Info of the owner who had/has in on sale on ebay for a $125K !!!
THE WESTLAND HEALEY “ARISTOCRAT THRUST”
HISTORY
Monroe, NH
Chapter I. As found!
The car was seen off and on from 1977 to 1981 in various open sheds or fully exposed to
the weather. In 1981 it was put into covered storage and not again attended until 2003 when
the rescue began. The initial inventory of parts and condition found no engine or engine parts
except for a box of small parts including a Morris valve cover, starter, carburetor manifolds, coil,
and generator. There was little wiring and the wooden dashboard and door post spacers were
rotted and broken. There was very little left of the exhaust system. All the instruments were intact
and mounted. The windscreen was without glass or posts and was wider than any found on any
British-type car we could find. The upholstery was red both for carpets and door/dash coverings.
Side curtains were mostly intact. Most undercarriage materials were completely rotted away.
Door latches had been removed and were missing. Post receivers in the rear body had parts of
a drop-head frame but the remainder of the frame and all of its covering were missing. No front
seats or seat rails were found. The rear seat and back were in place along with three of the four
wheel covers. The vinyl and padding of the rear seats was mostly gone. The drive shaft was bent
and disconnected from the smooth sided transmission. The wheels and tires were intact but the
rims were weakened with rust. The fiberglass body was fully intact with only minor cracks and
punctures but for a heavy, crushing-style damage to the lower part of the nose. Front over-riders
were no longer attached to their posts but were in the back seat with their chrome mostly
peeling and generally rusting. The steering wheel was cracked severely and the directional
indictor switch assembly was broken by someone attempting to pry it out. The horn button with
the 100-6 logo was salvaged. The oversized radiator was intact as was the expansion tank on the
fire wall. The fuel pump was intact but most all the gas and brakes lines were rotted and/or
broken. Dual SU carburetors were found in the box of parts: the manifolds had been crudely
modified to allow the steering column to pass beneath them.
The frame was hand built, had no numbers that anyone could find, and was longer than
any standard frame: at 97.5 inches it is longer than the Mark I Sprite at 80” and the Healey 100-6
and 3000 at 92”.
The car had a 1964 Vermont license plate and a sticker from “Carpenter and Mayforth”,
an auto dealer in Burlington, Vermont.
Some comment is necessary on the overall construction of this vehicle. Many parts which
were made specifically for this vehicle rather than coming “from the shelf”, were very crudely
made. The carburetor manifolds, clutch operating lever, and transmission cover(s) are good
examples. The body, while made of beautiful lines and well finished on all outside surfaces, was
never finished on the inside and all flanges and edges were just left “cut raw”. The body
obviously never fit the frame or its parts very well leaving large, uneven gaps between doors and
front and rear panels. Throughout the recovery and restoration, these items were left in original
condition but some attempt was made to improve the overall “fit” of doors, boot, and bonnet.
Chapter 2. Rescue and Philosophy!
Rescue began in 2003. Had it not been for the fiberglass body, there would really have
been no car to rescue. When the body was removed, the frame sagged and eventually fell in
half. Dale Fadden of Woodsville, NH, a local stock car builder, replicated the old frame. The front
end of the frame was salvaged and used in this rebuild: thus the shocks and steering arms are
original as is the regulator which sat on the cross members.
Since at this time we thought the car to be possibly a kit car built for racing based upon
the rear limit straps, expansion tank, and oversized radiator, our intention was to make it road
worthy and even perhaps use it in vintage racing. Thus a 1275 midget was used as a parts car.
The 1275 engine was installed with its dual carbunaters along with the front disc brakes. This
required that the steering be moved to the right hand side and the dash board be rebuilt. Trying
to find front seats to fit within the very narrow frame yielded nothing and a pair of stock car
aluminum racing seats (bucket type with high sides) were installed after modification. The
midget gas tank fit the frame members and was used. The instruments were restored by
Niessenger in New York who felt that the identification numbers suggested they had been taken
from a Morris Truck. The body was repaired and painted by Darling Auto in Ryegate, Vermont.
Chrome wire wheels replaced the rusted solid rims and new tires replace the “Made in England”
Perrelis. No windscreen posts had been found that fit the frame, so a pair of racing screens was
installed. All of the remaining rescue was done by us with the very rare occasional help of others
who had special knowledge or talents.
During this time it became apparent that the car was probably put together in a shop
which had mostly Healey parts available albeit the ignition switch was German, the running
lights from an NSU, and seats and windscreen from unknown sources. Also, a little brass plate was
found attached to the fire wall and foot well housing that read: “Westland Motor Company”
and was stamped in the number section with “W-2”.
Chapter 3. Discovery!
With the rescue successfully completed and the car running well, we took the car to the
2005 Antique and Classic car show in Stowe Vermont where it won the chairman’s award and
created huge interest. We then took it to the 2005 British Invasion where again it won the
Chairman’s award. It is noteworthy that no one at the show, from judges to spectators, had
heard of a Westland. At both shows we checked every available British car for a windscreen
and posts but found none that would fit. We showed the car the following year again at the
British Invasion in Stowe, Vermont.
