The article was a semi-technical treatise covering wind resistance, power to weight ratios, rolling resistance and engine design. It was the specification for his own first cars, a specification designed to shake off what he considered to be the English image as  a manufacturer of ‘fast lorries’.

DMH joined forces at the end of the war with colleagues from Humber where he worked his war years, they moonlighting with this mercurial character with a dream of a roadster to directly compete with the pre-war 2-litre BMW 328, ‘By far’, he says in his autobiography, ‘the best small sports car of its time’.

Unlike Bristol who were able by fair means or foul to ‘liberate’ the design of the BMW engine that powered that car he had to obtain an engine, by no means easy in the immediate post-war climate of shortage and general austerity. He used his extensive personal network, however, and Victor Riley agreed to supply units of his very advanced 2.4 litre four cylinder engine, developed from the engine that powered the ‘White Riley’ of Raymond Mays and cousin of the engines that became world famous as the powerplants of the ERAs.

This engine developed 100 bhp, which was the minimum DMH considered necessary, this was to be a sports car, after all!

The team struggled against shortage of materials but persevered and produced a chassis and suspension unit incorporating trailing links, unusual and advanced for the day, with a roadster body panelled by Westland Engineering of Hereford. In parallel a saloon was developed with a closed body by a firm of shop fitters, Elliots of Reading. The new car was shown to an enthusiastic press in January 1946, orders were taken, premises obtained in Warwick close to the heart of motor manufacture in England - the Donald Healy Motor Company had been born!

The cars were fearsomely expensive, however, competing with Armstrong Siddeleys and Aston Martins and DMH, always with an eye to a market, designed and built the Silverstone sports model which sold for under £1000 without purchase tax, still a not inconsequential sum in 1949. These cars had the same chassis and engine and soon became the car of choice amongst the knowledgeable sporting gentleman because of their power and handling.

The name Healey was becoming known for quality sporting saloons and roadsters with chassis offered un-bodied as was common with Bentley and Rolls-Royce to customers for coachwork by Tickford, Abbots of Farnham or Duncan Industries of North Walsham amongst others.

The business was going well but success to Donald was in volume manufacture and he set off for the States in December 1949 on an export or die visit to further promote the marque across the Atlantic. A chance encounter on the Queen Mary with the president of the Nash Kelvinator Corporation resulted in a commission, funded by Nash, to develop a sporting car for the US market based on the Healey chassis but with Nash’s 3.8 litre six-cylinder engine. This Donald in his inimitable style did in double quick time and the Nash-Healey was born - for export only. DMH admits that this deal was the turning point for his company, enabling him to develop the car that would be known as the Healey Hundred or, following the motor show of 1952, the Austin-Healey.

Next page - Back