa/. 18 May 2014 – SLTOA Drive to the 62nd Annual Hermann Maifest. Rambling country drive to Hermann, followed by fun and food. Meet at the Wildwood Dierbergs, 2460 Taylor Rd, 10 AM departure. Monitor www.sltoa.org for more info. 18 May 2014 – St Louis Region SCCA Solo No. 3, Gateway Motorsports Park. Info at http://stlsolo.org/node/98. 18 May 2014 – 3rd Annual Salute to the Troops Car Show, VFW Post 5077, 8500 Veterans Memorial Parkway, O’Fallon, MO. Registration at 9 AM, trophies at 3 PM, proceeds to VFW’s Veterans In Need support fund. 50/50 drawing, dash plaques, food and drinks available. For info call (636)795-8268. 29-31 May 2014 – British National Meet, Hot Springs, AR. Large number of events, banquet featuring legendary racing driver/author Denise McCluggage as guest speaker. So far clubs from 12 states are sending contingents; more information and registration now online at www.britishnationalmeet.com/. 30 May 2014—Federal Mogul/Moog Automotive Technical Education Center Grand Opening and Car Show, 3186 Riverport Tech Center Dr, Maryland Heights, 4 to 8 PM. No entry fee, just for fun, all makes and models invited. Food and soft drinks available. 31 May-1 Jun 2014 – Champagne British Car Festival. Hosted by the Illinois Flat Land British Car Club, featured marque this year is the Austin-Healey. Events included a cruise, dinner, dawn patrol on Saturday and the car show at the David Davis Mansion. Info including online registration at www.cbcf-bloomington.com/. Jun 2014 – Annual JAGSL Veteran’s Home and Fast Eddies Run, details to follow. 1 Jun 2014 – St Louis European Auto Show, presented by Audi West County. Plaza Frontenac, vendors and sponsor set-up at 8 AM, participant set-up 10-11 AM. Proceeds benefit the St Louis Shriners Hospital for Chil- dren. Entry form now online at http://stleuropeanautoshow.com/. 1 Jun 2014 – St Louis Region SCCA Solo No. 4, Gateway Motorsports Park. Info at http://stlsolo.org/node/98. 5-8 Jun 2014 – 6th Annual Midwest Se7ens Gathering. Gathering of Lotus Sevens, Caterhams and similar in Cuba, MO, with plenty of driving opportunities over twisting two-lane roads, other activities. All are welcome to join the group for fun and games, for more information keep an eye on www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=15697&hilit=2014+midwest. 6 Jun 2014 – 25th Annual Heartland MG Regional, English Landing Park, Parkville, MO. Victoria British, Ltd, serves as senior sponsor; Friday night cookout at the host hotel, La Quinta Inn & Suites, 6901 NW 83rd St, Kansas City. Car staging Saturday 8 to 9 AM, trophies awarded at 3 PM. Proceeds will go to Paws For Freedom, training assistance dogs. Info at www.heartlandmgregional.com/. St Louis Car Shows and Cruises: http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/lakerscarclub.

