Michael Wylie

It was with great sadness that I learned that Mike Wylie had died. His son, David, writes of him below:

“Dad passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side early on Saturday (7th November) morning following a short illness. No doubt he’s already at the great paddock bar talking opposite lock and other heroic deeds.
The Speedwell allowed him access to such wonderful events and people – and with such a strong connection to our family too. He spoke often of the Pirelli Marathons, the adventure, the competition and comparing stage times with Stirling Moss at the top of the Stelvio. He awaited John Sprinzel’s Christmas cards and other missives especially keenly – a friendship struck up as team-mates on ‘the Marathon’. He was especially happy when Sprinzel (we have always referred to him as Sprinzel) came to congratulate us at Goodwood in 2006 for being first Sprite home ahead of ‘those pesky Wissums’!
His encouragement to use and abuse the Speedwell has always made it easy for me to drive it hard – perhaps it would be hard for him to do anything else having inverted it on a British Hill Climb Championship event 500 yards from our front door in Belfast!
I hope that the Special Sprite community took as much pleasure from his interest in the cars as he took from yours.
I’ll update with funeral arrangements once they are known.
As Dad would have said… keep it between the ditches!
David Wylie”

[Our sincere condolences to David and his family. Some of Mike’s exploits are on the 505 BZ web page]

9253 WD ~ the proof

Jonathan Whitehouse-Bird is a meticulous researcher of motoring history and finds it hard to reconcile John Harris’s claim that the engine upgrade took place at his home. Jonathan has unearthed “the proof that the 1098 c.c. XSP engine (XSP 1973 – 6) currently sitting in 9253 WD was fitted by the Donald Healey Motor Co. Ltd., (along with its straight-cut, ribbed case gearbox) in preparation for the 1963 Sebring 3 Hour race, and duly registered by them at the Warwickshire County Council, Licence Office on the 15th March 1963. Previously, for Sebring in 1962, it had originally been fitted with a 995 c.c. XSP unit (XSP 1862 – 1)”.

Exhibit A
The original Healey chassis plate showing XSP 1973 – 6. By itself, it doesn’t provide 100% proof, and Healeys’ could have easily knocked out a new one for John Harris later on…

Exhibit B.
The original XSP engine number attached to the block. Again, by itself…

Exhibit C.
The top, centre, rib of the ribbed-case, straight-cut gearbox stamped with “XSP 1973 – 6” and the date 1st January 1963. The 1962 item would have been a smooth-case unit.

Exhibit D.
The clutch fork ‘stop’. Not something that you’d especially knock together in the garage at home.

Exhibit E.
The engine bay of 9253 WD as it had survived upon acquiring the car in 2012. N.B. the red coloured, hand-painted, letter and number “R4” on the bulkhead above the battery box.

Exhibit F.
Similar hand-painted lettering found beneath the glued down (John Harris fitted) carpets on the rear ‘parcel shelf’ behind the seats. The large hole had been taped over from above. I have no idea what these letters (or hole) relate to, but they were obviously done at the same time, and by the same person, who did the front bulkhead.

Exhibit G.
The oil tank that’s sits in the passenger footwell. XSP 1973 – 6 is a dry-sump unit. Again, John Harris makes no mention of this. The level of workmanship here is very high and would be difficult to carry out in the garage at home!

The original buff logbook for 9253 WD with the D.H.M.C. as the first registered owner.

Exhibit I.
Logbook detail registering a change of engine from XSP 1862 – 1 to XSP 1973 – 6 on the 15th March 1963, with an official stamp from the Warwick County Council Licence Office.

Exhibit J.
Further logbook detail showing licence (road fund) duty paid stamps from Warwick C.C. for 1962, 1963 and up until the 28th February 1964.

