Dear Alan, As promised when we met at Goodwood, enclosed copies of photos taken when our car, NBU55E, was exhibited at the Classic and Sports Car Show N.E.C. Birmingham in May 1995. I hope they will be of use to you. Thanks for the interest and time you took looking at our car – it was good to see one of your restorations winning the big Healey concours on Sunday. Best regards Victor Wilshaw (This car also featured on an episode of Top Gear in 2013)

Dear Mr Wilson, Following on from our telephone conversation the other day, I write to say how pleased I am with the car and congratulate you on the quality of your work. If you are able to help me with any photographic documentation concerning the rebuild it would be a great help in building up some background of the car. If there are any costs involved in assembling these photographs or having them reprinted, then please let me know and I will be happy to reimburse you. I also have another Healey MkIII which is due to be restored, and would like to consider using your firm for the work. Yours sincerely, J C Whiting

Hi Alan and chaps, It will be a year ago on February 25th that my painted rolling shell made the journey from New Mills to my garage. Now, there’s oil in the sump, coolant in the radiator, brake fluid in the pipes and calipers (there’s also still a bit of air in there aswell – but that’s another story!) and fuel in the tank. The battery’s in and all the electrics that I been able to test thus far, all work. I yet to fit the hood but the frame’s fitted and I reckon it’s pretty much ready to see what happens when the key is turned and the engine cranked. I am aware that you said Ian and yourself wanted to be present when it’s first cranked so if you can suggest some dates when you’d be able to come over and do the honours, we can get something organised. In the meantime here’s a few pictures to show you how things have progressed since it left you… Look forward to hearing back from you. Cheers, Andy Titley

Hi Paul, Yes we have restored Grahams Frogeye Sprite. He bought it from me and we then restored it for him if i remember correctly. As far as I can remember it came with that chassis number, but it was several years ago. Ahh, I think someone may have stamped an S instead of a 5 and it was easier at the time to leave it as is. I have also had that with big Healeys as well. Any parts we fitted would have been new i.e. body parts, but some bits may have come from another car, again I cannot now remember. He should have photos, invoices and labour time sheets with the car so have you seen those? Graham also bought the registration number off me for the price it was worth at the time I think, also I think it was on the car when I bought it. Hope this helps and if i can help in future please don’t hesitate to contact me. Is it still in good condition? Regards Alan.

Alan, Thank you so much for this information. Yes I believe the chassis number has just been “stamped wrong” as the Austin Healey MK1 was never issued with a ANS Chassis number….. They were all AN5 or AN5-L (for left hand drive USA market)… I have spoken to the Austin Healey Club and they have said they will assist me in dealing with the DVLA to correct the obvious “typo” mistake. But it has been on their records for over 15years so we will see how that goes! Graham is very sad at selling his car, he has shown me all the receipts and photos that were taken while it was being restored by yourselves. I must say I am impressed with the condition. It has obviously been very well looked after and even housed in a carcoon tent. The standard of finish is excellent, even after all these years which is a credit to your skill and professionalism. Indeed the Austin Healey Club have stated that your work is excellent…. I had no hesitation in purchasing Graham’s Car, and will collect it this week which I am very much looking forward to. Thank you again (in not only replying to my email) but also for restoring a truly beautiful car to an exceptionally high standard. Kind regards Paul Sainsbury

Jaguar –

E-Type,

XK120,

XK140,

XK150,

SS.

For More Examples Of Our Work Please See Our Gallery Page.

MG –

TD,

TF,

A, B, C, GT,

Roadsters,

V8’s.

For More Examples Of Our Work Please See Our Gallery Page.

Austin Healey are without doubt our main speciality, as a result our restored Healeys have always fared well in concours competitions. We don’t follow all our restorations once they have returned to their owners, however, we do hear about certain vehicles through the grapevine.

Several vehicles we have restored in the past are still performing well in concours competitions today. See below for a few of the examples we’ve heard about –

The Austin Healey Club National Concours Awards in 2009 –

Best 3000 MkIIA & MkIII – 2nd Place – Peter Dodson PDD 187

The Austin Healey Club Midland Concours 2009 –

Masters Class – 3rd Place – Peter Dodson PDD 187

Gawsworth Hall Classic Car Show July 2010 –

Car Of The Show – Winner – John Ash Delage D8S

The Austin Healey Club National Concours Awards in 2017 –

Best Standard Sprite MkII-MkIV – 1st Place – Mick Brown 347 LUO

Judges Choice – Winner – Mick Brown 347 LUO

The Austin Healey Club Midland Concours 2018 –

Best Standard Sprite MkII-MkIV – 2nd Place – Mick Brown 347 LUO