drambuie
Jedi Warrior
Offline
I was watching a video interview on YouTube with Donald Healey's brother and found it rather interesting and Informative. It seems Donald Healey was more keen on Chassis design and making a profit then anything else! In fact it seems Donald Healey really never fully thought out the cars design and intent with much passion, partly because he was running his company on a shoe string and motor design was not his real interest, just a after thought after the chassis was built with no real vision of a particular power plant for his sports car. Which tells me much about Donald Healey's car design limit skills and lack of money as well. I found it interesting that after Donald Healey designed and built the chassis he went searching for a power plant to put in it! Rather odd I think. So, Donald Healey took a cruise ship and headed for America with the intention of asking Cadillac to provide motors for his newly designed car. By chance he met a English business man during the cruise to America and turned Donald Healey on to a warehouse in England full of surplus small motors....for cheap! So, since Donald was more into this car building venture for pure profit rather then a well thought vision for his sports car, He jumped on it! So...before looking down our noses at folks who shoehorn a American V8 into their Healey's maybe all the nasty boys are more true to Donald Healey's original intent seeking a power plant from Cadillac in the first place! Even if Cadillac where not able to provide Donald Healey with a power plant, I am sure since he was in Ameriica he would have approached Ford or Chevy as well... I see a nice small block coming out of his visit which would lead to better upgrades to the original design as well! What a tragedy Donald happend to run into that English business man on his cruise to America that day! But on the other hand maybe it's best things turned out as they did depending on your personal outlook as to what a Particular English built sports car such as the Austin Healey should be? Can you imagin SS/Jaguar designing and building the Increadible E-type without total commitment to its total design, fuction, passion and vision? NO WAY! in fact the first time I inspected a E-type Jag with the bonnet up I knew full well it was designed by a very skilled and passionate person with aircraft design experience, very much like the old war birds such as the spitfire, hurricane, and P-51, even the motor in the E-type was designed by Jaguar and resembles the Merlin and Rolls Royce in those old warbirds.. Still love my Healey and want to always have one in my possession, but would sure love to add a Nice 63 E-type to my stall someday!
Last edited: