[Healeys] Hard top brochure

[Patrick & Caroline Quinn]

Hello Peter

 

Thank you for your words.

 

I have often wondered who made the convertible hardtops sold by the DHMC, but they were and still are few and far between.

 

Back in 1975 Alan Jones and I were in Seattle staying with Dave Ramstad and one day we visited a sports car dealer in town. He took us into a storage area under the forecourt and there were hardtops stacked up everywhere. Plenty of hardtops for roadsters (100/6 to BT7 Mk2) and a single convertible version. He commented about the hardtops and while he knew what models they were for he wasn’t sure about the convertible top. He thought it was for an Austin-Healey, but wasn’t sure about the model.

 

Alan then blurted out that it was one of 200 made for the convertible Austin-Healeys. You could see the dollar signs roll up in his eyes. No idea what happened to them all.

 

The books of Richard Calver are highly recommended, especially 'Jensen-All the Models' which includes our BN3. His earlier tome is mind boggling as he lists every single Jensen car made from the 1920s through to when the company folded. I found the Jensen 541 delivered to Donald Healey without an engine after which DMH had a V8 fitted. 

 

Hoo Roo

 

Patrick Quinn

Blue Mountains, Australia

 

 

From: Healeys <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Peter Svilans via Healeys
Sent: Thursday, 7 July 2022 6:17 AM
To: healeys at autox.team.net
Subject: [Healeys] Hard top brochure

 

Hi Kenneth,

Roadster and Convertible have fuzzy definitions: a roadster is generally a two-seater with sidescreens and often removable top, where a convertible is generally a four-seater with roll up windows and a top fixed to the car- to "convert" it from a fully closed to an open car. The BJ7 was officially introduced as "Sports Convertible".

The factory hardtop made by Jensen was introduced with the 100-Six with BMC brochure no.1561, specifically for the BN4.  The near-identical brochure no.1561/A was changed to read "3000" with the introduction of that model. The Warwick-designed hardtop, proudly wearing its Warwick castle enameled badge, was not an official BMC accessory for the convertibles, and the word "hardtop" was dropped from the BJ7 sales brochures' accessory list.  They were much more difficult to obtain back then, than they are now.  I've not seen a brochure for one, esp. from '62.  Universal Laminations well-made hardtops were semi-official accessories for the 100, also available through the DHMC. 

I still hold out hope to one day see an example of the transparent plexiglass hardtop called "Pexidome" (no"L"), from the UK.  Had a Messerschmitt once, the bubble top was fun.

Geoff Healey's books are a great source of insider info, as are period publications like Motor Sport that feature factory tour articles.  Australian Dr. Richard Calver has done painstaking research in Jensen's records and his 2007 book 'Jensen-All the Models' is a comprehensive year-by-year chronology of their production and vast sub-contract work.

Best,

Peter

 

  



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