Austin-Healey’s and the Austin Healey Car Club of NZ and Others

[Roger Dowding]

" The Jensen 541 is an automobile which was produced by Jensen Motors from 1954 to 1959. It was first exhibited at the London Motor Show in October 1953,[4] and production started in 1954.

The 541 used fibreglass bodywork mounted on a steel chassis and was fitted with a straight-six engine, three SU carburettor version of the 4-litre Austin engine and four speed transmission with optional Laycock de Normanville overdrive.

The body consisted of three major mouldings and the entire front was rear hinged and could be raised for engine access. The doors were aluminium. Suspension was independent at the front using coil springs with a Panhard rod located rigid axle and leaf springs at the rear. A choice of wire spoked or steel disc wheels with centre lock fitting was offered.[3] At first the car had servo assisted 11 in (279 mm) drum brakes but from 1956, the newly introduced 541 Deluxe version featured Dunlop disc brakes both front and rear—the first British four seater thus equipped.

It was also a luxurious car with the well equipped interior featuring leather seats as standard. The individual seats in front separated by a high transmission tunnel and the rear seats had a small centre armrest and could also be tilted forwards to increase luggage space. Standard colours (1955) were black, ivory, imperial crimson, moonbeam grey, Boticelli blue, deep green and Tampico beige.[3]

By employing lightweight materials, Jensen managed to make the car significantly lighter than their contemporary Interceptor model, with a dry weight of 1,220 kg (2,690 lb) as against the older design's 1,370 kg (3,020 lb).[4] Performance benefitted.

In 1957 the 541 R was introduced, and in 1960 the 541 S arrived with wider bodywork and revised grill styling. Production of the Jensen 541 ended in 1959 and the 541 S early 1963 when the range was replaced by the C-V8. "

When the Austin Healey Car Club ran our Hill Climb at Otaua in the 1980's a coupleof Jensens turned up to spectate. One was owned by a Mate of Reg Whittaker who was the " Man on the Ground " in Otaua, being a Waiuku Boy born and bred, and a local schoolteacher,was living in Bothwell Park Road which is the next road over from Maioro Rd.
As has been mentioned Reg organised the " toilet " for the day, not a portaloo, but a genuine " Longdrop " .. don't think OSH would permit such things today.

Those Jensens ;.



The CV8



The Longdrop by Reg of Waiuku - R.O.W - known as that and it was his initials to Reginald Orton Whittaker.
Chris Watson in his TR5 races past.



As an aside ; A group of Healeyites all past and some present members of the Austin Healey Car Club of New Zealand Inc - were at Manfield for the Classic Races last weekend.

This was sent to me by BMC BOY



Left to right;
BMC BOY Ross, Standing ; Chris White [ former racer ] Reg of Waiuku, Frank Karl AH 3000 and F5000 Racer, Barry Moon former Ford Escort and Austin Healey Racer. - drinking Orange Juice too !!.

Ross - Thanks for the photo. Great to see some Old mates.. Think I am one of the oldest though, at 72, Chris is 70, You are way younger, not sure about Frank and Reg, Barry about my age !! If he is not my apologies.
No doubt You and Barry would have caught up with John McKechnie and others. !!

[Roger Dowding]

The Austin Healey connection - the SCW magazine on the right - has a Road Test of an early AH 3000 - the test is in 1961 of a car owned by a Cambodian Diplomat - apparently there were no AH 3000's in Australia at the time.
Milan Fistonic posted the Magazine Cover many months ago on this thread.
There are about a dozen 1961 - 64 SCW's .. The writings are very old fashioned and the SCW help pages on tuning and modifying cars is interesting - the 1961 version of Google or other web - surfing .. Write a letter wait a couple of months for a reply in the Magazine,
The New Zealand correspondent for SCW was a Grant Howard who had a column every month - they too are worth a read. - could go on the Dunedin thread - for South Island events, or Pukekohe - for the Northern Races.

The Road test and another by an American Magazine " Sports car Illustrated will follow soon, once ;
1, I get my Camera back
2, Am home to use my scanner.
It is complicated, I am in Auckland very briefly,[ so can't collect those magazines ERC ]
Camera at Te Poi,
and
Scanner at Omokoroa.

The TRS connection the Magazines came from BMC BOY - in the box that they are lying in.

