Sunday 7:30am, peeked out the door to check the weather before firing up my BJ7 and was pleasantly surprised! Clear, sunny skies. The good weather brought out a very large crowd of British car owners who put their cars on display at Woodley Park in the Sepulveda Basin. As I their paddocks to overflowing while others were lightly represented. I was joined by Dick Boyd, Russ Thompson, Joyce Maeda, and Fred Cohen in their “Big” Healeys. Soon to be followed by a couple of club “squarebody” Sprites owned by Susan Motander and Charles rolled into the park I looked for Healey’s; I was the first “Big” Healey to show. I was directed to park by a strange looking car, a 1966 Innocenti S Spider. It turned out it was a Healey in disguise. An Italian body designed by the Fiat 124 designer was placed on a Spridget chassis, engine and transmission.
As more and more cars arrived it meant a great show was going to take place. Some of the marques killed Covington. Then the South Bay boys: Greg Aden, Dex Kaytis and Phil Caliva arrived along with Emil Joseph with his light Blue Bug Eye. Emil also had his really nice Mini on hand, driven by a friend. Dave and Arianne Keens pulled in driving the “original” original 100-4 that had been owned by Dave’s dad. The final member of our group was Tom Colby, who brought a customer’s 100M that was a dazzler.
Besides the club members, the Healey paddock also included a 100-4 and Dave Wellwood’s, of Wellwood Restorations, 100-6 plus five Bug Eyes with no club affiliation. There might have been another Bug Eye, specifically Tom Spangler’s, but Tom had his tachometer cable back off the generator slamming into the coil wire and bringing his day to a screeching halt. He did manage to make the show as a spectator. The final tally of Healey’s at the event was 13 “Big” Healeys, six Bug Eyes, two square-body Sprites and the Innocenti S. A few Club members brought other British classics. Dick Ames came in a Triumph, although he spent a lot of time in the Healey paddock. Right across from our parking area was the MG club and Ron Fine with his MGB soft top. I was almost run over by Chuck and Barby Meng who rolled in on a Triumph spitfire.
Also taking in the wide variety of British automotive history were Rich Jones, Peter Roses, Steve Gerow, George Merino, Phil Rittenhouse and Bill Hoyt. They, along with the rest of the club members present had a chance to see restored Singers, historical Daimlers, rally cars, a beautiful 1949 Riley convertible, Morgan Plus 4’s and Plus 8’s, all kinds of Rovers, and a London double-decker bus. Along with the tunes from golden oldie British bands it made for a great, great day.