Healey Cars, The Early Years

One of early motorsport events entered by Donald Healey and his Riley powered car was that of the Lands End to John O’Groats rally. Although he didn’t finish in a high finish position, the event served to make him more enthusiastic than ever for the sport.

As his fascination for competition driving became more intense, Donald Healey started to rub shoulders with some accomplished names, such as the Riley brothers and Cecil Kimber, the man who was a founder of MG.

Over a period of time he began to experience racing success and in 1929 he entered the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Triumph Super Seven family saloon car. However, Donald Healey was disqualified for being late to the finish. The following year he entered the race again, and this time he finished in seventh position overall.

Donald Healey Enters The Monte Carlo Rally

Donald Healey was now beginning to get noticed for his driving ability. He was approached by a man called Noel Macklin, who asked him to drive an Invicta in the Monte Carlo Rally, so as to give the marque some public exposure.

The partnership between Macklin and Donald Healey was successful, and in 1930, despite the brakes of the car only working on three wheels, Donald Healey came home in first place.

Around the same time, Donald Healey met and befriended Ian Fleming, the author who later went on to create the James Bond stories. Fleming actually rode along with Donald Healey as his navigator in an event called the Alpine Trial.

At the Alpine Trial, Donald Healey again found some success, but this time driving a Riley Brooklands, a car he had borrowed from the Riley brothers. Following on from there, he worked with the Riley’s, helping them to prepare their competition cars.

During the years between the two World Wars, motor manufacturers regarded it to be of paramount importance to have their car succeed in a major competition, as this would have a significant impact upon the success rate in selling cars to the motoring public.

Donald Healey Takes a Position at Triumph

The Triumph Motor Company recognised this fact as much as the next manufacturer and were looking for someone with sound technical knowledge, as well as driving ability, to fill a position as Technical Manager at their car plant in Warwickshire.

Having already sold his garage business in Cornwall, Donald Healey accepted the position willingly and competed in many rallies whilst driving for Triumph. Although he enjoyed much success with Triumph, Donald Healey had always wanted to design his own racing cars. He wanted to take on the fierce competition put up by teams such as Alfa Romeo with their Monza 2.3–litre supercharged eight–cylinder car.

Triumph and Donald Healey managed to get hold of a Monza engine, stripped it down and set about copying it. The engine they produced was almost identical and was fitted in the 1934 Triumph Dolomite. This was a two–seater car with some very impressive chrome exhausts that ran along the outside of the body.

Taking The Dolomite to The Monte Carlo Rally

In the same year the Triumph Dolomite was entered in the Monte Carlo Rally, using this event as a test of the engine’s design and robustness. However, Donald Healey’s race ended prematurely when he was involved in a collision with a train at a railway crossing – an incident that totally wrecked the car, but did not injure the occupants.

With a price tag of the Triumph Dolomite was higher than a 3–litre Bentley. Rather unsurprisingly, only three of them were ever built.

Donald Healey remained with Triumph until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, when the company went into liquidation.

During the Second World War, Donald Healey served as a part–time officer in the Air Training Corps, and at the same time as worked for Humber. This manufacturer had a contact to build military vehicles for the British Army.

In 1945, Donald Healey wrote an article entitled, The Enthusiasts Car, in which he outlined his ambition to build a high performance car of his own. In his piece he spoke of many technical matters, such as power to weight ratios, engine design and aerodynamics.

Donald Healey Set About Building His Own Car

After the war, Donald Healey and his colleagues from Humber set about bringing the dream car to reality. In his autobiography, Donald Healey wrote of the pre–war BMW 328, and described it as being, "The best small sports car of all time." It was cars such as this that inspired him

Donald Healey wanted the BMW engine, but in those early post–war years, materials and supplies were difficult to obtain, putting the engine out of his grasp. It was also German, which didn’t help either.

However, by calling in favours from contacts he had built up over his racing years, Donald Healey met with Victor Riley, who agreed to supply a new and advanced 2.4–litre four–cylinder engine. This was a 100 horsepower unit developed from the engine used to power a competition car driven with some success by Raymond Mays. The engines were to be supplied with gearboxes and axles.

Donald Healey Motor Company is Born

In March 1945, Donald Healey had won permission from the Board of Trade to proceed with a prototype chassis and set up a workshop in Warwickshire, which he did in an old RAF hanger. It was here the development work began, marking the birth of the Donald Healey Motor Company limited.

The first car was an open sports model. Whilst this had a body and chassis of his own design, the mechanical parts came mostly from Riley. Other parts were supplied by companies such as Alvis and Nash.

