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Re: Last Year for Austin-Healeys

To: FunE4MG <FunE4MG@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Last Year for Austin-Healeys
From: Reid Trummel <reidt@erols.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 15:39:36 -0400
Cc: spridgets@Autox.Team.Net
In-reply-to: <b87292b0.35461017@aol.com>
Reply-to: Reid Trummel <reidt@erols.com>
Sender: owner-spridgets@Autox.Team.Net
>Hey Gang,
>I was beset upon this past weekend by a Large Healey enthusiast (no, he wasn't
>big... but his car was) who told me that last year for Austin-Healey was 1967.

Yes, 1967 was the last year for the *big* Healeys, although of course one
more car was assembled in March 1968, but that was not part of regular
production, and 1967 was the last year for all intents and purposes.

>Now I know the Sprite continued on into 1971 but was it rebadged as just an
>Austin Sprite?

True.

>I'd heard that there was some in-fighting when BMC badge
>engineered the Midget and Sprite and maybe DMH pulled his name off of these
>models when he quit building the big Healey's.

DMH did not pull his name off of it.  BMC, which by then was British
Leyland, terminated the contract with the Healey family -- Bic Healey once
described it to me as their (the Healey family) being thrown out.

>Can anyone verify that the
>Sprites following 1967 were still Austin-Healey Sprites, or were they indeed
>just Austin Sprites?

They were Austin-Healey Sprites through Dec 70, and then were just plain
Austin Sprites from  Jan through July 1971 when production ceased
altogether.  The last Austin-*Healey* was a Sprite built in December 1970.

Cheers,
Reid



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