[Roger Dowding]

On the thread about a set of photos on the 1965 Hillclimb at Station Road, Fordell, was this comment by " 225sloper " and a series of photos ;
" Found these photos in a old Photo News dated 1965 of the Wanganui Car Club at one of their hillclimbs. . . . .Bruce Lester in his Healey Sprite who won the event with a 46.5 sec run. ".

The Sprite ;





Wanganui Photo News archives had the photos - Hillclimb event not a Trial - as noted in the comments on the photos.

The Registration Plate " CF1100 " is not current but may have been requested as the Sprite was probably an early 1098cc Mark 11 ..
The Lester family were / are a well known Motorsport Family in the Manuwatu / Taranaki area. Presume Bruce is part of the family, another competitor was his brother John in a Mini.

The Mini .. thanks again for the post .. 225sloper..

[Roger Dowding]

281,281 .. love sequences .. the number of view as at now 6;10 on 8th December 2019..

and a picture A-H of course ..



The car is /was a Ruddspeed and I am hoping for more information for a story on it - Yes it is in the USA .. but all part of ;
" Healey-istory "

Car was owned by a great American friend - Bill Bolton, from Corvallis Oregon ..

[Ray Bell]

Thanks for that photo, Roger...



It really puts the mockers (sp?) on anyone who tries to tell us that the C-series is derived from the truck engine, and it really emphasises the size and apparent weight differences.

Gauging what you can from the picture, it must be about four inches longer in the block and a couple of inches higher. Both are endowed with the heavy lower-block skirting, and it's obvious that the camshafts are on different sides. Didn't we establish that the C-series was a design from the Morris drawing rooms?

[Roger Dowding]

Ray Bell, your comment.

" Didn't we establish that the C-series was a design from the Morris drawing rooms? "

Got my hands smacked [ not on TRS I might add ] for saying that the Austin A40 Devon and Somerset engine was the first version of the "B " series, I still believe the concept was, even if the block is not the same.

so keeping away from that.

However you are probably right.

I understand Austin did and A and B series, Morris the C. Austin had the big four Morris had a Wolseley Six, Riley had stopped the big-ish 4s..

An " A ".



and A " C " ...



Sorry haven't got a " B " ..

but do have a Truck engine well 2/3rds of one the AH 100 2660 cc which precedes the A B and C engines..

[Ray Bell]

I don't know what the differences in overall specs were between the A40 and B-series, but the B-series was a way more robust engine which probably 'learned' from the mistakes of the A40 unit...

There's no doubt that BMC (or the ADO) didn't really plan for the B-series to go as big as it did. Nor the A-series, for that matter, which finished up larger than the A40 unit anyway. Siamesed bores became the norm, as you will recall.

The A40 had a bore of 65.5mm and an 89mm stroke, the first of the B-series had the same, then went to a 73.025mm bore and the stroke was the same as the A40. That's 8mm less metal between the bores if they were on the same cylinder spacing. But they weren't but I don't know how much the castings grew. A note on Wikipedia says they were both longer and wider, and the head was too.

I don't see any connection between the Wolseley six and the later C-series. It was probably a 'work in progress' at the time of the merger.

[Roger Dowding]

Thanks for " your inputs " Ray Bell,as Ken H says.

I need to do some more looking as there was a 6 cylinder engine of around 2.4 litres at one stage was used in Australia [ used in the Freeways and maybe other vehicles ], but I don't know its origins at the moment.
The Big Wolseleys 6/80's and Rileys RM's of the early 50;s became a different style of car by mid 50's with the Riley Pathfinder and the Wolseley 6/90 - pre the " Farina " styled era, by which time it was the " C " series motor, 2639 cc and 2912 cc.

Have some work to do.

Cheers

Roger D

[Kevin Hirst]

Thanks for " your inputs " Ray Bell,as Ken H says.

I need to do some more looking as there was a 6 cylinder engine of around 2.4 litres at one stage was used in Australia [ used in the Freeways and maybe other vehicles ], but I don't know its origins at the moment.
The Big Wolseleys 6/80's and Rileys RM's of the early 50;s became a different style of car by mid 50's with the Riley Pathfinder and the Wolseley 6/90 - pre the " Farina " styled era, by which time it was the " C " series motor, 2639 cc and 2912 cc.

