OAC 969 . .

Can anyone help David Moore trace OAC 969, a 1953 100/4 Healey sold in 1962 to an engineering student in Loughborough University ? We should like to return a favour, as David helped trace the WSM 3000 in 2003 . .

18/11 'Shakey' Surfs In . .

Thanks to Octane magazine, who feature the occasion in a forthcoming headline article, John Sprinzel flew in from Hawaii for a re-union drive in PMO 200, the Sebring Sprite and registration synonymous with the motorsport legend. Now owned and restored by Paul Woolmer, a photoshoot at the Lancaster Mews premises in London where Sprinzel operated the Speedwell business in the late 1950's and early 60's was followed by John driving PMO in Hyde Park, a re-run of road tests carried out in period. Pictured with co-driver Willie Cave and fellow Sprite pilot Peter Jackson alongside 46 BXN, Sprinzel spent a busy few days catching up with old friends before jetting home. There was an opportunity for DW-S to try out the Sebring for size again, after running one in the 1962 Monte Carlo, and leaf the history books with Spritely Years author Tom Coulthard .

14/11 Missing Link . .

Mike White ,WSM 205 owner and racer in 1963, contacted us today. Failure to track Mike over the last few years had been frustrating us and others. The November edition of Classic & Sportscar cracked the case by publishing another request for help and two pictures of Mike at Castle Combe and Goodwood in 1963 with the WSM. More details later, but suffice to say, as with several previous interviews of period racers, he remembers my blonde sister and not me . .

29/10 Barrett Homes In . .

15/10 WSM Sprite 201 . . Pictures received from Dutch Healey Club member Ivo Visser, of the first WSM Sprite, WSM201 . Taken during a Healey Club meeting at the Rotterdam Ahoy football stadium in 1964, the car was painted green when in Peter Jackson's ownership after the original 'Chiron' blue pictured at Woburn in 1963. Also pictured is a Speedwell owned by Ivo's brother which is being restored and has one of four original alloy Monza bonnets.

26/10 Corking picture by Klaus Twedell (via James Willis and Jim Lowry) of the 1964 1000km race at Nurbergring. Pick out GT40, 250LM, Cobra, Porsche 904, 250GTO, E Type, Alfa Romeo TZ, Lotus Elan, MG Midgets (the Jacobs cars 770 & 771 BJB) but can you identify more eg numbers 36, 113, and 122 ? Ian Hulett suggests number 122 may be a Targa Floria Sprite, 693 LAC perhaps ?

Was the driver in the car behind number 118 doing a protest 'thing' a la Jackie Ickx at Le Mans with the slow walk into action, or had he been a gentleman and let the driver of number 118 climb aboard first ?

10/11 Westland travels . .

USA Healey guru and author Bill Emerson has been hoovering up the trophies around the States with his 1948 Healey Westland . Best of Show at North Carolina, Vermont and Florida were just rewards for a meticulous restoration of the car that Donald and Geoff Healey drove from New York to Hollywood in 1948.

Ashes to . . England

Commiserations mate, but remember our bet before the First Test on whether the England cricketers could get the Ashes back ? Good luck with your search for ". . a top quality bottle of Aussie wine." The lobster can sleep easy now.

MGCC Silverstone 22-24th July . .

Amongst a spectacular display of historic cars, the ex-John Sprinzel Sebring PMO 200 held particular interest for DW-S, seen here with Paul Woolmer. With work ongoing even during the show, volunteers were always, well, volunteering. Pictured here is another 'helper' who got his thumb stuck in the hole intended for the windscreen wiper base - Paul Woolmer can be seen helping push Rob Cull's errant digit back out.

Investigation into illegal fuel use in the Enduro race has begun after this picture taken by a member of the public caught the Playford/Stock MGB at the pump.Good to see author, historian and actor Tom Coulthard again, who instigated the WSM revival 10 years ago with a call to the Isle of Man - he has a few more publication ideas up his sleeve. David Hands recalled owning a red WSM bought from Robin Pinkerton at Delta Garage in the 1960's. Author John Baggott dropped in and his latest book on 'big' Healeys will be out soon - worth keeping an eye out for later this year. Manx Classic visitors Alistair Naylor and David Bishop were in good form, as was Ted de la Riviere - engine builder Ted looked anxious when the WSM MGB dropped out of the 28 lap Enduro race on lap 7, less so when a faulty diff was diagnosed. DW-S bumped into plenty of old rivals and associates, including Jack Sears, Peter Browning, Stuart Turner and Willie Cave.