During this show, we discovered that there was a Westland being shown in the Concours
D’Elegance. We introduced ourselves to the owner and discovered that he was the curator of
the Healey Museum: Mr. Bill Emerson. When he looked at the Thrust, he immediately identified it
as a Westland Healey prototype built for the American market. He later sent us the picture of the
car as originally presented. The picture was taken at the Hereford Cathedral and the lady
making the presentation was the secretary to Mr. Westland. He also mentioned papers from his
collection from the Healey factory and Donald Healey addressing the building of the “long
nosed” car: clearly a reference to the Thrust.
Chapter 4. What to do?
Clearly the car no longer was just a kit car and the idea of racing or even using the car
very much was rejected. After nearly a year of hiatus with only showing the car at the 2007
Healey Conclave held in Burlington, Vermont, we decided to make a full, ground-up restoration
of the car back to its original status to the extent known and possible.
Chapter 5. The restoration.
The frame was stripped, sand blasted, and powder-coated. It was also modified slightly
in order to make it more sturdy. The foot-well floor pan was replaced with a heavier gage steel
than the original and two short braces were added to the front from the frame rails to the cross
members for structural strength as it had bent somewhat even under the very limited use it had
had.
The 1275 engine was replaced with a 948cc and the original dual carburetors. All engine
peripherals were taken from the original parts or from Morris 1000’s. The original “smoothy”
transmission was reinstalled. The disc brakes and wire wheels were kept for appearance but are
easily replaced with original equipment. The steering was returned to the left and the dash
board again remade to original specks. The 100-6 horn button was installed in a modified Morris
indicator light switch assembly.
As many of the original nuts, bolts, washers and other small parts were used as could be
at all restored to working order.
The clutch was originally mechanical with a center- articulated arm about 5 inches long
which was operated from the clutch pedal by a captured cable. Mr. Comes, (see History),
asked immediately upon seeing the car if it still had that clutch that seldom worked reliably.
After many hours of work to make the original short lever arm operate the thrust bearing, a new
and much longer arm was made which gave sufficient leverage to be successful. (Frankly, it is a
wonder that the clutch ever worked as the lever was so short that only a very strong leg could
come close to applying enough pressure.)
The original transmission tunnel was incomplete when found as there was no cover for
the highest part from the shift lever to the bell housing. A cover was fabricated and Mk 1 Sprite
boot used.
The carpeting was returned to the original red. There had been signs of carpet in the
boot space, on the rear seat sides, and flooring. It was not clear if the carpeting included the fire
wall and sides of the foot spaces but it is now installed in most of these places.
Front seats were a real problem. Austin Seven seats were suggested by many but they
were too narrow by about 2 inches. Mk 1Sprite seats were about 2 inches too wide. The result
was to cut 2 inches from the middle of Mk 1 seat frames, backs, and covers.
The racing screens were kept as there was still no definition of the source of the original
windscreen or posts. Fender mounted mirrors were installed as the only rear view possible
originally was through a small mirror on the windscreen.
Chapter 6. Mystery and History.
This car was obviously made for the American market with its left hand drive
configuration but was never produced. How and when the car came to America remains
unknown. The car had a Vermont 1964 registration plate. Investigation showed that Vermont did
not keep registration records but the office assured us that the registration came from the series
assigned to Ford trucks at that time!!! Fortunately, a private individual, Mr. Chuck Haynes of
Montpelier, Vermont had such records and through those more history was obtained. What is
known is reported below. The meaning of the “W-2” on the Westland plate remains another
mystery. According to Bill Emerson, there is no record of two such “long nosed” cars. Perhaps
another project had taken place between Healey and Westland.
The car was on the lot at the Carpenter and Mayforth dealership in Burlington, Vermont
in the mid 1960s. Neither Carpenter nor Mayforth recall the car however so it probably just
passed through them as a trade. A picture of the Carpenter and Mayforth garage lot was
provided by Mr. Jack Dubrel of Automaster in Shelbourne, Vermont. Mr.Comes identified the lot
as the one from which he purchased the car and did so by indicating that he had not bought
the TR which had been next to it and which is shown in the picture.
The car was purchased from Carpenter and Mayforth in 1964 by Mr. Wentworth Comes
of Hancock, Vermont. He held it one year and registered it as a 1958. He sold the car to an
engineer at CRREL in Hanover, NH. Upon seeing the car in its rescue state, Mr. Comes declared
that it was “my old Aristocrat Thrust” thus validating that name which we had heard in the past
from Mr. Ludwig.
It was then purchased by Mr. Robert Bonnett of East Thetford between 1966 and 1969.
During this time the car lost its engine, seats, and most of its upholstery. He sold it to Mr. Dan
Ludwig of Fairlee, Vermont in 1980. Here it remained out doors or in an open shed. We
purchased the car from Mr. Ludwig in 1981 and put it into storage at our farm in Monroe, NH,
until the rescue began in 2002.
