| AHC Stand | Healey SR | PMO 300 | Rally 3000 | Healey Owners | Bugatti |
Midland Centre were out again representing the AHC at this years NEC Classic Car Show. The event was as big as ever and attracted large crowds. Along side was the MPH show which had featured the previous week at Earles Court. This year our stand featured the raffle prize Austin Healey Sprite for which tickets were selling well. Also on show were Brian Wheeler's replica Healey SR, Paul & Sharon Woolmer's Sebring Sprite and Dave Bentley's rally 3000 MKI. Our thanks go to the owners of these cars for their time and trouble in getting these cars on display.
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AHC Stand |
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AHC Stand |
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The Team! |
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Raffle Prize |
In 2004, great Healey enthusiast Brian Wheeler, whose Wheeler and Davis concern
is well known for building Frogeye Sprite bodyshells, started work on his own
SR replica. Brian has taken dimensions from many contemporary photographs of
the original car and used these as a basis for his working drawings. The Wheeler
SR has a handmade aluminium chassis and body panels, and utilises a Lola T70
windscreen like the original.
Ford Granada uprights and hubs have custom-made coil-overs and discs all round,
with Ultralight callipers and utilises the Granada ABS braking system. Steering
is by a modified MGB rack. The car is powered by a mildly tuned, carburettor-fed
Rover V8 engine linked to a Renault T3O five-speed gearbox and cooled by a pair
of late Sprite radiators, again as per the original. Brian has managed to get
a set of wheels cast that look like the originals. Using today's low-profile
tyres, the wheel diameter has been increased from 1510 to 16in, which will give
the original ride height. The fronts are 8in wide whilst the rears are 9in,
narrower than Healey's car.
Brian has built this one-off as a fun road car.
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Healey SR replica |
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One of six aluminium coupe Sprites bodied by Williams & Pritchard for John
Sprinzel Ltd during 1960/1.
This is the 4th incarnation of the car to compete internationally bearing the
famous PMO 200 number. It was built from parts salvaged from the previous car
using a new standard black Sprite Mk1 body shell, with the steel rear bodywork
replaced in alloy, a Sebring bonnet & works high side screen hardtop. At
this time the doors were probably also skinned in alloy. It's first event was
the 1960 RAC Rally, in this guise it was also raced at the Brands Hatch boxing
day meeting.
Over the winter of 1960/1 PMO & S221 were converted to full alloy coupe
specification to compete at Sebring in America. Both were painted Silver Grey,
S221 had a blue nose to aid identification.
Following Sebring both cars returned to England where S221 remained a very competitive
race car, while PMO was prepared for international rallying & doubling as
John's road car & customer demonstrator. PMO was also raced with great success,
made all the more impressive because it was about 60kg heavier than most of
its rivals which typically weighed close to the 570kg homologated weight.
The 1962 Monte Carlo Rally was PMO's last international appearance, after this
it was sold into private hands. The PMO registration was retained by John Sprinzel
& was seen on many different competition cars. The car was re-registered
248 DXN & continued to be raced until the late '60s or early '70s passing
through several owners including John Aley of 'Aley Bars' & Ted Walker of
'Ferret Fotographics'.
During the 1970's the car was used on the road before being laid up in need
of restoration. Philip Young bought it, then sold it to Roger Williamson of
Willhire who in turn sold it on to Tony Elshoff who stripped it in preparation
for a full restoration. During Tony's ownership the roof of the barn where it
was stored collapsed, completely flattening the car down to level with the door
tops. Due to ill health the restoration never happened & in September 1999
the car was consigned to auction along with most of Tony's collection.
The current owners acquired the car at the auction still bearing the 248 DXN
registration & purchased the original PMO 200 registration a short time
later. The restoration took 6 years, with the aim to reuse every original component
which could be safely salvaged, regardless of cost or time.
The car was finished in rally trim in time for John to drive it again in November
2005, for the first time since 1962. Sir Stirling Moss drove PMO in the Fordwater
Trophy race at the 2006 Goodwood Revival into 11th place overall. The earthen
featured in a nine page article in OCTANE magazine.
As in period, PMO is now used as both a road & competition car. It has competed
in 2 historic race meetings
in 2007 at Silverstone & Snetterton, winning its class in both. On fine
days it is also driven to work
If you have any information or recollections about PMO please contact the current
owners Paul & Sharon Woolmer
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PMO200 |
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This car was originally exported to New York on 29th June 1959 then repatriated to the UK in September 1995. Between 1995 and 1996, it was restored by Stan Chilton of Derby. The current owner, Dave Bentley, has prepared it for rallying and has this year competed in the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique 2007.
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AH 3000 BN7 |
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Our Neighbours |
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Tom Wheatcroft's Bugatti Royale and the Bugatti Veyron.
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