HOME > LOT 186 - 1950 Healey Silverstone

LOT 186 - 1950 Healey Silverstone

LOT 186 - 1950 Healey Silverstone

  • Owned by the vendor since 1968
  • Well known car with continuous history from new
  • Raced, sprinted and hill-climbed in the UK and Europe throughout its life
  • A passport to Blue Ribbon events such as Mille Miglia, Le Mans Classic, Goodwood, Monaco Historic Grand Prix and Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique
  • Highly original
  • Engine rebuilt by Denis Welch
  • Rare close ratio gearbox
  • Road and race-used condition
  • The perfect dual-purpose road and competition machine 
  • MORE PHOTOGRAPHS AND INFORMATION HAVE BEEN ADDED. PLEASE SEE FOOTNOTES
  • Estimated at £60,000 to £100,000. 

SOLD for £78,750

ABOUT THIS CAR

“A genuine maximum of over 100 m.p.h., exceptional acceleration and splendid braking and roadholding, allied to docility and ease of control, characterise the latest model from Warwick.” Motor Sport, November 1949

Donald Mitchell Healey, or ‘DMH’, was a fine aeronautical and motor engineer who having served with the Royal Flying Corps in the First War and had hence had his fill of ‘planes, established the Red House Garage in Perranporth, Cornwall in 1918. As his son Geoff noted in his book “More Healeys”, “DMH did not find running a garage enough to occupy him and took to competition motoring.” With circuit racing still in its infancy he started with local Truro Motor Club events before graduating to national and then international competition. This tended to be in the form of long distance rallies such as the Monte Carlo Rally and Austrian Alpine Trial in which DMH had considerable success, winning the latter in 1930 in a 4 ½ Litre Invicta and the former in 1931 aboard the same manufacturer’s Low Chassis model prepared at the Red House Garage. Having driven and prepared their cars since 1924, in 1933 he joined Riley’s experimental department, competing successfully with their wares before joining Triumph in 1934, eventually becoming Technical Director. Clearly a subscriber to the ‘competition improves the breed’ theory, DMH and Tommy Wisdom took third place on that year’s Monte with his ‘company’ car while all seven of the Triumphs entered finished the gruelling event. During the Second War, he moved to Humber where he met two pivotal characters in the Healey story; the ex-Farina engineer/artist Ben Bowden and Italian engineer A. C. ‘Sammy’ Sampiertro who had worked for Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Post war the three formed the Donald Healey Motor Company in Warwick and the Healey brand was born in 1946.

As Geoff Healey pithily put it, “The competition involvement of motor companies had a direct effect on their products. Those involved – Bentley, Triumph, Riley, MG, Invicta, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and so on – produced exciting cars. Those not involved just produced reliable but dull transport vehicles.” Clearly this was the point of view taken by those at Healey’s Cape factory and despite necessitous post-war austerity, there was a pent-up need for people to relax and enjoy themselves, not to mention experience some of the excitement that had been part of everyday life a few years earlier, however unwelcome that might have been at the time. Motorsport, regardless of format, provided the enjoyment and thrills many were seeking though in straitened times the luxury of owning two vehicles to fulfil both the mundane and frivolous was beyond most. Into this market Healey launched their first two products - the Elliot saloon and Westland roadster – both of which, despite ostensibly being pure road cars, garnered considerable success taking class victories on the 1947 and 1948 Alpine Rallies and acquitting themselves equally well in national and international circuit racing. Lightweight magnesium and aluminium bodies mated to a rigid bespoke chassis proved to be an excellent structure from which sophisticated suspension could be hung. DMH’s experience with their products made Riley the ideal choice for the drive train; being an ex-employee and friend of Victor Riley might well have helped too. Having ticked the ‘road car you can win with’ box, Healey then flipped this on its head to produce a racer that you could use every day by doing little more then reversing the orientation of your flat cap (peak forward Monday to Friday, peak back at the weekends) and the ‘Silverstone’ was born. Long before Mr C. Chapman was misquoted, racers had subscribed to the mantra that (horsepower aside) less is more and this is certainly true of the Silverstone. Based on that of the existing models, the chassis was shortened behind the rear wheels leaving the wheelbase unchanged though importantly the engine was moved back some six inches to give what marketing people now refer to as a ‘front-mid engined’ layout (BMW, Honda et al, there’s nothing new under the sun). Relative to its rather voluptuous and voluminous siblings, the open two-seater sports’ alloy body was pared down to a cigar tube with separate(ish) cycle wings, no opening boot (actually, virtually no boot at all, the fuel tank got there first) and vestigial doors. This was carried on a steel tube frame as opposed to the earlier cars’ ash and it helped keep the weight of the car down to just 940 kg; leggera if not Superleggera. Not unlike Lotus this minimalist approach was not only to save weight but also cost; bodies were just £150 each from Abbey Pannels in Coventry and that plus the less luxurious interior meant the car’s price could be kept below £1,000, the tipping point at which Purchase Tax jumped from 33% to 66% - something that would have made the racer for the road ruinously expensive given its lack of creature comforts.

