1964 Austin Healey 3000 Mark III to Works Rally Specification

• Imported from California
• Rebuilt over a period of 25 years
• Engine professionally rebuilt and uprated
• Shake-down miles only since completion
• Set up by Denis Welch Motorsport

BMC's development of the Big Healey for rallying was facilitated by the transfer of Austin-Healey production to MG's Abingdon factory in 1957, and the decision to base the works' rally programme at the Competitions Department there under Marcus Chambers. Benefiting from the attention of MG's experienced engineers, the 3000 was progressively developed over the course of the next six years before a change in the FIA's Appendix J regulations at the end of 1965 outlawed many of the special parts that had been homologated for competition use.

Although the Big Healey retained a separate chassis and body in traditional sports car fashion, for rallying these two components were welded together to form a structure of greatly increased strength and rigidity. Wherever possible, body panels - wings, doors, and bonnet included - were fabricated in aluminium rather than steel to save weight, while from 1960 the boot lid was moulded in glassfibre, gaining a distinctive upward extension to accommodate twin spare wheels. To protect the low-slung under-body, 'bash' plates were invariably employed. This lack of ground clearance was the car's greatest weakness, explaining the works' policy of running them 'nose up' to avoid grounding the sump. Lack of rear suspension travel was another disadvantage, not addressed until the introduction of dipped chassis side members from late 1963, a modification that later found its way onto the 3000 MkIII Phase II production model. Other essential competition modifications included four-wheel disc brakes, close-ratio gears, and a limited-slip differential.

Early works 3000s used engines that retained the production version's cast-iron cylinder head, twin SU carburettors, and full-length exhaust system, developing around 160bhp. The adoption of a short side-exit exhaust system was one of the earliest modifications, followed by triple SUs, fabricated tubular exhaust manifolds, aluminium cylinder heads, and triple Weber carburettors. These latter two modifications arrived in 1962, and in this ultimate specification the maximum power output had risen to around 210bhp.

The Big Healey's first major success was gained in 1960 when Pat Moss, partnered by co-driver Ann Wisdom, having finished 2nd in the Alpine, then made history by winning the gruelling Liège-Rome-Liège (Marathon de la Route) event outright. It was the first occasion that a woman had won a major international rally. The following year the Morley twins - Don and Erle - won the Austrian Alpine Rally outright, a feat they repeated in 1962. Big Healeys were regular class winners and frequently took the team award; though in the face of increasing competition, not least from the Mini Cooper, outright wins were comparatively few. The car's final outright victories came in 1964 when Paddy Hopkirk won the Austrian Alpine Rally and Rauno Aaltonen the last Marathon de la Route held on public roads, which on this occasion followed a Spa-Sofia-Liège route.

This stunning Austin-Healey 3000 Mark III was imported as a left-hand drive car from Sacramento, California in December 1997 and rebuilt over a period of 25 years, under the supervision of the former treasurer of the Austin-Healey Club, to largely the specification of the 1964 RAC Rally cars.

According to the vendor, the restoration included a comprehensive engine rebuild by Richard Parker Race Engines Ltd: competition valve gear; aluminium cylinder head; +0.040" Omega pistons; 300-degree camshaft; high-capacity oil pump; core plug retainers; competition distributor; aluminium high-capacity sump; lightened and balanced flywheel with eight-bolt fixing; three rebuilt Weber 45DCE Type 13 carburettors (of original Italian manufacture, not the later Spanish versions); and a six-branch exhaust with side-exit silencer box. An upgraded radiator was fitted, as was a slightly larger foam-filled aluminium fuel tank.

The gearbox was rebuilt by Dave Barker and uses a SC Tulip gear set with a competition overdrive, which was rebuilt by Overdrive Services of Sheffield. The clutch is a heavy-duty unit using a ball-race clutch release bearing. The propshaft is a high-deflection type, while the rear axle was rebuilt and retains the standard final drive ratio.

Brakes are standard discs on the front with a 'High Knee Point' servo with the rears being Girling discs without servo assistance. Separate hydraulic lines for front and rear brakes are fitted, together with a balance system. The car stands on competition hubs with MWS wheels shod with Blockley tyres.

Since this labour of love was finished, the car has run only some shake-down miles and has recently benefited from being set up by the marque experts Denis Welch Motorsport, who supplied most of the parts for the car. The vendor also informs us that the panels and shrouds are original, with a replica works boot lid fitted in aluminium.

Now ready to be enjoyed for spirited driving and rallying by its lucky next owner, the car comes with a folder containing various invoices relating to the rebuild; an original-to-the-model driver's handbook; a current V5C registration document; some photographs of the engine rebuild; a BMIHT certificate; an original sales brochure; and various other invoices.