Bill Emerson was well versed in Healeys, so when he saw the ad for a “48 pre-Austin Westland Healey” in Hemmings Motor News in 1997, he knew it was going to be a rare car, and didn’t hesitate to head out to Los Angeles to inspect it.
He was thrilled to find a complete car, which had been in storage for the last 39 years or so, and with a little work, even got it running. The car came with quite a bit of accumulated physical history–papers from the Fifties, tools, a New York State license plate and damage to the tops of the rear fenders from the 1995 Northridge earthquake. He had few qualms about buying it, and started researching its history. With the help of Ron Yates and the archives of the Southern California Automobile Association, he soon established a very short chain of ownership, beginning with one Donald Healey.
While the restoration was ongoing, Bill continued to track down his car’s history but his breakthrough didn’t come until he was on a trip to Europe, where he’d had a tip from Healey expert Jack Hoogland that the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands had some early Healey materials, as some cars were bodied there. “You can imagine my surprise when the research library brought out two copies of The Motor…with articles written by Donald Healey describing his 1948 trip across the United States in the Westland,” Bill wrote in Austin-Healey Magazine. “Shown in the photos, the car was wearing registration plates 8N87 12 from New York,” the plates Bill had found under the spare tire.
Some controversy about his car’s provenance later emerged, but Bill is confident that myriad small details establish his Westland’s bona fides: The driver’s seat appeared to be set up for someone of Donald Healey’s 5’2″ stature; and the original paint color, found during restorations, was Healey’s well-known, rare personal pearlescent metallic green. Later on, “The engine when disassembled caused the mechanic to call me and say he ‘had never seen such beautifully polished rods and such careful attention to detail on the inside of an engine’,” said Bill. They also found a hand crank for starting in the trunk, which Bill interprets as a precaution against battery failure during the Healeys’ transcontinental drive.
Bill didn’t start on the restoration right away–he first spent two intensive weeks cleaning the car, which found it in driving condition, albeit with only the handbrake. The plan from there was to pound out the dents, repaint it in the correct color and drive away. But as soon as bodywork started to come off, it was obvious that the ash framing was in dire need of attention, and Bill resigned himself to the rigors of a full restoration.
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As the drivetrain is largely Riley, it wasn’t completely obscure, and he was able to have the suspension rebuilt. Getting the Riley hemi rebuilt, however, was the first taste of the epic quest to come. “This is easy to write, but finding someone who knew how to pour Babbitt bearings for the crankshaft/rod surface took some months of searching,” wrote Bill. In the end, this was done by a craftsman of 80-plus years who “likes to do this sort of thing to keep my hands and brain both working.” Roger Moment in Colorado rebuilt the twin SU H.4 carburetors, and John Murdock, “an Englishman who truly ‘understands’ the intricacies of the Riley 2.4-liter engine,” was responsible for final engine assembly.
Meanwhile, three years dragged by as a Florida panel shop built new wood framing, straightened the alloy panels and began fitting them. But in 2004, before the job was complete, the owners of both the primary restoration shop and the Florida body shop decided to retire. Bill quickly put the body together as much as he was able, and drove the partially completed car at a Donald Healey birthday celebration on July 3, 2004.
The body was far from done, however. Bill asked around at reputable shops, and found waiting lists of at least a year. “This was entirely unacceptable,” he wrote. “I had driven the car and loved it.” His search led him to Australian Healey restorer Steve Pike, who suggested that Bill ship the car to his Austin-Healey shop, Marsh Classic Restorations, in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, New South Wales, and even gave him a better quote than any American shop.
Sending the car to Australia was an easy decision, but while Steve and company were highly experienced in early alloy Healeys, they’d never seen a Westland. Bill, by now, had that, along with a comprehensive photo file. “I could send the photo books to Australia as a reference…I could imagine the international phone calls (that would come in the middle of the night)…I could imagine frustration for both the restorer and myself.” So he moved to Australia.
Far from being intimidated by the over-the-shoulder presence of the car owner, Steve was delighted. Here was someone who was not only paying him for the restoration, but was actually adding value to the job–as a free pair of hands. “As an example: ‘Bill, we need 20 stainless steel, slot-head screws with domed tops of this size.’ Or, ‘Bill, this old radio antenna and cable are shot. Please go find us a 1940s radio antenna’,” he said with a certain relish. He ended up being far more involved in the restoration in Australia than he was in Florida, spending many hours working in the blasting cabinet, and grinding, cleaning and polishing.
Steve’s son, David, took point on the bodywork, massaging the alloy to use as little filler as possible. Each body piece was primered and dry- and wet-sanded individually, while Bill and Steve attempted to match the original Metallic Pearl Green found in the car’s recesses, spending a month shooting paint onto identically primered aluminum strips. Heading toward a 100-point car, if they found any imperfections in a primered panel, they took it back down to bare metal and started again. When it came time for the color coats, every panel was repeatedly test-fit in primer, adjusted and touched up where needed, then painted individually off the car.