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Roadwork: The Last Healeys

In January 1931, a youngish, up and the Healey SR2L and designed by Barry Bilbie with Donald coming former Royal Flight Corps bomber Healey’s son Geoff serving as chief engineer, the car was origi- pilot, combat wounded veteran and garage nally called the “Sub Rosa” (Roman for “under the rose,” ie, owner startled the competition world by something done in secret). It featured a 2-liter Coventry-Climax taking the 10th Annual Monte Carlo Rally in V8 with 5-speed Hewland gearbox, as well as parts from multi- only his third attempt at the legendary ple other makes, including the windshield from a Lola T70 (the event. The driver was Donald Mitchell car did look something like a cross between a T70 coupe and Healey; he co-drove a 4.5-liter Invicta with Alfa Romeo T33-2). Lewis Pearce. Healey had made his first Monte Carlo run in 1929 and placed fifth in a Triumph 7. He shifted to Invicta in 1930 and while he didn’t place at Monte Carlo, he took the Alpine Cup – as the only Brit to com- pete – and scored a sixth-place finish in July’s Vienna to Hun- gary Alföld-Alpenfahr. In 1932, Healey finished second at Monte Carlo and took the 5000cc class in the Mont de Mules Hillclimb. With Healey’s success came demands for his services as a competition driver. He sold the garage (and his sideline car hire – ie rental – business) and moved to Riley in Midlands, where he assumed responsibility for forming a works rally team. Following an immediate series of successes, including a 1-2-3 team sweep of the Scottish Rally in June 1933, he hired on with Triumph as the company’s “Experimental Man- The Healey SR2L at Le Mans, 1968. Photo by John Colley. ager” before moving up to chief engineer and technical direc- At Le Mans at the end of September, the car – driven by An- tor. Employing his engineering and design skills, Healey led drew Hedges and Clive Baker – managed three hours and 20 the development of several classic prewar Triumphs, including laps before the clutch bearing and gearbox packed it in (as an the Southern Cross, Gloria and Dolomite 8. aside, a Sprite Le Mans entered by DHMC and driven by Brit Following World Roger Enever and Irishman Alec Poole finished 15th). War II, Donald For 1969, Healey removed the twin rear-mounted radiators Healey joined with and replaced them with a single radiator up front. Sure enough chassis designer the car, this time driven by Clive Baker and Jeff Harris, blew a Achille Sampietro head gasket after some track debris blocked the nose radiator and designer to intake. The car managed 14 laps in four hours before exiting. build his own cars under the title of Healey tried one more time, in 1970, with a lengthened, open the Donald Healey Healey Silverstone. Photo: Conceptcarz. -top SR fitted with a Brabham-Repco 3-liter V8 and redesig- Motor Company. nated the X37. Drivers Hedges and Enever overcame a series The year 1947 brought the release of the Healey Elliott saloon of problems, including an accident and more clutch and trans- and Healey Westland roadster. The cars immediately proved mission glitches and at one point climbed to 10th place; how- effective and popular in completion, as did their successors, ever, with 264 laps down and only 14 minutes left in the race, the 1949 Healey Silverstone, 1950 Healey Tickford saloon and the car’s ignition system failed. collaborative efforts with Riley, Alvis and America’s Nash Mo- The SR X37 wound up in Australia; the parts removed to cre- tors Company. ate the vehicle were combined with new components by an- The Austin-Healey, of course, served as the ultimate col- other buyer to create a second SR2L, which Donald Healey laboration and as one of the truly legendary, best-loved British gladly certified. Brian Wheeler of England then built a third sports cars. Following its debut at the 1952 London Motor SR2L from photos and some engineering diagrams, using a 3.5 Show at Earls Court as the Healey 100, the car went into pro- -liter Rover V8, the transmission out of a Renault 30 and MG duction as the Austin-Healey 100…and almost immediately steering gear, among other components. entered competition, starting with a two-car entry in April The SR2L marked the last pure-race Jensen product al- 1953’s Mille Miglia. though obviously, the Jensen Healey (1972-1975) saw plenty Remarkably, Austin-Healey 100s (and their variants) and of track time, particularly the cars modified by Joe Huffaker and 3000s remained active in international competition and na- Huffaker Engineering for D-Production SCCA racing. Lee tional events into the early 1970s and the type is still highly Mueller took the national DP championship at the first season popular in vintage racing. However, as the Healey faithful are and followed up with a second title in 1974. Twenty years later, all too aware, the Big Healey went out of production in early Bruce Qvale and Joe Huffaker Jr managed to take the SCCA’s 1968, the victim of both increasing safety and pollution regu- E Production Championship with a Jensen Healey. lations and the consolidation/”rationalization” of the struggling So was the Jensen Healey the last Healey? Naaah…the last British auto industry. As for the smaller Sprite, export to the production Healey, undoubtedly, but not the last of the brand. United States of the Mk IV ended in 1969 and in 1971, British The last car to actually carry the Healey name and emblem Leyland cut all ties to the Donald Healey Motor Company. was, believe it or not, an exceedingly small Ford. The demise of the Austin-Healey and formal conclusion of During the late 1970s Detroit motorcycle/sports car enthusi- the association with BL didn’t end DHMC’s road racing efforts. ast and marketing/PR guru Gary Kohs went to FOMOCO with a In 1968, the company developed a prototype sports racer spe- cifically for a run at the Le Mans 24-Hour race. Designated (Continued on page 4)

