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The History of the New England Region
of the Austin Healey Club of America
What is known today as the New England Region
of the Austin Healey Club of America began in 1975. On a gloomy,
rainy May 5, Bill and Lynn Wood opened their Somers, CT home
to a gathering of 45 hardy Austin Healey enthusiasts who had
traveled from all corners of New England. Using a mailing
list from a national Austin Healey club, he contacted everyone
listed in New England to meet and discuss the formation of
a New England-based Austin Healey club. Before the day was
over, a schedule of events were planned for the rest of the
year with Bill serving as president. In a short time, the
club began to grow and word spread that exciting events were
being held for Austin Healey enthusiasts in the Northeast.
It was not long before the club was approached by the Austin
Healey Club of America to become a region under their nationwide
organization. The decision was unanimous.
The New England Region’s membership has
increased to approximately 500 members from New England and
Eastern New York State with many members owning more than
one Austin Healey. The club has thrived on a somewhat loose
but well organized set of guidelines. Area coordinators representing
various sectors across the region meet at least twice a year
under the leadership of a club president. The club also has
membership/treasurer and regalia chairpersons. The newsletter
editor publishes eight issues of the Northeast Newsletter
each year. This provides everyone with a calendar of events
for the year, details on future meets as well as articles
about previous meets. A classified section offers free advertising
for members as well as paid ads placed by vendors.
The New England Region has always prided itself
on being a family oriented club. Technical sessions are held
for those interested in learning how to rebuild or maintain
their cars, but in general, meets are geared for fellowship
and entertainment. These events may be for one-day only or
longer weekend gatherings and may include car shows, rallies,
gymkhanas and tours, and of course time to relax with a glass
of wine and fine food. The neighboring national chapters from
Southern Ontario and Quebec often attend these events and
they in turn have hosted meets where the Northeast membership
are their guests. Consequently, many of the die hard Austin
Healey enthusiasts have traveled from Cape Cod to Kingston,
Ontario and from West Point Academy to Gouldsboro, ME.
Many events have continued in the same area year after year.
For 25 years, the largest gathering was the annual Cape Cod
meet held in September at various locations on Cape Cod. The
latest annual affair is "Summit." The first Summit
was held in Jackson, NH. One highlight from the event was
the sunset tour of nearly 40 Austin Healeys going to the top
of Mount Washington.
In 1991, the club hosted "Conclave,"
an international meet held each year throughout the US and
Canada. After two years of planning, nearly 1,000 Austin Healey
enthusiasts and nearly 400 cars gathered in Sturbridge, MA
for a five-day meet complete with all types of driving events,
vendors, car shows and concourse judging plus three banquets.
Attendees came from as far away as California and Canada,
with a few guests traveling from Europe.
Sound interesting? Want to join us on our next
adventure? Click on the membership link in the left hand column
for a membership form.
History of the Austin Healey Marque
Donald Healey ran a small works company, producing only a
small number of cars. Healey showed a car at the Earls Court
motor show in 1952 called the 100. On seeing the general publics
enthusiasm for the car, Austin thought fit to produce the
car at Longbridge. This car later went on to be known as the
Austin-Healey 100.
The original ‘big Healey’ was the Healey 100
with a 2.6 litre four-cylinder engine.
In 1958 the Sprite was released. The much-loved “Frog-Eyed-Sprite”
has enthusiasts spread around the globe. The headlights were
originally intended to be retractable, but due to the costs
involved the idea was shelved, and they were just bolted to
the bonnet! The public sure liked the car, because the company
sold almost 40,000.
A more powerful version of the big Healey launched in 1959,
the Austin-Healey 3000.
In 1972 Austin-Healey ceased building cars, However Healey’s
name lived on with the Jensen-Healey, and Sprite parts were
still to be used in the MG Midget.
Although Austin-Healeys were built in Great Britain, they
were designed to appeal to Americans-in fact, Austin-Healey
exported 89 percent of their cars to the United States. Among
these automobiles, the 100 and 3000 Series-or “Big Healeys”-produced
from 1953 through 1968 were the fastest and most glamorous.
Today, a properly restored model can fetch anywhere from $20,000
to $30,000 at auction, while a healthy aftermarket serves
Austin-Healey enthusiasts who can find a ready supply of project
cars in the $5,000 to $10,000 range.
The body of the MkII 3000 was built by Jensen.
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