Good to see author, historian and actor Tom Coulthard again, who instigated the WSM revival 10 years ago with a call to the Isle of Man - he has a few more publication ideas up his sleeve. David Hands recalled owning a red WSM bought from Robin Pinkerton at Delta Garage in the 1960's. Author John Baggott dropped in and his latest book on 'big' Healeys will be out soon - worth keeping an eye out for later this year. Manx Classic visitors Alistair Naylor and David Bishop were in good form, as was Ted de la Riviere - engine builder Ted looked anxious when the WSM MGB dropped out of the 28 lap Enduro race on lap 7, less so when a faulty diff was diagnosed. DW-S bumped into plenty of old rivals and associates, including Jack Sears, Peter Browning, Stuart Turner and Willie Cave.

Charity Jump . .

Claire Furnell completed a parachute jump on Saturday which raised nearly £500 for the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home -

" My instructor Mike Browne and I jumped at 12,000 feet and free fell for about 45 seconds (enough to take your breath away) before opening our parachute at 5,000 and returning to a delicate landing on the airfield."

Colmworth Home Guard . .

Click on to see the beefing up of security arrangements in the sleepy hollow of Bedfordshire that is Roothams Green - Paul Woolmer is appointed Community Liason Officer Training (C.L.O.T) and is equipped with a 1/2cc engine and licence to roam. Whitehall are keeping a close eye on results . .

1963 WSM 207 - and that's an order . .

25-07-05 Joel Nelson contacted wsmcars today. A recently retired Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army, Joel was based in Orleans, France in 1962 and ordered a WSM Sprite that he could race on the continent in 1963. The preparation of the blue left hand drive road car to white, right hand drive WSM competition car (WSM 207) took longer than expected and delivery was made in August 1963 to New York. Joel entered events throughout the South East from 1963 to 1965 and recalls selling the car to Fred Glaesner of Charleston, who also raced the car, in late 1965.

Claire's Sponsored Jump . .

19-07-05 Claire Furnell - "I have madly agreed to throw myself out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft that is 10,000ft in the air - very mad seeing as many of you might know I am scared stiff of heights ! After completing a 192m base jump by wire in New Zealand I am fairly sure I can do this, but to be sure of course I am doing this for a VERY good cause.
I am jumping for the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home which provides free nursing care to people with terminal illness in the Chilterns area. The nurses provide invaluable support not just to the patient but also the family of the patient. The charity celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, but needs to raise one million pounds every year to carry on its vital work.
The jump will take place near Silverstone on either the 3rd or 4th of September (Yes, VSCC members will know that's Red Weekend ) and I need to raise a minimum of £375. From this the charity will receive £140 but every pound raised over that will go direct to the charity. Please drop me an email if you feel able to support me in this attempt to raise £500 for the charity. I just need your pledge, full name and address, including post code and if are a UK tax payer whether you wish to let the charity recover the tax on your donation (this costs you nothing extra).

Thank you in advance, and any advice is more than welcome (but I have heard the one about taking a parachute)"

Alton, Virginia (July 7th 2005)

The Healey Museum™, commemorating the life of Donald M. Healey and the production of his automobiles was announced today at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. The Healey Museum™ will showcase significant and unique automobiles, trophies and memorabilia, offering the general public previously unseen views of private automobile collections. In addition to specific milestone cars, the Bill Wood Collection of Healey production documentation obtained from Geoff Healey will be a major part of the museum's Resource Center. A collection of photographs and literature relating to the Nash-Healey has been obtained from an anonymous donor. Additional acquisitions for the museum are being researched and evaluated.

Bill Emerson, Curator of The Healey Museum™, introduced special guests Harvey Siegel and Connie Nyholm, co-owners of Virginia International Raceway, Allan Casavant, Founder of The Healey Museum™, Bill Denton, Architect, David Lenk, Displays Consultant, and Melody Cooke, Research and Acquisitions. In keeping with the worldwide appeal of Healey automobiles, visitors from Canada, Australia and the U.S. participated in the symbolic groundbreaking. Many in attendance were racers in the 2005 Australian/U.S. Healey Challenge. The groundbreaking took place surrounded by historic Healeys representing milestones in the marque.

The Healey Museum™ philosophy was summarised by Emerson -
"Upon this site will be erected a building to historically preserve the cars and memories of Donald M. Healey, his family, and all those who helped design, develop, produce, market and race the cars that bear the Healey name."

The location of the 20,000 sq. ft. building at Virginia International Raceway was made known as part of VIR's annual Gold Cup Historic Races weekend. Allan Casavant and Connie Nyholm shared the honor of unveiling the sign announcing the future home of The Healey Museum™. The museum opening is scheduled for 2007.

VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Va., and just north of historic Milton, N.C. In addition to its 3.27-mile natural-terrain road racing circuit (designed to be operated as two autonomous, full-service courses), VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America's first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park; the VIR Gallery, which is a sales showroom for high-end collector and racing cars; the VIR Safety and Security Institute, which provides specialized training for U.S. Government and military groups; The Lodge at VIR, a 27-room hotel overlooking the track; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse.

