Things started to change during junior high as with many boys. Cars started to show up on the radar. '57 Chevies, Mustangs, GTO's, even some older trucks. The teenage desire for a licence and wheels that most young men go through hit. But one day the focus changed.
On one of my usual bike rides around town I came across a car that would change my thoughts.
The Austin-Healey 3000 Mk. II. A red one just like this one.
My Sunday evening ride ritual now took me by this car as much as possible. I'd stop and look, and dream and wonder. Before the internet there were few options to gain more knowledge. So I started buying sport car magazines and learning more about the British Invasion of cars after WWII. A neighbor had a Triumph, but it was a poorer relative to the Healey. The low slung Healey was the ticket.
As with many young men reality hits and school and sports and other distractions moved to the forefront of my mind during high school. This was the early to mid '70s and the oil embargo hit the US. Bikes were still on my mind. The car I drove was a '63 Ford Ranchero that was the family work truck on weekends. Though I still have a fond spot for Falcons and Rancheros, but the British two seaters still festered in the back of my mind. A classmate came by one day when I was gone offering his brother's Healey for sale at $800. Upon hearing of this the next day I scrambled and conjured to gather the money, but to no avail. The Ranchero was replaced by an El Camino after a collision and the dreaming continued.
In the fall of my freshman year at the local JC my brother and I decided to pool our money and look for a car. A proper British sports car. The Healey was possibly going to happen, but none were to be found, at least within our budget. We eventually found a TR-3 for the worldly sum of $750. I put up all my savings of $350 and my brother contributed the rest, and a Columbia Blue 1959 Triumph was ours.
Though not without some learning experiences along the way. The trip home took four plus hours because of a blown head gasket found later. The first time I drove the car the hood flew off hitting the windshield, then glancing off my head and finally landing in the road behind me. This led to the discovery of the high cost of auto parts made in Britain and shipped to the US. As well as the lessons of the scarcity of parts for 16 year old foreign cars. Economics 101 on a personal level.
Eventually the TR-3 and the Garver Boys reached a truce and the car taught us that maintenance will be rewarded with a reasonably reliable British car. There was the Geography lesson we learned. The damp, cool climate of Great Britain led to the making of cars that don't always like the hot, dry of Central California. When the car ran it was a joy to drive and everything we expected. When it didn't, we were left to figure things out at odd times. As the time a friend and I were stranded on the wrong side of a rival town near midnight with a back seat full of oranges. A helpful MG owned helped us find the distributer wire had rattled loose and we were gladly on our way.
All of this is a prelude of a pleasant discovery last weekend in Eugene. Across from our motel was a British Car Restoration Showroom.
We didn't find any TR-3's but there were three Austin-Healey 3000 Mk. II's. I've never been to a concours, so this was more Healey's together than I'd ever seen in my life. One red, one British Racing Green and one a beautiful gun metal blue. Please excuse the pictures. The glare from the sun and the glass, or maybe it was me drooling, made for difficult shots. You get the idea though.
That's the green 3000 in the back with the blue one between a Jag XKE and MGB.
Then the car that started all. Nestled between two Jaguars a red 1962 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk. II. The car I that led me away from bikes. The car I had a chance at for a mere $800. The car that still turns my head. For Sale on the showroom floor. Waiting for me to drive it out the doors. Mine for only:
Maybe that's why I ride a bike.
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