This looks like fun!
Monthlery 2002 Austin Healey
Posts for January, 2009
Club donation
Our club through the Charity Committee donated $500 last year for the Vale High School Automotive Program to buy a specialized tool. Please check out their website to see what a wonderful program they offer to students. http://www.vale.k12.or.us/highschool/teachers/saunders/Saunders_home_page.html
Please notice that our club is mentioned on the teacher’s homepage.
Shameless self promotion – Doug Escriva
Hello Bob,
I thought I would pass this on to you for a little shameless self promotion.
Here’s a great looking ad for Superlite aluminum performance wheels both spline drive and bolt-on style. I can give you a great testimonial on their performance and style. The featured car is pretty cool too.
Click photo for larger view
Doug
Healey’s at Bonneville – update press release
The Story So Far!
We thought that our fellow Austin-Healey owners around the world would like to know how this amazing venture got off the ground and where it was at. So what better way to find out than to have a chat with Steve Pike who has his sleeves rolled up and with the assistance of his staff at Marsh Classic Restorations is actually reconstructing recreations of the cars that ran at Bonneville in 1954?
The name of Steve Pike would be familiar to most Austin-Healey owners, but just in case you have been on another planet for the last few decades a little introduction might be worthwhile.
Like so many of us Steve fell in love with the sensuous curves of the Austin-Healey during the swinging sixties. It was in a seaside resort town south of Melbourne, Australia when a black and red 100 went burbling by. A burning passion was ignited and continues to glow to the present day. It took a couple of years, but with the assistance of fiancée Helen, Steve found himself sitting behind the wheel of a BN2 – the first of many.
At the time Steve was working in the finance industry and during the 1970s found that he was spending more and more time working on his own cars and shortly the cars of friends. Soon a hobby was to turn into a business, for in 1980 Steve left the world of figures and started working full-time on the marque. Steve freely admits that the desire to become involved in the worldwide Austin-Healey scene, especially in the US was an added incentive.
Some twenty-nine years has gone by and Steve has lost count of the number of Austin-Healeys that have come and gone. In that time his name has become closely linked not only to the marque, but specifically to the 100S, so much so that he is now seen worldwide as the expert on the competition sports car built by the Donald Healey Motor Company.
Q. When asked about the ‘53 and ‘54 cars built for Bonneville, Steve replied.
“Sure like most Healey enthusiasts I knew about the Bonneville attempts in ‘53 and ‘54, but it never entered my mind that years later that I would have some involvement in going back there and to actually recreate what Donald Healey and his team from Warwick achieved. That was until about 2 ? years ago when I was building a replica 100S for Wiet Huidekoper using bits and pieces that he had managed to locate in all parts of the world. Wiet told me about some parts that he had found, that while for a S were definitely not from a road-going example. Things like a highly unusual differential and a left hand drive gearbox housing from those special David Brown gearboxes used in the early examples of the 100S. Wiet originally considered using the parts in a road going car.”
“It took quite a bit of thought until we worked it out that the pieces had come from the 1954 100S prototype SPL227 that was used as the Endurance car in that year and the year before. Then Wiet raised the idea of reconstructing the 1954 Endurance car incorporating some of the parts. I have always been in for something interesting and it didn’t take me long to agree. After all the car had long been dismantled at the Donald Healey Motor Company and as it had so many 100S parts that I was familiar with, it just seemed a natural.”
Q. What happened to the original car Steve?
“Remember the original car had been to Bonneville twice and the salt had really done its corrosive best to destroy it. The records show that five years after Bonneville 1954 it was literally junked, the gearbox returned to David Brown, some parts sold off to an avid Austin-Healey owner in the UK and the rest retained by the Donald Healey Motor Company.”
“Not long after, word had started to spread and I was contacted by Belgian Bruno Verstraete who expressed an interest in being involved. Bruno has always wanted a 100S, but circumstances had prevented it. It was reassuring when Bruno assumed responsibility at seeing the construction of the Endurance car through to the end.”
Q. Sure there were a few parts left of the original Endurance car, but where did you start?
“We started with a new chassis which in itself was interesting. The original SPL227 was one of the Special Test Cars with not only a seamless chassis but also there were no pressings in the subframes.”
