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Healey on the Roof - Sebring 1960

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HealeyRick

HealeyRick

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53-SCD-1960SebringWillemOostho.jpg


The Austin-Healey 3000 of John Colgate and Fred Spross went off course, overcorrected and then flipped. Willem Oosthoek Collection.

54-60-Sebring.jpg


The Colgate – Spross Austin-Healey comes to an ignominious end after 54 laps. Willem Oosthoek Collection.

Taken from this week's: https://www.sportscardigest.com/1960-12-hours-sebring-race-profile/7/ Lots of pictures and article by Louis Galanos, aka "Nigel Smuckatelli" who has an excellent photoblog at: flickr.com/photos/smuckatelli.

Anyone brave enough to ask John Colgate to autograph one of these at Conclave this year?
 
Scary!
The more I survey my car, and read about Healey's and their flexibility affecting the handling has me thinking hard about my canyon carving plans. Conservative is my thought on that aspect, investigation into stiffening and repair inspection is going on right now. She hasn't been on the road yet but I've done some smoky burn outs and drifts about the sandy airport pavement. Maybe I should stop doing that.
Chris...
 
Chris,

Not sure what you are reading about flexibility affecting handling. I've never heard that. Perhaps if a car is rusty and in poor condition, but not if it is sound. Don't forget that big Healeys were (and still are) very competitive racing machines. And as for rallying, they were a force to be reckoned with. These cars had the crap beaten out of them on international rallying circuits, won handily, and came back for more. I think reality trumps the reports of their weaknesses.
 
There were a lot of cars that rolled at Sebring in the day. The airport flat track has no banking for the high speed corners, so any imbalance through the apex can be difficult to recover from.

Yes, big Healeys are still competitive today, chassis flex and all....

2013 RMMR Thursday 12276.jpg
 

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dougie said:
There were a lot of cars that rolled at Sebring in the day. The airport flat track has no banking for the high speed corners, so any imbalance through the apex can be difficult to recover from.
Click to expand...

48-SCD-1960Sebring-FriedmanSIR.jpg


What was left of the John Fitch – Briggs Cunningham Corvette C1 after losing a wheel. SIR photo.

Met and talked to Mr. Fitch at Lime Rock a few times. A true gentleman and real American hero.
 
To me, I'm not so surprised by the number of drivers that were killed before safety equipment was mandatory, but by how many survived. I've read of drivers installing a handle on the floor of their cars so they could grab it and dive for the floor in the event of a crash or even more amazing, Le Mans winner Masten Gregory, who was famous for whenever faced with a major crash would stand up in the cockpit of his car and jump out just before impact.
 
WoW! I read about the XJ-13 crash and the driver was afforded no belts in the car, in 1972. He hurt his finger holding on to whatever he could grab.
Chris...
 
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Racecars don't usually roll unless they hit something that stops the tires from sliding. For example, leaving the paved part of the track and sliding off into the dirt. The dirt builds up to the point that it becomes the pivot point upon which the car will roll.
I love those news stories where they say the car "flipped". Many times in street accident scenarios a car will hit a curb, going sideways of course, and the car will roll.
A side note on the upside down Healey at Sebring, UJB141. It did not go back to England. Eventually, the car was restored and owned by Bill Bolton here in Oregon for about 25 or 30 years.
 
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