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 – 15 January 1988) was a noted English car designer, rally driver and speed record holder. Early life Born in Perranporth, Cornwall, elder son of Frederick (John Frederick) and Emma Healey (née Mit ...

, 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 Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...

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, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

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. Sadly, both these premises have now been demolished: a new 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 twin-cam 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine in a light steel box-section chassis of their own 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 als ...

with coil springs again. Advanced 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 Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

to refine its efficiency. This was the start of 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 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 race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

Nash-Healey

Government planning and controls required any substantial expansion of production to be for the export market alone. So in 1950 Healey built the Nash-Healey using a Nash Ambassador engine with SU carburettors and Nash gearbox. Initially the 3848 cc unit was used but when in 1952 body construction was transferred from Healey to

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...

the larger 4138 cc engine was fitted.

Production numbers

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

Alvis Alvis may refer to: *Alvis Car and Engineering Company, British luxury car and military vehicle manufacturer which later became Alvis plc *Alvis plc (formerly United Scientific Holdings plc), a defence contractor which acquired Alvis Cars and beca ...

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

(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 cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

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 Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car that was built by Austin-Healey from 1953 until 1956. Based on Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals, it was developed by Donald Healey to be produced in-house by his small Healey car company in Warwick. Healey ...

. The result was a 1953 a joint venture which created the Austin-Healey marque with the

British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February ...

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 The Austin-Healey 3000 is a British sports car built from 1959 until 1967. It is the best known of the "big Healey" models. The car's bodywork was made by Jensen Motors and the vehicles were assembled at BMC's MG Works in Abingdon, alongsid ...

, and the diminutive 950cc Austin-Healey Sprite, 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 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 body and sports car body making bu ...

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