Q. Well that’s about the Endurance car, how come you decided to reconstruct the Streamliner as well?
“I had gone to England to assist Wiet is buying some parts when the idea of returning to Bonneville came up, and it just seemed like a logical step to also reconstruct the 100S Streamliner that was built to attack outright speed records for its class. After all both cars were there in 1954 so I decided there and then to do it and also that I would take it on myself.”
“Wiet had been communicating with Gerry Coker and mentioned the idea of the Streamliner to him. To start the ball rolling after talking to Gerry Wiet provided scaled drawings from publicity photos of the Streamliner that had not appeared in any of the books published over the years.”
Q. Like the Endurance car did you start with a new chassis?
“Yes we did, but it was different. Remember the original Streamliner was built at the end of 1953 while the Endurance car was built in early 1953. This meant that it had the normal chassis complete with seams and 100S strengthening gussets along with alloy subframes. So that’s how it’s been made and within the body we used some leftover panels from another 100S restoration from a few years back. It just seemed appropriate to add those pieces to the car.”
“However as anyone would know the body for the Streamliner is a little different so we needed the assistance of an expert coachbuilder. That’s how I made contact with Englishman Paul Jenkins who was happy to enjoy an working holiday in Australia while building the Streamliner’s body as well as passing on his skills to son David. From start to finish it took 8 weeks to build the body of the Streamliner.”
Q. Where are you up to with both the cars?
“With the Endurance car entered in the historic races at Phillip Island in mid March all our attention has now turned to that. So we have just over two-months to have it finished, tested and ready for the circuit. Right now David is making the hard metal tonneau for the Endurance car and I’m working on the engines. Both will be fitted with 100 engines suitably modified to take the original angle faced alloy cylinder heads. The Endurance car will also be fitted with the David Brown S430 4-speed gearbox along with the original left hand drive bellhousing that Wiet bought. Like in 1954 the Streamliner will receive a 5-speed David Brown gearbox.
It’s early January 2009 and work on both the Endurance and Streamliner Austin-Healeys is moving ahead with some pace.
The aim? To return to the salt in Bonneville in September 2009 and with straight line trials recreate the record attempts of 1954.
Remember to log into www.healeysreturn <http://www.healeysreturnotbonneville.com>
Patrick Quinn
publicity@healeysreturntobonneville.com mailto:publicity@healeysreturntobonneville.com
2001 March Healey Northwest
Click to view at issuu.com
Receiving email notifications of new postings
Members can manage their “subscriptions” to email notifications, selecting which categories that they want to receive email notices from.
Go to the site and log in. On the dashboard page that you are sent to upon log in you will see a “profile” tab on the left column. Expand it (if it isn’t already) and click on the subscriptions link. On the subscriptions page select the categories you wish to be notified about. You can select all if you want. Also I recommend that the settings be for “plain text”, auto subscribe to new categories, and view excerpt only.
You should also check your email address on the “your profile” link. The notices might be getting sent to an incorrect email address.
Bob
New Bylaws posted
Members can view the new bylaws.
2001 February Healey Northwest
2001 February Healey Northwest
Click image to view at issuu.com
Rendezvous 2010 Site comparisons/presentations
Valley River Inn, Eugene Or Presentation
Seaside Chamber of Commerce Presentation
Above are the two powerpoint presentations (in pdf format) that were given to the Club at the January meeting.
Below is a comparison of the two venues prepared by Mark Schneider.
| Topic | Eugene | Seaside |
| Location | 110 miles south of Portland, OR on I-5. Approximately 200 miles south of the US-Canada border and 200 miles north of OR/CA border on I-5 | 80 miles west of Portland, OR on Hwy 26 Approximately 300 miles south of the US-Canada border and 300 miles north of the OR-CA border. |
| Lodging and Accommodations Lodging Continued |
Valley River Inn (VRI) – located along the quiet banks of the Willamette River and convenient to Valley River Mall, downtown, Alton Baker Park, and U. of O. VRI has 257 rooms and suites are available. No additional hotel rooms are expected to be needed.
