Donald Healey Motor Company Limited was a British car manufacturer.Incorporated 13 February 1946 company number 00404473, name changed 18 August 1997 and now Nick Whale Stratford Limited. New company 02249335 incorporated 28 April 1988 and since 18 August 1997 named Donald Healey Motor Company Limited

History

The business was founded in 1945 by

Donald Healey Donald Mitchell Healey CBE (3 July 1898 – 13 January 1988) was a noted English car designer, rally driver and speed record holder. Early life Born in Perranporth, Cornwall, the elder son of Frederick (John Frederick) and Emma Healey ...

, a successful car designer and rally driver. Healey discussed sports car design with Achille Sampietro, a chassis specialist for high performance cars and Ben Bowden, a body engineer, when all three worked at

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

during World War II.

Healey motorcars

Healey's new enterprise focused on producing high-quality, high-performance cars which were inevitably expensive. It was initially based in the premises of Benford Ltd (who made cement mixers and dumpers) at The Cape in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, but soon moved into an old aircraft components factory on the adjacent Millers Road Industrial Estate. There Healey was joined by Roger Menadue from

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...

to run the experimental workshop and subsequently by his son Geoffrey, who had qualified as an engineer. On 3 July 1963 (not 1961 as is often stated) they moved again into the former Warwick Cinema at Coten End. Both these premises have now been demolished: a block of flats has been built on the cinema site, called – much to Geoff's disgust – 'Healey Court'. The cars mainly used a tuned version of the proven

Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...

twin-cam 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine in a light steel box-section chassis of Healey design using

independent front suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...

by coil springs and alloy trailing arms with Girling dampers. The rear suspension used a Riley

live axle A beam axle, rigid axle, or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically, they have a ...

with coil springs. The suspension design allowed soft springing to be combined with excellent road holding. Lockheed hydraulic brakes were used. When it was introduced in 1948, the Elliott saloon was claimed to be the fastest production closed car in the world, timed at 104.7 mph over a mile. The aerodynamic body design was the work of Benjamin Bowden and unusually for the time it was tested in a

wind tunnel A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...

to refine its efficiency. This was the start of Healey's aerodynamic styling for reduced drag, that culminated in Bowden's last UK offering, the Zethrin Rennsport. In 1949 the most sporting of all the Healeys, the Silverstone, was announced. It had a shorter chassis and stiffer springing and was capable of 107 mph. It is now a highly sought after car, and many of the other remaining Healeys have been converted into Silverstone replicas. These cars had numerous competition successes including class wins in the 1947 and 1948 Alpine rallies and the 1949

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...

Nash-Healey

Government planning and controls in this time period required any substantial expansion of production to be for the export market alone. So in 1950 Healey entered the North American market with the

Nash-Healey The Nash-Healey is a three-seat luxury sports car or grand tourer produced from 1951 to 1954. It was marketed by the Nash-Kelvinator Conglomerate (company), conglomerate in North America as a Halo effect#Marketing, halo car to promote sales of i ...

, using a Nash Ambassador engine with SU carburettors and Nash gearbox. Initially the Ambassador's 3848 cc engine was used, but when in 1952 body construction was transferred from Healey to

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (; ; short for Pininfarina Società per Azioni) is an Italian automotive design, car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 ...

the larger 4138 cc engine was fitted.

Production numbers

The final Healey car of this era was the G-Type, using an

Alvis Alvis is a given name and a surname (close to the uncommon Scottish surname Alves). Alvis may also refer to: *Alvi, a Muslim community in South Asia, who claims descent from the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib *Alvis Car and Engineering ...

TB21 engine and gearbox. This was more luxurious (and heavier) than the Riley engined models, and performance suffered. File:Healey Westland 1949.jpg, Westland
roadster
1949 example File:Healey Elliott Saloon.jpg, Elliott
saloon File:1947 Healey Sportsmobile 7438346386.jpg, Sportsmobile
roadster
1947 example File:HealeySilverstone.jpg, Silverstone
roadster File:Healey with Tickford 4-seater body registered April 1953 2443cc.JPG, Tickford
2-door saloon
1953 example File:Healey Abbott Off the Dragon Trail 7880867818.jpg, Abbott
drophead coupé
1952 example File:Healey Westland woody sports wagon apparently from ca. 1950 but beautifully restored since.JPG, Westland
"Woody"

brake A brake is a machine, mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for Acceleration, slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of ...

(ca 1950) File:Nash Healey .jpg, 3.8-litre roadster
Nash Ambassador engine File:G Type Alvis Healey 3103681958.jpg, G type roadster
3-litre Alvis engine

Austin-Healey

Healey judged a cheaper sports car marketable in large numbers was needed to save the business, one that would fit between the MG and

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

cars then selling so well in USA. Working with his eldest son Geoffrey in the attic of the family home, Healey designed a two-seat roadster employing numerous low-cost Austin components, the Healey Hundred. Austin chief Sir Leonard Lord was so impressed when he saw it on the Healey stand at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show he offered to make it in his own factories under the name Austin-Healey 100. The result was a 1953 a joint venture which created the

Austin-Healey Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker established in 1952 through a joint venture between the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and the Donald Healey Motor Company (Healey), a renowned automotive engineering and des ...

marque with the

British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a United Kingdom, UK-based vehicle manufacturer formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris Motors, Morris and Austin Motor Company, Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merge ...

manufacturing the cars and the Healey company doing the designs and running racing operations. The 100 evolved into the highly regarded and collector coveted 3-litre Austin-Healey 3000, and the diminutive 950cc

Austin-Healey Sprite The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car produced in the United Kingdom from 1958 until 1971. The Sprite was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, two days after that year's Monaco Gra ...

, known affectionately as the "frog-eye" or "Bugeye" was also manufactured. Commenting on the 3000 after Donald Healey's death ''The Times'' observed: "The big Healey's brutally firm ride, heavy steering and engine so close it would roast a driver's feet never detracted from the superb, timeless styling and classic proportions."Healeys race again in tribute to their founder. Daniel Ward, Motor Industry Correspondent. '' The Times'', Saturday, 17 September 1988; pg. 16; Issue 63189

Jensen-Healey

Donald Healey became a director of

Jensen Motors Jensen Motors Limited was a England, British manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles in West Bromwich, England. Brothers Alan and Richard Jensen gave the new name, Jensen Motors Limited, to the commercial- and sports car body-making ...

in the late 1960s and a result of this was the Lotus-engined Jensen-Healey which appeared in 1972.

Sale

Donald Healey Motor Company was finally sold to the Hamblin Group, although Healey Automobile Consultants and the engineering parts of the company remained in the hands of Geoffrey and Donald Healey.

Notes

References

External links

{{Commons category, Donald Healey Motor Company There is one club worldwide who cater for (pre Austin) Healey cars
The Association Of Healey Owners

Austin Memories
��History of Austin and Longbridge Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England 1945 establishments in England Companies based in Warwick Sports car manufacturers