It was born from a very simple recipe but the Big Healey is up there with the best British sports cars.

Words: John-Joe Vollans
Pics: Martyn Barnwell

There’s no denying that as far as classic cars go, there are very few more desirable than the ‘Big Healey’. Developed from the 100 and 100-6, the 3000 gained more power, refinement and, from 1964, better suspension. This all adds up to a car that can provide an amazing amount of enjoyment and surprising performance, especially when you consider the car went off sale 44 years ago.

For this road test we got in contact with Sherwood Restorations who often buy and sell Healeys. When we arrived, Sherwood’s Alex Halfpenny showed us around the car and it was clear that it had wanted for nothing   
all its life.

Been a while since I saw one of those,” shouted an Audi A6 driver as he squeezed past us photographing this Metro Turbo on a country lane in South Gloucestershire. And judging by the statistics available from DVLA, it’s going to be a while before he sees another: only around 35 of the cars are registered with DVLA of which the majority are on SORN, leaving something like just three taxed and ready to go.

We’ve touched on the surprisingly low survival rate of original (ie pre-Rover) Metros before but it’s particularly puzzling that so few of the range-topping Turbo have survived. You can blame the classic Mini fraternity partly, the blown A-Series making a useful performance upgrade for the Mini, while the Metro Turbo’s habit of shredding gearboxes didn’t help either. Throw in the less than wondrous build quality of ’80s Longbridge products and it all unfortunately begins to add up.

It was 40 years ago today that Ford launched the Granada and BMW launched the 5-Series. We pick the second generation of each of these German-built executive contenders.

So it’s the early ’70s, you’ve just got a good promotion at the cigarette company and it comes with a step up the company car ladder from your Cortina. But what do you choose? The premium brand as a marketing concept has yet to be born and the pecking order is less distinct.  Rovers have always been classy of course but the P5 does look a bit old school by now and as for Mercedes, well they’re a bit serious looking and pretty bare inside, too. There’s always the Jaguar of course but the boss drives one so that’s out which leaves... well, the logical upgrade from the Cortina is the newly-launched Granada. But there’s also a left-field choice in the shape of BMW’s newly launched 5-Series. Its Bavarian solidity is a world away from the way Ford makes its cars and the bigger-engined versions have some pace, too. What’s more in 1972 BMW is such a small player in the UK car market that you’re not going to see many other BMWs on the road either.

In the end of course it’ll be the company fleet manager who makes the choice and the new set of wheels bearing that L registration plate come August 1 will most likely be the  big Ford.

An extra-long classic road test this time, as Peter Simpson drives a slightly modified Herald Convertible over 400 miles from Scotland to Peterborough.

Words: Peter Simpson

Standard-Triumph was still independent in 1959 when the Herald was launched as a replacement for the Standard 8 and 10 family, a far smaller company than either BMC or Ford. It therefore had its work cut out to produce something that was a viable competitor for the big boys’ offerings. That they managed this, and in doing so produced something so innovative and different was, frankly, pretty amazing.

The new car used the same engine, drivetrain and brakes as the Standard 10, but was in all other respects totally new. Specification included independent suspension all round (rear courtesy of a single transverse leaf spring), an extremely tight 25ft turning circle and modern body styling courtesy of Michelotti.

Most surprisingly, it featured a separate chassis. Some thought this a retrograde step when everyone else had moved over to chassisless unitary construction, and it was to some extent forced on Triumph by their usual bodyshell manufacturer Fisher and Ludlow now being part of BMC, but in a stroke of genius it was turned to Triumph’s favour. The Herald’s chassis wasn’t an old-fashioned two-parallel-rail job; rather it was a ‘backbone’ arrangement on which the main members ran down the middle and outriggers with side rails supporting the body which bolted to the chassis in three sections.