Sixty years and counting
1965 Austin-Healey MkIII Martyn Goddard
Bicester Scramble on Drive It Day,
a feast of classic cars,
historic aircraft – and a Le Mans racer;
Abingdon, where the ’Healey was built.
EVERY APRIL FOR the past 37 years, I have rolled the ’Healey out of winter hibernation to get it ready to use over the summer, instead of the daily grind of 21st Century highway hell. Over the years we have had epic adventures, top down and armed with a red Michelin Guide, to the French Alps and Riviera, Lake Como in Italy, the Rings of Kerry, Ireland, and Le Mans.
This year is the Healey’s 60th birthday, so it seemed appropriate to visit the place where the car was made – the BMC works in Abingdon, Oxfordshire – as part of our road trip to the Cotswolds and a Bicester Scramble. We planned to start on national Drive It Day, 27 April, a charity event organised by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs that nominally celebrates the 1000 Miles Trial of 1900 but in reality is just a great excuse to blow the cobwebs out of our classic cars.