Jonathan Everard, internationally known Austin-Healey authority, historic rally driver, and Healey restoration specialist, died on August 15, aged 63. As the owner of specialist firm JME Healeys, Jonathan had restored many of the famous ex-Works rally cars, as well as other rare classics for clients worldwide.

His career started in 1962, with a part-time job in the experimental and competition department of the Donald Healey Motor Company, based at The Cape in Warwick – and almost 50 years later he was still restoring, maintaining and rallying his beloved ‘Big Healeys’. In 2008, he bought the very same building that he first started work in, moving his entire operation there.

Jonathan officially launched JME Healeys back in 1978, and over the ensuing years restored some of the most illustrious of the great Healey rally cars – including the ex-Moss SMO 745, ex-Aaltonen BMO 93B (winner of the 1964 Liege) and the greatest of them all, URX 727, with which the late Pat Moss-Carlsson won her epic victory in the 1960 Liege.