As mentioned, the chassis was essentially that found under other Warwick Healeys; a ladder frame with cruciform bracing, the side members having a top hat section closed with a bottom plate. In Healey terminology the A, B and C type chassis were utilised in the Elliot and Westland models while Silverstone production started in 1949 with the D type chassis before that was replaced by the wider E type in April 1950.  

Also carried over from the earlier cars was the sophisticated (if expensive) and distinctive alloy trailing arm independent front suspension designed by Sampiertro which sported coil springs and lever arm dampers with an anti-roll bar. Adamant steering boxes were utilised. The rear was similarly cutting edge with a torque tube picking up a Riley live axle located by a Panhard rod and radius rods with suspension by coil springs and vertically mounted telescopic dampers.

Having already been tweaked for use in the four-seater Healeys, Riley’s much admired four cylinder, 2,443 cc engine was retained for the Silverstone. High mounted twin camshafts operate ninety degree inclined valves via short pushrods which allow for hemispherical combustion chambers. Despite its taxation driven long stroke, the resultant excellent airflow makes for good further tuning potential and thanks to twin SU H4 carburettors mounted on Healey’s own manifold, power output was increased from Riley’s 90 bhp to Healey’s 104. Teamed with Riley’s 4 speed manual box the drivetrain was both proven and more than capable of making the Healey range genuine 100 mph cars. Perhaps due to the compact and linear nature of the DHMC’s management structure, the Silverstone boasted innovations such as headlights positioned behind the grill, a windscreen that dropped down into the scuttle rather than folding and a horizontally mounted spare wheel, the tyre of which protruded from the rear bodywork to double as a bumper.

Launched at the London Motor Show in 1949, the Silverstone’s advanced chassis (cart-sprung contemporary Jaguars could have taken a leaf out of Healey’s book) quickly led to success on both the National and International stages. In August 1949 three cars driven by Louis Chiron, Tony Rolt and Tommy Wisdom won the team prize in the Production Car race at (appropriately) Silverstone while DMH and Ian Appleyard won their class finishing third overall aboard the prototype ‘JAC 100’ in that year’s Alpine rally, the first British car home. A class win in the testing Liège-Rome-Liège rally for Peter Riley and Bill Lamb was backed up in 1951 with a Coupe des Alps for Edgar Wadsworth and Cyril Corbishley. This along with numerous club level wins ensured, for such a small manufacturer, strong sales on both sides of the Atlantic. Briggs Cunningham bought two cars putting a V8 engine into one, while back in England a certain Tony Brooks cut his teeth (so to speak) in a Silverstone.

In production for under two years, 105 examples of Healey’s road-going racer were turned out, 51 D Types and 54 E Types, ending with chassis number E104 (there was an E51 as well as a D51 hence the 105 total), the last cars being finished in September 1950. The E Types are considered marginally more desirable being slightly less snug (D Types are sometimes rebodied to E Type body configuration), having a better hood arrangement and improved engine bay airflow due to the presence of a subtle bonnet air intake.  

Healey Silverstone Chassis Number E62, was registered on 3rd May 1950 as GOW 686 and we understand from the vendor that its first owner was renowned Riley racer Hector Dobbs. Mr Dobbs ran a Healey dealership in Southampton (hence the ‘GOW’ registration number) and apparently raced the car at Goodwood and on Jersey in 1950. Records indicate that later that year the Healey was purchased by an L. Frazer who quickly sold it to a D. Metcalf who kept it until 1958. At this point the buff Continuation Logbook on file picks up the ownership trail with a Mr. Terrance Catt (not Colt as stated in other owner lists) of Wimbledon acquiring the car on 20th February 1958. Interestingly this document lists the engine number as B 4669 which can still be seen stamped onto the engine in the car today giving a very strong indication that it is its original unit. The Healey passed on to Mr Paul Wood in Surrey on the 4th August 1961 and then to Mr Brian Dermott of Esher in November 1962. In 1965 Mr Dermott moved to Henley-on-Thames, taking the Silverstone with him. Having raced GOW 686 enthusiastically (please see the FOOTNOTE bellow and the photo gallery which clearly shows him going around the outside of a Frazer Nash in 1966!) at circuits such as Silverstone, Castle Combe and Thruxton, in 1967 Mr Dermott unfortunately hit a tree just outside Henley damaging the nearside front wing, bodywork and front of the chassis.