Have some work to do.

Cheers

Roger D

Roger, the Wolseley 6/80 motor was a single OHC design by Hispano/Suiza they had very large diameter valve stems with an adjustable platform on top of valve, no bucket's or rocker's, where very hard on valves, just about everything metric like post war morris engines

[Roger Dowding]

Roger, the Wolseley 6/80 motor was a single OHC design by Hispano/Suiza they had very large diameter valve stems with an adjustable platform on top of valve, no bucket's or rocker's, where very hard on valves, just about everything metric like post war morris engines

Thanks Kevin,
and today I saw a photo of the Riley Two Point Six - which had the original version of the " C " series the 2639 cc with the restricted manifold that made the 100 Six so wheezy.

That Wolseley engine is interesting, didn't they make them quite small as well, around 1500 cc for some of their smaller cars ?

[Ray Bell]

Roger, the 2.4-litre engine was a B-series with two extra cylinders...

Everything was the same, pistons, rods from the 1622 engine, porting and cylinder block construction. The oil pump was bigger and it became the salvation of the MG A twin-cam which needed a better oil pump.

[Kevin Hirst]

Thanks Kevin,
and today I saw a photo of the Riley Two Point Six - which had the original version of the " C " series the 2639 cc with the restricted manifold that made the 100 Six so wheezy.

That Wolseley engine is interesting, didn't they make them quite small as well, around 1500 cc for some of their smaller cars ?

Did not know of any smaller engine of the same type as the 6/80, but could be, loved the car but let down by the engine, would like to find one today in restorable condition, very smooth motor when in good nick

[Ray Bell]

Wolseley engines post-war would have been mostly carry-ons from before the war.

They had a model called the 18-85 which was very popular, it was also SOHC at 2312cc.

The 6/80 had the 2215cc engine described above and the 4/50 had a 3-cylinder version of that.

Phasing these out were the 4/44 (1250cc XPAW version of the MG XPAG engine) and the 6/90 with the C-series.

Strangely enough, though the Riley 'Two Point Six' looked so much like the Wolseley and had the same mechanicals, a lot of body panels were different and they had 16" wheels in lieu of the Wolseley's 15". Check pictures and you'll see the difference in the shape around the wheel arches.

[Ray Bell]

And if you find it relevant, I always thought a 4/50 with a grey Holden engine would make a neat car...

[Roger Dowding]

Photo appeared on the Facebook page Austin Healey 100S with the note only " 1958 " no where / or who ?



Thanks to Milan Fistonic and Kelvin Brown it is this - quote from Milan ..
" Levin meeting on November 29, 1958. #19 is Angus Hyslop's D Type Jaguar and #13 is Graham Pierce in the ex-Ross Jensen Austin-Healey 100S. #28 is Roy Billington's Elfo Special. Pierce won three scratch races that day. "

The "Elfo " Special is a Buckler. Believed by "Oldfart " to be on a " copy Buckler chassis " so is it a replica or a special.

The 100S is of course the Seabrook Fowlds, - Ross Jensen - Graham Pierce Car that was rebuilt several years ago to how Ross Jensen raced it [ apart form the required ' Roll Bar ' ] and featured in a story by Allan Dick in NZ Classic Driver in the Jan - Feb 2017 edition of the magazine - issue #70- some of which has been posted on this thread.
Ross ran the car with Race No #18, Graham Pierce often had Race no #8,but #13 this day.

an Allan Dick photo of the car in 2017..

[Roger Dowding]

Advert from Graham Woods extensive archives ;



A 100/6 at a Gymkhana in the mid/late 1960's at Western Springs Neville Findlay photo - in his own car, that BMC BOY remembers from the 1960's around St Heliers, Auckland.



Neville at a Hillclimb, Bald Hill Road, which I know well as nearly lost it there in 1979 in the TR4A.



Rego Plate BJ326 is not current - wonder where the car is now !!

[Ray Bell]

Those ratios show that it needs an overdrive...

18.89mph in top would be a drag in Australia.

[Roger Dowding]

The photo of the Graham Pierce car beside the Hyslop D Type - and the Elfo Special / Buckler - with the De Joux body has brought to light more photos of all three cars.