Exhibit K (above left)
Now, put all that information together and combine it with this document that I discovered while trawling through the original Healey archives at the Healey Museum in Holland, during our recent visit in 2014. This is the original handwritten record (presumably made by Geoff) of the Healey ‘works’ team entry for Sebring in March 1963, when 9253 WD was used during practice only. Things to note for Sprite registered 9253 WD: “Healey Code No” column … “R4” … “Engine No” column … “XSP 1973 – 6” … need I go on?

Exhibit L.
Back to the original buff logbook for 9253 WD. John Harris acquired and registered the car with Coventry Licensing Office on what appears to be the 29th December 1963. All subsequent stampings for 1964 on the logbook are from Coventry.

BRYN ROSSITER
was briefly an owner of 5435 WD back in 1976 – another piece of the jigsaw. See “Your Comments” (30 Oct)

BOB HINCHLIFFE replies to David Scothorn’s query about the photo of Sebring Sprites taking part in the relay at Silverstone. See “Your Comments” (19 Oct)

MORE FABRICATED WISHBONES
Chris Lord tells me ha has a pair of the King (standard camber) fabricated wishbones on his GAN4 Midget. Must be quite a few of these around it seems.

MIKE GARTON
wrote last month in the Austin-Healey Club’s magazine Rev Counter about special Sprites. Click

This photo of 96 RPE (now owned by Terry Cowan in California) is currently being offered on ebay at £14.99 (exp 8 Nov).
It shows the car at Brands Hatch in 1965 (not one I’ve seen before).

Blayden spotted (NL)

HRDC DONINGTON A-SERIES RACE ON 7TH NOVEMBER

Graham Robson will be back out with his WSM this coming weekend accompanied by 5 other
Spridgets as listed above. Why not go along and say hello?

DHMC Mark 2 hardtop fittings

I was recently contacted by Mick Brown who is restoring his DHMC works Mk 2 hardtop but had mislaid the various fittings which secured it to the car. As I had no information on these I emailed 4 owners of such hardtops and received from them the very useful information described here. James Thacker gave me a detailed description: “At the front there is a hole in the inside of the reinforced section of the hardtop just above where it sits on the top of the screen and about four inches in from the outside. There is a bracket bolted to the upright pillar of the windscreen with a curved hook at the top, about two inches below the top of the pillar. Joining the two is an adjustable bracket with hooks either end on threaded bolts; one left hand thread, going in to a stainless steel tube. At the rear, the hardtop has a bracket sticking below the front of the side quarter light which has a hole in it. Fixed just behind the door “ B” post is (the tube for the hood frame through which passes a) threaded rod with a hook on (which) is hooked into the hole in the bracket on the hardtop and the threaded section goes (through) the tube and is fixed with (an aluminium nut) and suitably large washers”. [I have amended James’ description slightly as I think his car lacks the hood fixing tubes] Colin Barnett and Julian Yell kindly suppled me with the photos shown above. Julian also tells me that the fittings are very similar to those used by DHMC to secure their hardtops on Big Healeys and that the front fitting has been reproduced and is available from Cape International for £48 pair. All very useful information for which many thanks guys. Mick will probably find his fittings now!!

An ASHLEY bonneted wire wheel Frog at Car & Classic £15,000
and a Shorrock supercharger is on ebay . Fetched £621 (Exp 8 Nov)

FROM JOHN HARRIS, former DHMC TEST DRIVER AND RACING DRIVER – re: 9253 WD
“I took over the car from the DHMC at the start of the 1964 and raced it for one year only. I did not paint the car dark blue. Initially the car was fitted with a 998 long stroke engine. After a couple races I felt the engine performance was disappointing and therefore GCH (Geoff Healey) gave me a 1071cc CooperS engine that had just come back from rebuild at Morris Engines. I fitted the engine here at home and the original engine was taken over for use by Roy Lane (who eventually was British Hill Climb Champion). The car was then very competitive and won its class many times during the season”.

PETER JACKSON sent me this photo of his “original road- going WSM, ally bodied and probably the most attractive body we made. I believe that it is the one car that no longer is accounted for”.