By: The Roving Reporter, Don
The weather has been perfect the last few Saturdays at Cars and Coffee. Lots of drivers in the parking lot. I got to meet up with Carl who owns the 1954 Austin-Healy. He bought this car in 1969 and drove it through 1978. This is his second Healy as he was in an accident with his first just after he bought this one. It had sat for many years and he finished the restoration last May. It needed extensive metal work especially in the engine compartment as he put in a 350 small block Chevy engine. Apparently, it was a thing in Britain in the 50’s to put small block Chevy engines into British sports cars and get rid of “boat anchor” four cylinder engine that came with the Austin-Healys and others. The restoration was done at a British Motorworks shop in Berkeley Ca. It has a three-speed Corvette trans and Corvette rear end. It is painted “Black Cherry Metallic” in excellent condition. The person that painted it did an awesome job. My pics really don’t do it justice. He switched the wire spoke wheels that were original, with nicer, wider wheels. I think they look really cool on these older British sports cars, a real European look. The fenders are aluminium and the louvered hood is metal. I’ll bet it is a rocket with the 350 in this little roadster!
I need to find the owner of the 1953 Studebaker with the big block super charged dual quad carbuerator racing monster engine! Maybe Jack or Larry and Gail know the owner. They are Studebaker owners. I’ll try and find him or her next week.
As you know, Marty takes pics at Cars and Coffee every Saturday of most of the cars. This week he took pics and sent them to his nephew who converted them into cartoon images on the fly. Really Cool! Here is a pic of my 55 Chevy (above).