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Locally renowned Healey tuner Ed Jenz took the opportunity to bring the already-restored engine up to both aesthetic and operational standard. Here, it helped to be in Australia, where an active Riley club scene allowed them to make an off-the-shelf exchange for a water pump. “Careful work assured that each part was not ‘over restored,’ but still looked and acted new,” said Bill.
With the car apart at Marsh Classic, Bill worked with local upholsterers Bacchus Marsh Trimmers on the well-finished interior. Their first job was to figure out the correct materials, which took them to Melbourne, where a leather dealer identified “old style” trim material and Scottish leather, both of which they found in England. The carpet and top were also unobtainable in Australia: “Again, a lengthy discussion in a few long-distance phone calls to England and the Westminster carpet and correct top materials were on their way to the trimmer.”
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Bill had to return to the U.S. after four months, with the car substantially–but not quite–completed, but the top and side screens still unfinished. He describes waiting for it as being like waiting to open a present on Christmas Day. “The only difference was the size of the boy and the price of the toy!” When he opened the shipping container, it was all he’d dreamed, and thanks to Ed Jenz’s engine tuning, he had it running within two seconds of turning the key; so he was able to drive it out of the container under its own power. A week later, the Westland won Best of Show at the 2005 Austin-Healey Conclave, and picked up the Green Goddess nickname.
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“The key factor was achieving the authenticity that this particular automobile deserved,” wrote Bill. “This attention to detail during the restoration allows it to be viewed and driven, as it was when Donald and Geoff Healey drove it across the United States over 50 years ago.”
Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car thanks Bill Emerson for The Healey Book for use in preparing this story. We’ll be bringing you photos of Donald and Geoff Healey’s road trip in a future issue.
PHOTO 1
Removing the rear bodywork to repair earthquake damage to the alloy shell revealed a single repaint–and dry rot and cracking in the ash framing. This led to the decision to do a full restoration.
PHOTO 2
Decades of grunge starts to come off the frame rails, removed by hand with heat and a chisel. While the brakes were frozen, the engine still ran. Restorers were happy to find the gas tank usable.
PHOTO 3
A full-width shelf below the instrument has a wood fascia. A piece of a bandsaw blade bent into a U in a plane cut the correct grooves in a new piece, later finished at Marsh Classic.
PHOTO 4
After almost six years, the Westland was still a long way from complete. Here about to head into a container for Australia; customs officials there insisted on fumigation when they learned the body framing was wood.
PHOTO 5
The first step towards final bodywork was a coat of primer, applied to protect the previously completed bodywork, immediately upon arrival at Marsh Classic.
PHOTO 6
Photos from the Healeys’ cross-country trip clearly show a black wheel, so the string wrapping must have been applied in the Fifties, likely to help with California sunshine.
PHOTO 7
Greg Clements at Bacchus Marsh Trimmers helps with interior leather selection. Owner Bill Emerson traveled with the car to Australia, then had to deal with sourcing fabrics from England.
PHOTO 8
Extensive flat file and spoon work was needed to cope with dings acquired during the 1948 drive and following Los Angeles use. A light coat of primer made a handy guide coat.
PHOTO 9
The original rare metallic green paint survived on the underside of the folding hard tonneau. Finding a match proved challenging, but De Beer Refinish was able to re-create Donald Healey’s favorite color.
PHOTO 10
The sixth week of restoration saw the Westland painted, with every piece of removable bodywork painted separately in the paint booth. Jaret Salmon’s paintwork is buffed to a mirror shine by David Pike.
PHOTO 11
We were surprised and impressed to see a block plane used to smooth the hood, which took many hours of prep work. Bill didn’t want an over-restored car, but the bodywork is superb.
PHOTO 12
Copies of original factory materials were invaluable in re-creating the dash. Completed, it sports a full complement of Jaeger gauges. The wiring work had been done in the U.S.
PHOTO 13
Wood floorboards actually help dampen vibration. The wood dash strip, Radiomobile 100 radio, and fully carpeted and leather-trimmed foot boxes are visible. It’s clearly a luxury GT.
PHOTO 14
Sanding and more sanding. The extensive and painstaking bodywork pays off in a finish using minimal polyester filler, and a multiple-concours winning exterior. The hood was completed last.
PHOTO 15
Marsh Classic Restoration removed the alloy firewall again for polishing; it had previously been removed during the first, aborted American restoration. Close inspection revealed handmade construction.
PHOTO 16
Bacchus Marsh Trimmers used the original interior as a pattern for the new one: As befit a $7,500 car, it was very well finished inside. This is during the 13th of 17 weeks of full-time restoration in Australia.