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Roadwork (Continued from page 3) Ford ultimately put the car up for sale and it went through several owners before winding up with Bob Sequi of the San proposal for a “Ford Cooper” based on the German-built Diego Austin-Healey Club. As for Gary Kohs, he made one Ford Fiesta. In order to make something of the rather unas- more go at with a “Healeyized” variant of the Escort, although suming economy car, Kohs proposed a partnership with the this time around Donald and Geoff Healey provided technical Donald Healey Motor Company. After review and negotiations, advice and authorization to use their name in association with the Healeys signed on and Ford commissioned a demonstra- the project; they didn’t do any actual work on the two cars tion vehicle. which resulted. Notably, contractors managed to produce two prototype Healey-Escorts which proceeded to run quite well in The Healeys received the car at Warwick and applied multiple a couple of SCCA pro rallies. However, in the end, Ford Mo- body and engine modifications, including some contributions by tor Corporation decided to “sport up” the new small car Broadspeed. They removed all of the smog gear from the 1.6- through turbo charging. liter engine, added different pistons and a Ford “Mexico” head from the European Escort – which boosted compression from T h u s 8.5:1 to 10.1:1 – replaced the stock carb with a 2-barrel Weber ended the 32/36m and installed a hotter cam. The mods pushed horse- sale – ac- power from 66 to an “official” 80 bhp although the Healeys tual or pro- maintained it could actually achieve 106 bhp. Suspension posed – of modes included lowered springs and Koni shocks. H e a l e y - m o d i f i e d Out came the rear seat, replaced by a substantial roll bar and vehicles in the spare tire. DHMC also added improved bucket seats and a the United Donald and Geoffrey Healey. Photos: The Western Motolito steering wheel. They painted the car green with yellow S t a t e s . Morning News (left) and Austin.Healey3000.ch. pinstripes and added 13-inch Minilites, a step up from the Fi- D o n a l d esta’s stock 12-inch steel wheels. Healey, CBE, member of the International Motorsports Hall of Unfortunately, the project came to ye Fame and the Automotive Hall of Fame, passed on 13 Janu- crashing halt immediately after completion ary 1988 in Truro, Cornwall, at age 89. Besides operating of the prototype vehicle, when Ford ended Healey Automotive Consultants, Geoff worked as develop- importation of the Fiesta to the States in ment engineer with BLMC Ltd/ through retirement favor of an Americanized Escort (and we all in 1987. With Geoff’s death on 29 April 1994, at age 71, own- remember what a fine car the first American ership and management of Healey Automotive Consultants Escort was, right?). Still, the Healey Fiesta passed to his widow Margot and daughters Cecelia and Kate. made the car show rounds and Road & Then again, the name still periodically crops up in the form Track featured it in the magazine’s August of a proposal or a rumor, such as BMW’s 2001 “Warwick” pro- 1979 issue. ject, or the 2006 proposal by HFI Ltd/ Healey Automobile Con- Writer Jeff Koch, sultants and Nanjing Automobile Corporation to produce a in an article in Hem- new Healey 3000. In 2011 a wholly separate company, mings Sports & Ex- Healey Sports Cars Switzerland, proposed production of an otic, stated: updated Jensen Interceptor. The Fiesta Keep your scorecards handy; apparently, the Healey saga was always an isn’t quite over yet. eager revver,

