[Healeys] Repair Magic

[ATIGHTPROD at aol.com]

Many months ago I had my left rear tire delaminate  while driving on the 
freeway. Spun me around pretty well, folks backed off of me  and allowed me to 
get to the side of the road and no one got hurt, except my  left rear 
wing/fender. Bent it up, actually, rolled it up in to itself and left  no hard 
crease anywhere. From the side you could hardly notice it and it didn't  
affect driving so I drove my car. 
    Yesterday I took my car up to Ellery, owner of a  small body repair 
shop in Piru, California. Piru is a little town on the  126 Highway between 
Ventura on the coast and the city of Valencia  on Highway 5. I don't even know 
if there is a name for his business, but  this man is a magician. He worked 
that rear wing back in to shape in short  order with old time tools, years 
of knowledge and some amazing whacks of  different size hammers to strategic 
locations on the body. 
    I'll have to do some painting to finish the job,  but I can't believe 
how well he brought my car back in to shape. He was telling  me steel has a 
"memory" and wants to go back to where it was, well it did!  Ellery works on 
any car, as he says; "steel is steel", and his shop is always  full of a 
broad array of various vehicles. Folks in southern California are  extremely 
lucky to have a guy like this around. I found out about him through  a tour of 
his shop arranged by our southern California Healey club and I  thought I 
would spread the word about him through this forum. If any of you need  minor 
or major body work done and are looking for someone who is really good  
with metal, contact me and I will pass along his number. I have no financial  
interest, just a very satisfied and amazed client.
    As for the "magic" part. All the lights on my  '53 car work except the 
left front "blinker" and I've been trying  to chase down why for years. Well 
after Ellery got done bending and  banging on the left rear of my car, the 
left front "blinker" is now working  again! Magic! Plus, I swear it's 
running better also, but that's another  story.
Steven Kingsbury
BN1 #598