Hi Team,
I just sent this message to the Austin-Healey Club USA
Mail List and thought that you might be interested.
Reid
------
Hi Team,
Just thought I'd follow-up with you a bit after my
earlier message regarding the lack of Austin-Healey
commemorative events at England's Heritage Motor
Centre (HMC) in 2002, the Austin-Healey's Golden
Anniversary Year.
I have exchanged a few email messages with the staff
there, and some of you have also sent me copies of
messages that they sent to you in response to your
inquiries on this same subject, and it appears clear
that there are two main reasons why there is no AH
commemorative event scheduled there this year: First,
the HMC is under pressure to turn a profit, and so
everything is weighed against this criterion. Can't
really blame them for this, it's just a fact of life
that the HMC is not a charity. Second, they normally
schedule events such as a marque day only in response
to interest of some outside group that is willing to
organize a meeting there and thus guarantee some level
of participation. The AH Club in the UK is not a big
supporter (to put it mildly) of the HMC (I'll let
members and/or officers of that club speak for
themselves on the reasons for that), and so without
interest, promotion, and backing of a club, the HMC
has no interest to stage an event that is likely to
fall flat and lose money. Again, you can't really
blame them for this, it's just a fact of life that the
HMC is not a charity.
In any case, on my visits to the HMC I have noted the
lack of a Bugeye (Frogeye) Sprite there, and this
seems to me to be a terrible thing. As much as we
love big Healeys, I think we need to be honest with
ourselves and admit that the Bugeye is the best known
and most widely recognized car ever to bear the name
"Healey." (lf you want to argue with me about that,
please feel free, but please do so privately so that
we don't lose the focus of my proposal below.)
A few years ago I had offered to try to organize
either the donation of a Bugeye or to assist with some
fund raising to allow the HMC to purchase one. At
that time I was thanked but told that they had one
awaiting for restoration. I have now learned that the
restoration cost of that car was far beyond their
ability to fund (estimated at $45,000! -- don't ask, I
don't know why it was so expensive), and so the car
has since been moved on.
I am still in discussion with their staff, but if
interest and support for this is sufficient, I would
like to ask for a volunteer to head up the project to
either find an acceptable Bugeye to donate, and/or to
head up an effort to raise enough money to purchase
one to donate.
If any of you would be interested to coordinate the
"Austin-Healey Club USA's Frogeye-for-Heritage Motor
Centre-Project," please let me know. I would like to
set a goal of completing this project sometime in
2003, the 45th anniversary of the Sprite. Any takers?
=====
Reid Trummel
Tampa, Florida
100, 100M, Bugeye & Ski-Master
http://www.healey.org
http://www.healeyhighlights.com
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