The March 2009 issue of Vintage Racecar Journal features a cover story of one of Donald Healey’s two entries in the 1953 24 Heures du Mans race, which you can view here. Mr. Casey Annis, publisher and editor of Vintage Racecar Journal, provided the AHCO permission to post the article. Enjoy!
If you’ve attended our recent Club meetings, looked at this website in the past couple months, or you’ve otherwise been following events in the Healey world, you know that an international team is in the process of building replicas of the 1954 Streamliner and 100 Endurance cars. The plan is to bring the cars to the U.S. and run them on the Bonneville Salt Flats late this summer, the 55th anniversary of their first runs. Steve Pike, no stranger to AHCO members, is constructing the cars for the Healeys Return to Bonneville Team. One of Steve’s assistants in that endeavor is John Wilson’s son. The Team has a website, which you should visit, if only because it’s nicely done, and links to their first two newsletters are posted after the jump.
http://issuu.com/healey-oregon2/docs/bonneville_newsletter_001
http://issuu.com/healey-oregon2/docs/bonneville_newsletter_002
I first contacted the Team, through Steve, last December to inquire whether we might be able to arrange for the cars to be brought to Portland for display at the All British Field Meet. That looks like it may in fact happen, although the Team does not yet know whether their application to run the cars at the World of Speed in mid-September will be accepted. Currently, the Team plans to bring the cars to the Monterey Historics Meet in mid-August, then on to Oregon until its time to head for the salt.
Several AHCO members, including me, plan to travel to Bonneville in mid-September to see and photograph the cars’ runs on the salt. While the Team has advised us that they won’t know for another mother or so whether their application to run at the World of Speed has been accepted, hotels in Wendover, UT, the nearest town to Bonneville are not very numerous, can be expensive during the Bonneville speed events, and already are filling up. Several of us have made reservations at the Wendover Stateline EconoLodge, checking in September 15 and out on the 19th for a total price of about $209. If you are thinking of attending, I recommend you to make a hotel reservation soon. We’re NOT planning to drive our Healeys to the event (as one Club member has already observed, “It’s bloody hot – and even hotter on that salt desert”) and we expect to pool in one or more comfy rides for the journey. If the Team doesn’t end up going to Bonneville, the hotel will accept cancellations up until the day before the stay begins. The Wendover EconoLodge can contacted by phone at (435) 665-2226 or you can reserve a room online.
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| September 24, 2009 | to | September 27, 2009 |
John and George are promising that the NW Meet will be the finest social event of the season! Great food and drink and unusual and exciting contests are being planned. This is an event you won’t want to miss!
Members can begin arriving on Thursday the 24th. There will be cocktail time at the Red Lion followed by a short drive to a famous pub in town for dinner. For those arriving Friday there will be a catered “meet and greet” in the motel hospitality room. By the way, the theme for the meet is “Western” so bring some appropriate western duds. During chow time we will conduct the first contest. Contestants need not be present! Each contest involves cars but no driving.
Saturday might include a morning self-guided tour and an afternoon guided tour or a visit to the Evergreen Museum. If you have never been to the Evergreen Museum(home of the Spruce Goose) it should not be missed. Back at the motel the fun continues with our second contest! John has invented an “idleometer” and will test cars and compute your score. You can find out if you have all your marbles or lost your bearings! Dinner is going to be some of the finest barbecue you have ever tasted. Remember to wear your cowboy shirt!
Later on the winners will be announced and valuable prizes will be awarded. Other exciting events are being planned and can’t be announced at this time. Stay tuned. Remember to make your reservation at the Red Lion (503)472-1500 and mention you are with the Austin Healey group.
Previous articles -
http://healey-oregon.org/2009/02/new-dates-for-the-northwest-meet
http://healey-oregon.org/2008/12/2009-nw-meet
Questions? Contact George Koeber 503-244-3731 (koegeoja@hevanet.com) or John Carter 503-579-6599 (jc9821@msn.com)
By now you should have received your 2009 AHCO Roster. Many thanks to Glen Enright for getting the material ready for the printers. Great job!! You will also notice that the top portions of most pages are not well spaced i.e. names being too close to the top and in some cases – names are cut off entirely. When called to the attention of the print shop they offered to run and mail the rosters again – this time done properly. Skip Monaco
This has been sold……
Of all of the options, the Supra is the most desirable for the Smitty conversion because it is the close ratio W-58 transmission. Even better, the shift tower has been converted to the forward most position so that the shift lever comes up within 1/2″ of the stock BJ8 stick position. $350, phone weekdays 503.282.1596 or eves and weekends 503.224.1260
Richard Mayor
PS: here is a photo essay of an installation
Austin Healeys seen at Auckland Car shows. (Video of photos with music). The video was prepared by Robin Johansen of New Zealand. AHCO member Jim Averill, a friend of Robin shared the video with Oregon members.