VIR made history from 1957 to 1974 and is doing so again. The renovated original circuit has 17 challenging turns and 130 feet of elevation change. In addition to spectator events, the track is also available to rent for testing, driving schools and club days.

Media Office, The Healey Museum™
352-223-8840 healeyinfo@aol.com
The Healey Museum™ - www.healeymuseum.org
Virginia International Raceway - www.virclub.com
Australian/U.S. Healey Challenge - www.auhc.net

PS The Westland I have been working on in Australia arrived back in the US. I took it to the big Austin-Healey meeting on the East coast. The car won "Best of Show." Needless to say I was excited. Oh yes, as an aside I have a new job . . .
Bill Emerson Curator

Goodwood Festival of Speed 25th-26th June

WSM owner Paul Woolmer and Swallow Doretti collector Paul Webb got to sample the new forest stage in style in Mick Darcey's historic Healey 3000, and met a few petrol heads along the way -

pictures courtesy of Yvette Webb

F1 Shooting . .

120,000 eyewitnesses watched in horror at Indianapolis as Michelin, the FIA and F1 team operators fiddled while a gun was loaded (Michelin tyre blow out in practice), aimed (no safety measures introduced by FIA) and fired (F1 teams pulling cars off the starting grid) at the foot of one of motor racings highest profile events.

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Speedway, June 20 - Eyewitness News has been tracking two class action lawsuits Monday filed after the Grand Prix fiasco. A Colorado man is suing F1, Michelin and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in federal court wanting a refund, expenses reimbursed and unspecified punitive damages. Boone County resident Jim Miller filed a similar suit in Marion County court, saying what took place on Sunday was not really a race. "It appeared to me just to be a farce, from the minute the folks turned in, pulled into the pits, utter confusion and no one knew what was taking place." Miller is also seeking a refund and punitive damages.

27-04-05 What Lies Beneath . . . .

14-04-2005 Woolie At Work . .

The WSM MGB receives a new powerplant in the holiday surroundings of Roothams Green in Bedfordshire. Paul Woolmer may co-drive NMN 97 this season but has several projects in the mix which could dictate otherwise . .

31-03-05 WANTED - Flag marshalls for 2005

Successful candidates will be well equipped and receive comprehensive training. Although a voluntary position, these are sought after opportunities. Please apply by email to head marshall Victoria at tony@wsmcars.com and attach picture and measurements for trackside uniform. Remaining vacancies must be filled before April 2nd.

25-03-05 Reminiscent of Damon Hill's P1 Club in the UK, a new enterprise recently launched in the Isle of Man - click on logo for more details.

16-02-05 CO-DRIVER . . I am in competition for a co-driver spot in a recently imported Alfa Romeo, but fail to see why the driver in the single seater merits selection instead . . .

27-01-05 NEW ARRIVAL . . Guy and Victoria Loveridge have been expecting for months - and here is the 1959 Alfa Giulietta Sprint just off the boat from Italy. Christened 'Sophia' after another curvaceous Italian, and receiving a little tlc ahead of entry into the Equipe GTS racing series.

19-01-05 BMC 27, similar to the picture left and based on a 1963 Morris commercial chassis, has been acquired by a consortium based in Bedfordshire. Styled by Pininfarina and built by Marshalls of Cambridge, the original function of the sixteen or so vehicles produced was providing mobile instruction / demonstration units for dealerships around the globe. As BMC's competitions commitments grew, some vehicles were requisitioned for the Special Tuning Department for use as competition support vehicles. Equipped with left hand drive, Perkins diesel, power steering, six speed gearbox and two-speed rear axle, the comps department vehicles witnessed many of the company's finest motorsport triumphs throughout Europe. Following its return from long term Canadian ownership, plans are afoot for this vehicle to attend historic race meetings in 2005.

24-03-05 It would be churlish to deny that auctioneer Loveridge has anything but a blessed itinerary in the course of what passes for 'work' - pictured at the Goodwood Festival of Speed press day last week, tabloid model Gemma enhanced his credentials further . .

08-02-05 Click on a favourite snap to find out where she parked the car . .

10-01-05 Contrary to rumours, this is not a re-work of the Healey Centre premises of 1963 in Swiss Cottage, London. Pic courtesy of journo and broadcaster Claire Furnell.

Ok, open the presents, turn up the volume and download a brief recording of a BRM V-16 at full blast. Initial download may be slow but worth the wait and replays instantly thereon. Is there a better engine noise than this ? Better still, go to 'WSM - Cousins & Contributions' to hear 3 laps of this mighty 1950's soundtrack from pitlane AND in-car.