Being new to this exchange - here is my Healey's story
Back in 1969, as a 15 year old, I worked at Al's Esso station (for southern
Ontario folks - at the corner of Speers Road and 3rd Line in Oakville) pumping
gas, fixing tires and generally getting in the way. One of our regular gas
customers was Fergus Ross, a wonderful middle-aged Scot with a heavy brogue
and ... a 1960 Austin Healey 3000. The Healey was a second car which was only
summer driven, and he mostly did his own, meticulous maintenance. He
occasionally brought it into the garage to go up on the hoist to get the more
difficult to reach lube points. He would stand right behind us and point them
all out, making sure we missed nothing. I was a long-haired "hippie" and he
probably thought very little of me. Notwithstanding looks, Al insisted on
"pump etiquette" and there was mutual respect between the pump jockeys and the
customers. In truth, it was not my first pick in cars at the time, but
knowing how Fergus adored it I always teased him if he was ready to sell it to
me, but he knew I was not serious.
Fast forward five years and I still had long hair but was finishing my first
year at University, living at home in Oakville, and working summers at various
Brit car garages (including the local BMC dealership) as an apprentice
mechanic. I bumped into Fergus at the local mall one Saturday. We recognized
one another right away and, as in previous years, I asked him if he was ready
to sell the Healey to me. This time he paused for moment and said, "maybe".
We exchanged phone numbers and as we parted I thought that would be the last
I would hear.
Fergus phoned a week later and said he had decided he would sell the Healey.
He explained that he was now commuting to Toronto and the family needed a
second year-round car. He had decided on a 3 litre Capris and thought that if
I came up with the downpayment I could have the Healey. Was I interested? I
needed to think about it a bit, as all my money had been sunk into books and
tuition. What little that was left over seemed to disappear into keeping my
first car, a Rover 2000, on the road. I suggested he figure out the
downpayment amount and get back to me. A few days later he called me back and
asked if $950 was too much. I thought not, although I only had $600 in the
bank. I called my girlfriend, Gwen, who was just finishing high school, and
asked what she had in the bank. She worked part time at the bookmobile, not a
well paying gig, but had $400 from various sources. She foolishly lent me
$350 of it and the Healey was ours!! (she caught some major shit from her mum
over that, as I was not the favoured boy in her Mom's eyes, and having long
hair was not to be trusted!!).
I went with Gwen to Fergus' the following weekend with the cash and he spent
hours relating the details of the car, what he had done to it, and how I
should maintain it. He reminded me to pull the speedo and tach cables out
once a year, clean them and give them a light greasing. He had
bought the car new in 1960, just before he married and he and his wife
honeymooned to Cape Cod in it. He told me for the long highway trip he
removed the fan blades to get a few more horsepower out of it ("but don't
forget to replace them after the long trip!!"). His wife barely concealed
tears as Gwen and I drove off in it. That was March 1974.
Gwen was paid back to make peace at home. She was initiated early in the game
- when I drove her to her high school graduation she was dressed to the nines,
but held the knock-off hammer in her left hand, leaning back, and when I told
her to - whacked the SU fuel pump through the oily hole where the rear seat
pan had been removed, to release the sticking points. She got them going and
never broke the plastic points casing - you do not let a girl like that go
and we married a few years later.
The Healey was our only car some years when we could not afford a winter hack,
and it got a lot of service. We took it to Lime Rock, Conn. a few years in a
row where it eventually won a concours trophy at the Aston Martin Owner's Club
annual meet (we were members back then). It also partook in a relay race on
the Lime Rock track, which our team won. The end of the start/finish straight
at Lime Rock is where the meaning of brake fade came to mean something to me -
thankfully there is a generous run-out area! As students we picked up
furniture in it and even carted a 4x8 sheet of plywood in it to shore up our
sagging bed (hey, we were just married!) - we rested the plywood on the
windshield and wedged the other end against the over-riders on the rear bumper
- I held one side with my left hand and steered with my right, and Gwen held
the other side with her right hand and shifted gears for me with her left, as
we crouched beneath the "fastback roof"! When the car hit 100,000 miles on
the clock, we took it out and as it turned to the magic 6 digits I eased it
over 100 mph and Gwen took a picture of the dash to record the moment. The
car has suffered a few minor dings and scratches, but has remained largely
unscathed and rust free, which I can attribute to the engineering genius that
specified a leaky rear main seal, the discharge from which kept the bottom of
the car liberally coated with oil for 45 years. I bumped into Fergus a few
years back at British Car day in Bronte, ON, but unfortunately I was on my
BSA, not in the Healey - we reminisced over the car for a while which was
nice.
The Healey is still in the garage and Gwen and I still share our lives (we
have a better bed now). The Healey was driven every summer with virtually no
problems until this last September when I ran a rod bearing. I dropped the
pan and pulled the bearing caps, finding number 6 was the offending cylinder.
While relaxing on my back under the car (it is so peaceful under there) I
decided to pull the two centre main bearings, and to my chagrin found one was
worn through to the bronze backing. So through 2006 I will do my first engine
rebuild on it. I am sure I will be posting questions when I get into that!
So there is the Reader's Digest version of my Healey's story.
Mirek Sharp
'60 BT7
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