Donald Healey had two brilliant and willing associates working with him, these being Ben Bowden, a body engineer, and Sammy Sampietro, a chassis engineer. Both men had worked with Donald Healey at Humber. The mechanics were people he managed to poach from other car manufacturers.

Despite a shortage in materials, a chassis was produced that featured an unusual and advanced suspension unit, incorporating trailing links and coil springs. Upon this, Donald Healey mounted an open top sports body, panelled by Westland Engineering of Hereford.

The Elliott Healey Cars

Another car was designed, this time with a closed body. In November 1945, Donald Healey approached a prestigious joinery firm, Samuel Elliott and Sons, located in Caversham, just outside Reading in Berkshire.

Donald Healey asked Samuel Elliot and Sons to help build motor bodies for his cars. Alfred Stott and Jack Collier from Elliotts went to visit the Donald Healey’s workshop in Warwickshire to discuss the proposition.

Elliotts must have been impressed, as they decided to invest £1,000 into the Donald Healey Motor Company limited. This was a significant amount of money in those days.

Car chassis’s up until now had been made from solid steel and so added a significant amount of weight to the car. However, the chassis for the Healey Elliott car was made from a revolutionary steel box section design and was therefore very much lighter.

A sample chassis was sent to Elliotts and work began building an aluminium alloy panelled body, fitted over an ash wood frame. The finished car emerged in late 1946, and was called the Elliott Healey Saloon.

A publication in circulation at the time, called Wood Magazine, featured the building of the ash frame of the Elliott Healey Saloon car body in their October 1947 edition.

The Healey Elliot Saloon Sets Speed Record

The same 2443cc Riley engine, as used to power the sports model, was shared with the Elliot Healey saloon and in 1947 the car became the fastest 4–seater in the world to complete the flying mile at the Belgian Jabbeke straight, reaching a speed of 110.8mph.

Between 1946 and 1950, 104 Elliott Healey saloons were manufactured, each selling for £1,598 along side the Westland Healey sports model. In this market place the Elliot Healey saloon was competing with Armstrong Siddeley and Aston Martin. Donald Healey’s car was seen as being very expensive by comparison.

The car had some unique design features, such as a hinged instrument panel and an unusual seat design, these being tubular alloy and sleeved with leather covers. This design was later copied by Riley.

Donald Healey and Elliott’s Fall Out

It wasn’t long before the relationship between Donald Healey and Samuel Elliott and Sons began to sour. Two main reasons for this were that Donald Healey was not receptive to other people’s opinions and ideas, and he also didn’t seem to regard his obligation to pay bills as being a priority.

In 1947 it was reported to the board of Directors at Elliotts that some completed cars were being held back as a form of security to ensure that Elliotts would receive their due funds.

By 1948 the relationship had crumbled and Elliotts broke formal ties with the Donald Healey Motor Company limited by selling their shares in that company. Many saw the end of the association between the two companies as a wasted opportunity that may have otherwise brought about continued success.

The Cars Continued to be Made With Other Coachbuilders

In 1950 the continuation of the Elliott Saloon was undertaken by Tickford, and the Westland by a coachbuilder called Abbott. Some other versions of the same car were made and named according to the coachbuilder concerned, such as the Duncan and the Sportsmobile. 101 Elliott cars were built, of which is it estimated only a quarter have survived.

Although production of the Elliott Healey saloon ceased in 1950, spare parts were still available for a further 10–years. An example of the Healey Elliott saloon is currently displayed at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.

Early in 1990, Ken Willett, formerly of Elliotts, was able to purchase the first Elliott Healey Saloon car ever made at Elliotts in 1946, which he restored using his own and original drawings as used at the time the car was in production.

The Healey Silverstone

In 1949 The Donald Healey Motor Corporation launched the Healey Silverstone. This sports car sold for less than £1,000 (before tax) and soon became a popular choice among the sporting driver’s of the day, mainly due to its superb handling qualities. This was very much a racing car thinly disguised as a road car.

Powered by the twin camshaft version of the Riley 2.4–litre engine, this was regarded very much as a thoroughbred sports car. In a Healey Silverstone, a driver by the name of Tommy Wisdom broke the World Hour Speed record at Monthléry in 1952.

After that event the name Healey became known for quality sporting saloons and roadsters, with chassis’s often being supplied by companies such as Abbot of Farnham, Tickford, and Duncan Industries of North Walsham supplying coachwork.

