Page 18 - The Origin of the Species

THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES
18
The final event in 1954 for SPL 224B (NOJ 391) took place in the Tour de
France, which ran from September 3 to 10. In a crowded field that included more
than 200 entrants, the vehicle had been loaned to French privateers Roger-André
Bouchard and Paulette Morel, who wanted to leverage their participation in the
grueling event to promote the marque on the Continent (Bouchard owned an
Austin-Healey dealership in France, having previously operated a Bugatti agency
in Périgeaux Place Franchville). Near the end of the last stage on September 10,
SPL 224B (NOJ 391) crashed into a truck near the small town of Saint-Laurent-
du-Var in the French Alpes Maritimes. The unfortunate driver was killed on
impact, while Mrs. Morel succumbed to her injuries a short time later while
receiving treatment at a hospital in Nice.
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Over the winter, the damaged vehicle was repaired and fitted with standard
100S coachwork, which dispensed with the previous ‘keystone’ grille in favor of
an oval replacement. Around the time that the vehicle received its new bodyshell
that brought it into line with the limited production 100S, SPL 224B (NOJ 391)
received a new chassis plate with an AHS 3804 chassis designation. As Geoffrey
Healey recounted in The Healey Story: “The first car to be converted into a ‘100S’
was AHR 5, SPL 224B, which was first registered under our Job Number 176.
NOJ 393 and the 1954 Special Test Cars registered as OON 439, OON 440 and
OON 441 followed … The early gearboxes were found to have a fault in the gear
selection mechanism. Morris Engines found the fault and we rectified every box
prior to their introduction. We operated a very tight quality control with every
modification being noted and accounted for. In theory no unmodified ‘100S’
should have got out, but one escaped the net. This was SPL224B, which had been
rebodied with a production ‘S’ body and renumbered AHS 3804. It succeeded in
completing the 1955 Mille Miglia and the 1956 Sebring 12-Hour Race driven by
George Huntoon and Phil Stiles. After the race, while Phil was driving it back to
West Palm Beach, the gear selection mechanism failed. Roger and I studied the
(ABOVE LEFT) Nancy
Mitchell and Susan
Hindmarsh with SPL 224B
(NOJ 391) at the 1954
International Alpine Rally.
The pair were forced to retire
following an accident. (Hervé
Chevalier Collection)
(ABOVE RIGHT) The
wreckage of SPL 224B
(NOJ 391) following the
accident that resulted in
the unfortunate deaths of
Roger-André Bouchard and
Paulette Morel in the 1954
Tour de France. (Hervé Chevalier
Collection)
(OPPOSITE) The works
team seen at scrutineering
prior to the 1955 Mille Miglia.
It is believed that SPL 224B
(NOJ 391) is the red car in the
foreground. During the race it
competed with the OON 440
that is most associated with
SPL 257BN. (The Donald Healey
Collection)