Note – Concierge rooms and VRI suites feature access to a private hosted lounge with complimentary continental breakfast and evening beverages and hors d’oeuvers. Additional Eugene Motels
|
Best Western Ocean view Resort (BWO) beachfront setting on the promenade. BWO has 107 rooms and suites available. Additional hotels are nearby.
If room quote increases by 2010 it will not exceed 3.0%.
Additional Seaside Motels
Some of the hotels are pet friendly. KOA and other RV/camp sites also nearby |
| Complimentary Rooms | VRI will provide 2 executive suites for duration of Rendezvous. VRI will provide one room night for every 50 room nights on a cumulative basis | BWO will provide one room night for every 50 room nights on a cumulative basis |
| Host Hotel Small Mtg Rooms | VRI Meeting rooms complementary based on reasonable food and beverage minimum. | BWO – Rooms can be complementary depending on # of guest rooms booked. Seaside Civic and Convention Center (SCCC) has a large new facility in downtown. Facility has one large hall and 7 small “breakout” rooms. Facility rents for $400.00/day. |
| Banquet Room | VRI Room is complementary | BWO – Complimentary rooms are available if needed |
| Audi/Visual Equip | VRI has full service AV equipment on site complementary | SCCC AV Equipment available. $50.00 set up fee each use |
| Onsite Parking | VRI has 500 stalls – lot sector will be reserved for exclusive use of Rendezvous registrants | BWO has sufficient parking for all registrants’cars |
| Parking Lot Night Security | Hired security ($16.00/hr) is available for Rendezvous cars overnight | Parking lot security could be provided |
| RV/Trailer Parking | An RV and/or car trailer parking area is available for those towing Healeys to the event | An RV and/or car trailer parking area is available for those towing Healeys to the event |
| Car Washing | VRI parking facilities has several car washing stations | Available on premises |
| Rendezvous Planning Committee Volunteers | Eugene-based AHCO members Jim Averill and Jim Johnson attended the January club meeting and announced the formation of a group of eight (8) members to lead the planning and implementation of the 2010 Rendezvous in Eugene. The group includes Bill and Pat Bollton, planners of four previous events. Two AHCO members met with the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County (CVALCO) resulting in an invitation and presentation at the January 2009 AHCO meeting. | More than 15 AHCO members have offered to take on responsibilities associated with putting on the Rendezvous. One AHCO member has been the Chair of a past Rendezvous and worked on several others. Several other AHCO members have experience in assisting with large British car events. Two AHCO members met with the SCCC and the Seaside Chamber of Commerce resulting in a PowerPoint presentation from Seaside. |
| Potential Rendezvous Activities | The Eugene Country Club may host a reception at the country club. Three Eugene based AHCO members have offered to conduct technical sessions. Eugene based AHCO members have identified 10 tour routes for the Rendezvous Committee to consider have suggested several activities and may be available to assist the event. | The SCCC proposes two tour routes in their PowerPoint presentation. AHCO members have suggestions to offer the Rendezvous committee on special tours and activities in this scenic area. The Seaside Chamber is enthusiastic about the prospect of the Rendezvous being held in their town. They also offered assistance in getting the town’s local merchants involved with the event. |
| Site Amenities | Eugene has several parks that could accommodate the car show. For example Alton Baker, Armitage Parks, or the Science Factory property. Photographs of these sites are posted below this table. | The Seaside Chamber of Commerce has identified a large expanse of flat grass covered land grass on the east end of Broadway, about ¼ mile from downtown Seaside. The property is a combination of the park and American Legion property. |
| Local Attractions |
Eugene area:
Other local and regional attraction include:
|
Seaside area:
Other local & regional attractions Include: Astoria to Gearhart area:
Canon Beach area:
Tillamook area
|
| January Presentations | Proposals featuring the lodging and event assistance commitment were presented at the January club meeting by Valley River Inn and the Conference and Visitors Association of Lane County (CVALCO). The Power Point presentation files will be posted on the website. | Mark Schneider presented a PowerPoint presentation from the Seaside Chamber at the January AHCOmeeting. The presentation file will be posted on the website |
Fuel Injection for your Healey
I found this to be very interesting. This a u-tube video of a very well engineered and executed installation of a custom fuel injection system on an Austin-Healey BJ7. I thought others might enjoy seeing this on our site.
- Doug Escriva