The system of contracting out the building of various parts of the car was common at the time, especially coachwork, and indeed a method employed by Bentley and Rolls Royce.

By now, Donald Healey had made a name for himself and his business was going well. But he wasn’t content as he wanted to move away from his current production methods of hand built cars and to concentrate on volume manufacture.

Donald Healey Travels to The United States

In December 1949, Donald Healey he went on a sales mission across the Atlantic to the USA to promote his cars and hopefully return with orders. He also had a meeting with Cadillac to ask the American firm to supply him with engines. However, General Motors, Cadillac’'s parent company, declined Healey’s request and Healey left empty handed.

Whilst making the return crossing to the UK there was a chance meeting aboard the Queen Mary with George Mason, the president of the Nash Kelvinator Corporation. At the time, Nash was an established name in car manufacture in the United States. As well as making cars, the Nash Kelvinator Corporation already had ties with Europe through theur manufacture and export of refridgeration systems.

Throughout the long voyage there was plenty of time for conversation between George Mason and Donald Healey. They found that each had a common interest in photography. The acquaintance resulted in a business deal that would see Nash Kelvinator providing funding for Donald Healey to develop a sportscar for the United States market.

Nash–Healey, an Anglo American Partnership

It was planned for the car to be built on Healey’s chassis, but with a 3.8–litre Nash 6–cylinder engine and drive train from the Nash Ambassador. Transmission would be three speed manual fitted with overdrive. The car was to be given an all aluminium body, to be produced by the British company, Panelcraft Sheet Metal Company Ltd. of Birmingham. The chassis and suspension would be produced by the Donald Healey Motor Company.

Nash shipped the engines and transmissions to the UK where the cars were assembled by Donald Healey’s factory before being shipped back to the US for sale.

The 3.8–litre straight six–cylinder Nash engine was very heavy, being entirely constructed from cast iron. To help counter this, Healey designed and manufactured a alloy cylinder head, and at the same time increased the engine compression ratio, as well as fitted a high–lift camshaft for greater performance.

To aspirate the engine he used twin 1¾ inch SU carburettors in preference to the American Carter Carbs.

The Nash–Healey Launch in Paris

The all aluminium Panalcraft body was originally designed by Donald Healey himself and the prototype car was revealed at the 1950 Paris motor show.

In December 1950 production of the Nash–Healey began with 36 aluminium cars being built before the end of the year. Between the beginning of 1951 and the end of March that year, 68 more cars were built, after which time production was halted.

The Nash–Healey Convertible is Built

Between April 1951 and the end of January 1952 the car was redesigned as a convertible by Italian design house, Pininfarina, who received the rolling chassis to fit their hand–built bodies. This car was built from both aluminium and steel, and now sported the 4.1–litre, six–cylinder Nash engine.

The Pininfarina designed convertible was unveiled at the Chicargo motor show in February 1952. However, the inboard layout of the headlights met with mixed reaction.

Reception for the car was luke warm and Nash tried to justify the healdlamp issue on safety grounds, saying the arrangement offered safer driving in foggy conditions.

At the Le Mans endurance race of that same year, a Nash Healey came home in first position for its class and in third place overall. Nash was then able to exploit this acheivement to help sell the cars.

Early in 1953 a hard top version of the car was launched as the Nash–Healey Le Mans and a total of 162 cars were produced in that year. In June 1954, Nash discontinued the convertible and introduced a slighly re–worked Le Mans coupe. This car is distinguishable by a three–piece rear window, whereas before it had a single piece of glass.

Production of The Nash–Healey Ends After Only 4–Years

The econimics of producing this car did not make it competitive price–wise. With the various companies involved in its production being spread so far apart, shipping costs proved to be expensive. Inevitably, this was reflectedin the retail price, and in August 1954, with the Nash–Healey costing well over $2,000 more than the Chevrolet Corvette, production was abandoned with a total of only 507 cars having been produced.

The Nash–Healey and it marked a significant turning point for The Donald Healey Motor Company, as despite its limited success, the venture had provided sufficient funding for him to set about developing a completely new car that was to make him a motoring legend.

Acknowledgements

Ride Drive would like to thank Alan Beardmore, a former employee of Samuel Elliott and Sons, formally of Caversham, Reading. Alan has provided valuable assistance in the form of accurate detail in the writing of the section covering the production of the Elliott Healey cars, 1946–1950. Alan also provided the three photographs, one of the Healey Saloon as a completed car, the illustration as used in Wood Magazine of the wooden frame being built and the picture of the Healey convertible.

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Healey Cars, The Early Years