"Healey Collection."
 337 x 188 674 x 376 |
 640 x 480 1280 x 960 |
| With
the recent postings to the list about model
Austin-Healeys, and in the spirit of the season,
I thought I'd mention a nifty experience that
happened to me. One day late last summer the postman delivered a small box to me with the return address of the OO from whom I purchased my 1960 BT7. Inside was the following note: "I hope you had a great summer driving the Healey with the top down on the back roads of Maine. "My wife and I had a wonderful time during our annual 3-month stay in London. The time seemed to fly by. We always have so many projects while we are there. One of them this year was to obtain a model Austin-Healey 3000 Mk. I. "However, that was not easy to do. We visited *every* model shop in London and went to many flea markets; alas, nobody had a Mk. I. The best we could do was a Mk. II from Hamley's, the big toy store on Regent Street. It's enclosed. I hope you like it." Needless to say, I was thrilled and delighted to receive a gift of a 1:43 model of a blue Austin-Healey from the guy I bought my car from! BTW, it's a Vanguards diecast model, p/n VAO5701, from Lledo Collectibles, Leicester, GB. But wait, there's more. When I opened the box and took the toy car out to inspect it, I flipped it over. On the car's bottom, cast into the chassis, it read: "Austin Healey 3000 Mk I." Wow, it was a Mark I after all, a point I emphasized to the OO when I sent him a thank-you note. This past autumn, the OO and his wife were in the Boston area on business, so I invited them to come visit us here in southern Maine, and see his old car. They did, and also brought another gift: a beautifully framed color photograph of a silver-blue 3000 Mk. I roadster with the top down, parked in front of a very regal looking European building. Apparently this photo was given to the OO by one of the car's mechanics years ago. |
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