but the Healey modifications Sources: Craig Fitzgerald, “Donald Healey,” Hemmings have created some actual power to go along with the Sports & Exotic Car, April 2006; Healey Museum, “The Healey revs. Idle settles in at 1,400 rpm, and a chatty mechani- SR: the story of the last Healey at Le Mans,” n.d.; Peter Ca- cal thrum lets you know that there's serious work going hill, “The Big Green Machine,” Octane, January 2008; “The on under the hood...As you climb the revs, there's plenty Last Healey,” Retro-Speed, www.retro-speed.co.uk; Jeff of noise inside the cabin, but it's a purposeful noise, not Koch, “Healey Fiesta,” Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car, Sep- a blatty din that drives you out of your skull, and this tember 2006; “The Healey Fiesta and Healey Escort,” The (combined with the Fiesta's petite dimensions) gives the Austin Healey Club, Ltd, www.austinhealeyclub.com/ impression of greater speeds than you may actually be newpages/fiesta.html; “Austin Healey 100,” Austin Memories, achieving. A 17-second quarter-mile is sluggish by to- www.austinmemories.com/page8/page21/page21.html; Rac- day's econobox standards, but considering the emis- ing Sports Cars, www.racingsportscars.com/; Martin Pfund- sions-soaked, low-tech times when the Healey Fiesta ner, Alpine Trials and Rallies: 1910 to 1973 (Poundbury, UK: appeared, it's a vast improvement over what the compe- Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2005); The Sprite Car Club, tition (and even Ford) was up to. It feels like it's got www.spritecarclub.com; Supercars.net; ConceptCarz.com; more. Tom Barnard, “Healey Set to Be Reborn?” Auto Express, January 2001; Andrew English, “Return of the Healey,” The Still, sports cars do not live by acceleration times (London) Telegraph, 28 January 2006; Jake Holmes, “Healey alone. There would have to be other tricks up its sleeve, Nameplate Resurrected,” Car & Driver, June 2007; Funk & naturally, and since it was tweaked by the Healeys, Wagnall’s. you'd be right in thinking these had to do with handling. Steering is quick, with no slop on center, and is a willing Want to build your own advocate toward the notion of aggressive cornering at Healey Fiesta? Fiestas potentially unwise velocities...It stays admirably flat in come up for sale periodi- the bends, with nearly all of the roll seemingly dialed cally, like this example in out. The cage and some suspension tweaks balance Mt Vernon, WA. Note things out nicely: There is understeer, but all in all, the the custom (!) exhaust Healey Fiesta is a lot more neutral than you'd expect and spray-painted from any late '70s front-drive econobox-based anything. wheels; only $900.

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Featured Events continued Early Spring Run Gateway Z Club—22 March 2014

Photos courtesy of Gateway Z Club

Afterword… Not surprisingly, following the introduction of the Datsun 240Z clubs started springing up all over the place. One of the earliest national groups to stand up was the Z Club of America. Accord- ing to ads in the “Car Clubs” section of Road & Track, two cars were eligible: the 240Z and the Honda Z600. Yup, a Honda, and one of the earliest models sold in the states. A modification of the N600 coupe, the Honda Z featured a 36hp, 598cc twin, “four in the firewall” manual transmission and 10 inch wheels. The car managed a top speed of about 73 mph and could do the quarter mile in 22 seconds (!). Sales in the US only ran from 1970 through 1972, in advance of the introduction of the Honda Civic. The example at left is on display at Frank Leta Honda, O’Fallon. Way cool, eh?

In Print (Continued from page 1) fast and fun”). The issue also contains “Swede Dream,” an article on the Ockelbo, a late 1950s effort to build a, well, Swedish Ferrari. Powered by a 4 cylinder Volvo, the car’s rather startling. Finally, for those who prefer their sports cars with cycle fend- ers and cut-down doors: a full-page ad for a 1938 Morgan 4/4 Le Mans, offered by Dick Lovett Sporting Limited, Swindon, Wilt- shire, for only £64,990 (~$108,710) The line forms at the right… 5

Featured Events

MoDot Transportation Management Center Gateway VCOA—13 March 2014

Photos courtesy of Gateway VCOA

Terry Fanning Memorial Rallye MG Club of St Louis—22 March 2014

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