The vendor had already owned and successfully competed with a Healey Elliot saloon (ETR 775), even entering the 1947 RAC Rally in it, and a Silverstone requiring a little TLC was just what he was looking for. A deal was done in 1968 and the new owner rebuilt GOW 686 over the next few years. The wing and relatively lightly damaged bodywork were easily repaired though the chassis was a little more of a challenge. Luckily a Healey Westland was found lurking in a scrap yard - those really were the days - and the section forward of the cruciform brace was removed and expertly grafted onto the Silverstone by the owner and Ken Harrison, with the aid of an original Factory chassis drawing supplied by Peter Browning, BMC’s Competitions Manager - see Footnote below. The engine mounts were mated to the chassis in the correct ‘Silverstone’ position, i.e. six inches further back. Once completed, measurements were taken and the chassis was found to be well within the Healey factory’s original tolerance; it was literally better than new.   

With competition as well as road work always part of the plan for the Healey, the engine was rebuilt accordingly. As Riley bearings were becoming costly and hard to find, hours were spent pouring over bearing catalogues which resulted in correct sized copper/lead/iridium shell bearings from a diesel engine being sourced. These heavy-duty items were fitted to the rods which were modified and balanced by Laystall, then handily based in Lambeth, just around the corner from the owner’s office. Always limited by its long stroke, these measures enabled the engine to rev. to 5,000 rpm, a useful increase over the standard unit’s 4,600. Camshaft guru Leonard Reece (who later went on to become half of Reece-Fish carburettors) produced a pair of ‘fast road’ camshafts with increased overlap for more mixture ‘suck’. High compression pistons and some experienced machining of the H4 carburettors’ needles by an SU expert on the Southend Road coaxed the engine’s power up to a still road usable 120 or so bhp. All old school, seat of the pants tuning accomplished by the application of experience and ‘feel’ with not a laptop or chipped ECU in sight; how very refreshing.

With the Healey items known to be a little fragile, a set of stronger 5” wide (up by ½”) Jaguar wheels were acquired from a local scrapyard. These allowed the tyre width to be increased from 155 to 165. The brakes were also uprated using Jaguar-sourced components in the form of 3/8” wider brake drums from a 2 ½ litre Saloon and these were acted upon via Ferodo AM4 linings while cooling was improved by venting the back plates. Koni telescopic shock absorbers were fitted to the rear axle (since replaced by Spax adjustables) with adjustable Armstrong lever arms at the front.

The bench seat found in the E Type Silverstones was not to the owner’s liking so he acquired a pair of more shapely seats from an Austin 7 Ruby and had these retrimmed in leather by Mike Street, a cohort of his from the 750 Motor Club.

Of particular interest, already fitted to the Healey when it was purchased by the vendor is a very rare close ratio gearbox containing one of a batch of just fifty gear sets made by Prince Engineers in Kingston on Thames, better known for their crank and camshaft grinding machines. With its 3.5:1 differential and 15” wheels, top gear gives 23mph per 1,000 rpm which equates to 115 mph with 75 mph being achievable in 3rd.

Since the early 1970s the owner has raced GOW 686 extensively at circuits such as Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Lydden Hill, Thruxton, Donington Park, Castle Combe and Crystal Palace. He has also tackled the hill climbs at Prescott, Valence, Bodiam, Farthingloe and Wiscombe Park and taken part in numerous Tours and rallies including the Coronation Rally at Woburn Abbey in 1981, the Historic Rally Car Register’s East Sussex Tour in 1993 and the Weald of Kent Rally in 1994. The Healey also took part in the Aintree Sprint from 1997 to 2000.

Across The Channel the Healey has raced in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps and Chimay along with Le Mans in 1996, Montlhery and Angoulême (please see photo gallery) in France. It is thought to still hold the 2.0 to 3.0 litre class record for the hill climb at Étretat and has attended the hillclimb at Chanteloup les Vignes near Paris, site of the world's first hillclimb, at least six times up to 2016 - Google it for some YouTube footage.

Very much in the spirit of the Healey Silverstone, GOW 686 has always been driven to these events on the road with race preparation involving nothing more than a couple of psi added to the tyre pressures once there. Even after a disagreement with a Vauxhall 30/98 at Angoulême which resulted in a damaged front wing fouling the tyre, a little on the spot panel beating and the drive home was accomplished sans drama.

