Page 10 - The Origin of the Species

THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES
10
class and had an almost 20-lap advantage over the two British sports cars. When
the clock struck four o’clock on Sunday afternoon, SPL 225B (NOJ 392) crossed
the finish line to rank 12th overall and second in class, with SPL 226B (NOJ
393) following close behind at 14th overall and third in class. “This was a pretty
convincing demonstration of the reliability of the Austin-Healey at this early
stage of its life,” wrote Geoffrey Healey, proud of the solid finish of the two
100s and thrilled that a Jaguar C-type had recorded the overall win. “The British
contingent were delighted at the excellent showing by the British cars.”
Following extensive repairs at Warwick, SPL 224B (NOJ 391) competed at the
Goodwood 9 Hours in August with Lockett and Ken Rudd sharing the driving
duties. “It was essentially a long-distance car,” Geoffrey Healey recalled, “not
really suited to a short circuit like Goodwood, but … it finished 10th overall.” It is
interesting to note that around the same time as the event in Chichester, another
car wearing the same NOJ 391 identification was setting new speed records on
the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.6 Later that year, Rudd competed with SPL 224B
(NOJ 391) in the Brighton Speed Trials, completing the event, but losing out to
Ted Lloyd-Jones for the fastest time of the day.
For the 1954 racing season, an additional four Special Test Cars were
constructed to an improved specification, three of them (SPL 256BN to 258BN)
reserved for competition use and the fourth example (SPL 259BN) receiving new
modified coachwork for use in an upcoming land speed racing effort at Bonneville
in the late summer. In addition to the modifications made to the earlier tranche of
Special Test Cars, these vehicles were fitted with further improvements including
more robust David Brown four-speed gearboxes that obviated the need for the
Laycock overdrive units, Marston 25-gallon fuel bladders and an uprated engine
that introduced an aluminum crossflow cylinder head from Harry Weslake, which
was mated to an engine block cast to match its ports and galleries. A finned
Despite the subterfuge that
was needed to allow it to
race, SPL 226B (NOJ 393)
performed well during the
race, finishing 14th overall
and third in class. (The Donald
Healey Collection)