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Bugeye...idea vs. reality

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smaceng

smaceng

Jedi Knight
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I came across a Coker sketch of the BE and I wanted to compare it to the production model. Attached is the a Gerry Coker drawing and I have included a similar side profile of a BE (with the jacked up rear end....when are the HD springs going to be made properly....).
The Coker design was more rounded and more like the big Healeys. From the beltline up, it is almost just like the production version, but both ends are more squared off. Note how the rear is a little like an MGA with adaptors (piths?) for the standard lucas lights of the day. Also the bottom is flat on the production, an obvious ease of manufacturing. Te Coker sketch shows the rear hinged bonnet and the bugeye type lights...which he had folding down like a Porsche 928.
What I like, is I don't think it lost anything in the transition from sketch to final production, but actually an improvement. The rear is cleaner and if you have ever seen the Q1 prototype, with its headlights pointed at the sky, the bonnet was much improved. Note how Coker drew in the steering wheel, just like any artist would...looks like a tractor steering wheel! To me it shows how well Coker could draw a design which the Healeys and crew then developed into a great looking production car.
 

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Coker was our keynote speaker at Euro Auto Festival a few years ago, he now lives in NC, he put one of his above drawings, which he signed by him in our silent auction. At the time I ran the hospitality suite for the event at the host hotel, so when Coker came up for a beverage, I kidded with him, and said "I know what you want to drink " and held up a bottle of Sprite, he laughed and said "no, I was thinking of a nice merlot" :smile:

Thought you guys would enjoy that story :smile:
 
Hap Waldrop said:
Coker was our keynote speaker at Euro Auto Festival a few years ago, he now lives in NC, he put one of his above drawings, which he signed by him in our silent auction. At the time I ran the hospitality suite for the event at the host hotel, so when Coker came up for a beverage, I kidded with him, and said "I know what you want to drink " and held up a bottle of Sprite, he laughed and said "no, I was thinking of a nice merlot" :smile:

Thought you guys would enjoy that story :smile:
Click to expand...

we do and it is so much better than asking if he wanted a Midget? (yes I know it was later :wink:

I love that those cars came out of someone's imagination rather than market research - I think we're the richer for it even though it didn't always work as well as the Sprite. Does anyone have a pic of the Q1 with the headlights "pointing at the sky?" I've never seen it and have always wondered.
 
Yeah, it's nice to see the "idea" become "reality". A lot of show cars get watered down when they morph into production (a good example of one that <span style="text-decoration: underline">didn't</span> was the Viper).

And yes, it's obvious back in the day that real people drew these cars; with paper, pencil......and <span style="font-style: italic">soul</span>.

I met Jerry Coker at a Healey event in Princeton, NJ about 10 years ago.
Very, very nice, down-to-earth man (that's him on the left with me.....the guy on the right with me is the late Trevor Wilkinson from TVR).

mr_ah_mr_tvr.jpg
 
There was a photo in Healey Marque magazine a couple of years ago that showed a constructed prototype. The nose of the bonnet around the grille was a bit more extended and tilted forward. The article accompanying the photo stated that Coker's inspiration was a Testa Rossa. The prototype was even painted Rosso Corsa as I recall.
 
On another forum someone posted the pics of the car with the headlights pointed up.

I think Gerry once told the story of how when he went to work for Ford (I think) his talent was used to design door handles and such, but it paid well.

He wasn't part of the team that brought the Sprite from prototype to production, and he said he was appalled at the bugeye headlights when he saw them.
 
Whitephrog said:
There was a photo in Healey Marque magazine a couple of years ago that showed a constructed prototype. The nose of the bonnet around the grille was a bit more extended and tilted forward. The article accompanying the photo stated that Coker's inspiration was a Testa Rossa. The prototype was even painted Rosso Corsa as I recall.
Click to expand...

I have a vague recollection that the original intent was the same shape front and back to save tooling costs
 
Here is a poor copy of the picture in "More Healeys" by Geoffrey. Note the changes to the front, different badges, grill, and of course the headlights.
Scott in CA
 

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Looks like it is expecting something really big to land on it in a second or two
 
Oh thank goodness they changed it for production or we would not collect them.
 
Trevor Jessie said:
......I think Gerry once told the story of how when he went to work for Ford (I think) his talent was used to design door handles and such, but it paid well.
Click to expand...

From what I've read Coker had never styled a production car before working for Healey and would never style another full car:

But he reportedly later designed the clever ~Ford, two-way tailgate~
 
Here's a photo of Coker's original prototype

url]
 

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Sure looks a little Ferrari-esque to say the least. So Ray did you photoshop that link?
 
It looks like the real thing...has the external door hinges and the squared off fender/sill line...and the extended nose.
It might have trouble with night time visibility!
OK Ray where did you get it?
Scott
 
Both images were from an article in the May 2008 Healey Marque. The author of the article had done the original photoshop work. He had rear bumperettes on the front. I didn't like that look so I doctored the image a bit.

As for the lack of headlamps, remember that Joseph Lucas said that a gentleman does go out after dark.

I've always thought that the Walker bonnet was a close approximation to the "Coker bonnet".
 
I am just wondering if Cooker was thinking of putting the headlights in the grill as Alec Issegonis was going to do with the Morris Minor originally.
BillM
 
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