In 1972 the Automobile Club de l'Ouest celebrated the 40th running of the Le Mans 24 Hour Race and organised a parade featuring a car from every year. GOW 686 was selected to represent 1950 and the owner was partnered with a driver scheduled to take part in the main race; from what we can tell this was Jean Rondeau who later became the first person to win the 24 Heures du Mans in a car of his own construction. The term ‘Parade’ perhaps lost something in translation and after one ‘slow’ lap a Porsche 917 was dispatched on the Mulsanne Straight at some 180 kph much to the passenger’s surprise...

Unfortunately, in 2003 the owner, a keen competition cyclist, was knocked off his bike and consequently lost his sight. After over thirty years of racing and road use, he was no longer able to drive the Healey. Undeterred he found friends were only too happy to work on the car with him and continue to exercise it on both the road and track while he enjoyed the car from the passenger seat (where possible). He did drive a couple of laps at Goodwood with an instructor alongside him giving direction, though he admitted he was a little off his personal best lap time.   

Never fully restored but rather repaired and fettled as required, GOW 686’s condition today is in keeping with its active road and race life since 1950. The fact that a Continuation Logbook was required when the Healey was less than ten years old points to it always being taxed and the fourteen Road Tax stamps in said Logbook indicate this remained the case though to 1967. During the vendor’s tenure the Healey has, until relatively recently, been used constantly with its MOT history showing that between 2006 and 2019 it covered some 7,000 miles at a fairly constant rate. With just fifty miles added since then, the owner for the past fifty-five years has reluctantly taken the difficult decision to pass GOW 686 to a new custodian.

As with all our listings, we have published numerous ‘warts and all’ photos that can be analysed in the gallery. At the risk of stating the obvious, the bodywork sports a number of dinks, dents and splits though we categorically refuse to call these ‘imperfections’; they are the evidence of an active life well lived. As mentioned in period road tests, on full lock the wheels foul the body with the expected consequences. The paint has been touched in in various places and it has a selection of cracks and chip while an aluminium tube added to brace the rear wings has come away on one side.

The tonneau cover is in good condition though the hood and side screens, having never been on the car during the vendors ownership, are less presentable.

What little chrome there is seems sound and perhaps just needs a good wipe with an oily rag; like the paintwork it has been left exactly ‘as is’ from a few years without use.

The interior is in commensurate condition with the carpets needing vacuuming and relaying while the leather has that charmingly lived in feel, but it is free from rips or splits. The dashboard has a comprehensive range of instruments, most important of which are the Jaeger speedometer and chronometric tachometer. The minor dials are by Smiths, some more period than others.

Getting underneath the substantial chassis looks to be in excellent shape, well painted and protected, to a degree by the major mechanical components though for their vintage these look to be fairly fluid-tight. The front suspension and steering gear is maintained via numerous grease nipples and these look to have received the required attention. The engine bay is ‘snug’ but functional and tidy with the handsome engine topped and tailed by a pair of aluminium rocker covers and deep finned sump.

Given the Healey’s lack of recent use we did not conduct an extensive test drive but the engine, rebuilt by Denis Welch in 1989, fired fairly easily once provided with fresh fuel via a pair of independently switchable pumps for the main and reserve tanks. Turning the engine over suggested there might be a slightly soft engine mount but with a little heat in it the big ‘four’ settled to a reasonably even idle at 1,200 rpm. The hint of a slight misfire might point to a new set of plugs being in order but the engine displayed good oil pressure of 45 psi at a warm idle rising to 50 psi at 1,300 rpm with a good charging rate showing on the ammeter. With a bit of pressure on the nicely modified for heal and toeing throttle pedal, the engine smoothed out noticeably, the needle on the chronometric tachometer clicking and flicking around the dial while the stainless steel exhaust emitted a lovely mellow note.

The gearbox has a nice easy, positive change aided by a light clutch. Currently the brakes, while they do pull the car up, do not inspire all that much confidence due to their long pedal travel; it is possible the servo added presumably to compensate for the harder brake linings may be the cause of this. As is often the case with steering box systems, the steering is heavy when the Silverstone is stationary but this lightens up considerably, even when moving at less than walking pace.

The minor equipment and controls such as the Cibie headlights, horn and indicators all seem to work as do the wipers, though it seems their orientation needs to be reset. The 165 15 Firestone F-560 tyres all have a good amount of tread remaining and a decent capacity Bosch battery has recently been fitted along with flying leads for easy charging. The external electrical cutoff switch has been bypassed. Cooling for the mildly breathed on engine has been improved by the addition of an oil cooler, a vent in the nearside bodywork and a Kenolwe radiator fan. At some stage the bonnet air intake has been sealed, presumably to encourage more air through the radiator and the headlights have been relocated outside the body for the same reason.