That event was Levin 28th November 1958
Here are 5 more photo's of the 100S - when owned and driven by Graham Pierce in 1958 - 1959 - he owned the car from 1957 to 1959.

In chronological order

January 18th 1958 at Levin - the Summer " Tasman " series of races when the Overseas Boys arrived ' en masse ' for the Formula Libre and NZ Grand Prix races



November 1958 again at Levin - two photos.
The Le Mans start;



The pack is racing;


Roly Levis RAL, Jim Palmer Lotus XI, Bill Harris Buckler - De Joux body - white, and Roy Billington in the Elfo Special - Buckler,also with the De Joux body.

Levin in January 1959 again a Le Mans start with the 100S at an angle as the field takes off.


Angus Hyslop D Type Jaguar, Roly Levis RAL, and Roy Billington in the Elfo Special - Buckler with the De Joux body.
At one of the meetings Bruce Webster drove the Hyslop D Type in some races Angus in others - not sure who is driving the helmets may help..
[ will edit if I find out more ]

Change of Place and Pace - in the paddock at Ohakea in February 1959 with some other well known cars.


The Pat Hoare Ferrari 625 and Reg McCutcheon Normac Special


All photos from Jim Barclay - of Gemini FJ racing fame some from the Blair Collection.
The colour in some of the photos is excellent, other not so - have tried toenhance but has made almost no difference

Allan Dick wrote a story on Graham Pierce and the 100S 15 or so years ago,must try to find the magazine- NZ Classic Driver was just starting out with Allan at the desk so maybe in a very early issue- must try to jog his memory and get a back issue.
Thanks to Jim Barclay for the photos, and I hope more come to light.

[Ray Bell]

Great pics there, Roger, m thanks also to Jim Barclay.

In particular it's interesting to see Roy Billington racing as, of course, I only knew him as Jack's mechanic when they made the annual trek here a decade or so later.

By the way, the use of the term, 'Tasman Series', is not correct until 1964. It was actually in 1960 that races were first held in Australia to coincide with the International visitors being just across the ditch at that time of year. Then in 1962 it became a more organised kind of setup and the promoters were all talking to each other. But only in 1964 did the term 'Tasman' become applied to it as the FIA sanctioned the 'Tasman Cup' as a proper series with pointscore and trophy to match.

[Roger Dowding]

Great pics there, Roger, m thanks also to Jim Barclay.

In particular it's interesting to see Roy Billington racing as, of course, I only knew him as Jack's mechanic when they made the annual trek here a decade or so later.

By the way, the use of the term, 'Tasman Series', is not correct until 1964. It was actually in 1960 that races were first held in Australia to coincide with the International visitors being just across the ditch at that time of year. Then in 1962 it became a more organised kind of setup and the promoters were all talking to each other. But only in 1964 did the term 'Tasman' become applied to it as the FIA sanctioned the 'Tasman Cup' as a proper series with pointscore and trophy to match.

Cheers, Ray the " Tasman " series details, thanks.
When the first " Ardmore " New Zealand Grand Prix was held in 1954 a few of your compatriots came over, Stan Jones Jack Brabham Tony Gaze L Molina [ in his Holden powered Single Seater and the like ].
.
Stan winning the first Ardmore in the Maybach, a couple of English drivers came out to Ken Wharton, and Peter Whitehead.



Three Austin Healey's finished only, all 100,s including Ross Jensen as the 100" S " he raced didn't arrive in New Zealand until November 1955.

First "Official NZ GP was actually at Ohakea in 1950. won by John McMillan in the Jackson [ Logan, later the Northland Special ]

A sketch of the " Australian Special " Holden powered of L Molina.
Sketch by Winton Bristow, a great Mate of my Uncle Eddie Dowding [ RIP Win and Eddie ].



Another Jim Barclay archives photo - of the Billington Elfo Special, was referred to as a Buckler, probably because it had the De Joux body that a lot of Bucklers used. I have been told that it had a " Buckler " style chassis .. must go and check that out. The White Buckler in the photos belonged to " Bill Harris ! "



Roy was a Northland Boy, - seen here competing at Puhipuhi, a Northland Car Club Hillclimb - have posted a photo or two of Healey's at these events.
Photo from Brian Skudder - a stalwart of Northland Car Club - which had a great relationship with Northern Sports car Club in my 1970's - still would have I imagine.