Four boxes of spares containing items such as carburettors, instruments, lights, bearings, brake, suspension and trim parts accompany the Healey along with a number of event plaques.

A good quantity of paperwork includes the current V5C, Continuation Logbook, expired FIA Papers issued in 1989 and documentation confirming the issue of GOW 686’s Historical Technical Passport in 2007. The VSCC Blue Form application from 1994 is also present along with an original Healy Instruction Book, French newspaper article concerning the Healey’s exploits at Angoulême and brief instructions for running the car from the owner.

From 2019 to date probably represents the longest period the Healey has remained unused since it was built and it would be sensible to treat it to a good service and some gentle recommissioning before embarking on the next chapter in its life. Any attention to cosmetic aspects of the car will be the new owner’s decision to make but we can’t help thinking that left well alone you would be the toast of a VSCC meeting if not Pebble Beach.

Being, we are confident, the most competitively priced (bidding depending) Silverstone on the market by some distance, we anticipate there being considerable interest in GOW 686 and recommend viewing on the Nottinghamshire/Lincolnshire border at your earliest convenience. For interested parties outside of the UK, we are experienced in shipping to the USA, Europe and the rest of the world.

With 2024 being the 75th Anniversary of the Healey Silverstone, interest in the model is sure to increase from now on and it will remain the ‘golden ticket’ allowing participation in the very best events in the global historic motoring calendar.    

Registration number: GOW 686
Chassis Number: E 62
Engine Number: B 4669 

FOOTNOTES:

Brian Dermott writing in ‘Hundreds and Thousands’, the Austin Healey Owners Club of Victoria’s Magazine in 2011, recalled his ownership of the Healey:

“By 1966, GOW 686 and I were frequent competitors at AH Club events – and winners of the Healey Register Trophy three years running.”

Through his racing exploits, Mr Dermott got to know Guy Griffiths and Betty Haig and was heavily involved in starting the ‘Griffiths Formula’ with them. He took part in its 1st race in May 1966 at Castle Combe (please see the photo gallery) sharing the grid with Frazer Nashes, a Ferrari 166, an Aston Martin DB3S and the ultimately victorious D-Type Jaguar. The Griffiths Formula became the Historic Sports Car Club a few years later and GOW 686 took part in the recreation of that 1st race for the Club's 50th Anniversary celebrations at Castle Combe in 2016. As they say themselves, “The HSCC was created in 1966 by a small group of enthusiasts, notably Guy Griffiths and Betty Haig” making GOW 686 a ‘founding’ machine. 

Further information:

We are very grateful to the HSCC and particularly Brian Branston at renowned Healey specialists AH Spares who has put us in touch with Brian Dermott, now living out in Australia and still competing with a fabulous 'Big' Healey. Mr Dermott has clarified a few points and forwarded a number of photographs of GOW 686 when in his ownership, a selection of which have been added to the photo gallery - our sincere thanks to him. 

The driver of the Frazer Nash Le Mans Rep he is trying to go around the outside of is none other than Betty Haig and Mr Dermott's support for the Griffiths Formula literally from day one resulted in him being made a life member of the HSCC fifty years later. As the winner of Healey Register Trophy, Mr Dermott gave DMH a ride in GOW 686 for a parade lap at an Austin Healey Club celebration meeting.

As noted on the continuation log book the Healey underwent a colour change from red to green sometime in the mid 1960s. Mr Dermott explained that having hit a deer in the New Forest on his way to his honeymoon in France, "The impact smashed the front bodywork and grille but did no mechanical damage. The cost of repairing the grille was too much and so GOW lived without one until the current owner fixed it. Before the deer, it was red, after that it became BRG." 

The road accident referred to in the main text occurred in very wet conditions when he gently understeered into the roadside barrier, rather than a tree, near Remenham. Remarkably Peter Browning was in the passenger seat at the time so perhaps that explains the assistance he gave in the repair of E62. The Silverstone was sold to the current owner for £250.  

Thanks again to Mr Dermott for his valuable insight into life with the Silverstone. We will leave the last words to him as they encapsulate the essence of Healey Silverstone ownership: "In addition to racing, touring, weekends away, long touring holidays into the Alps and Dolomites, attending club events etc GOW was also my daily driver."

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B e r l i n e t t a  8

July 12th at 09:27 AM

Hi The auction finished last Monday but unfortunately the Silverstone did not reach it's reserve. Please contact us for the latest information. The best number today is 07976 707395. Many thanks.

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July 11th at 11:10 PM

when is the finish date of the auction. I can`t find it on the wesite

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