Author: Gary Anderson

Gary is also Editor in Chief of The Star, the magazine for the Mercedes-Benz Club of America. He has been active for many years in the Austin-Healey Club USA and is co-author of MBI’s best-selling Austin-Healey Restoration Guide, as well as editor of the Austin-Healey Magazine. An avid vintage race driver, he ran his 1960 MGA in three Monterey Historics, four Wine Country Classics, and the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. He is the author of Motoring: Getting the Maximum from Your New Mini, a comprehensive guide to the new MINI Cooper, available through Amazon.com.

1955 Jaguar XK 140 MC Roadster

From 1948 through 1954, the groundbreaking XK 120 established Jaguar at the forefront of sports car manufacturers with its graceful lines and impressive, race-winning performance. Late in 1954, the improved XK 140 arrived, heralding comprehensive improvements that made the original design even better. Notable upgrades included precise rack-and-pinion steering, improved […]

1959 MGA Twin-Cam Roadster

Conceived as a replacement for the traditional T-Series MGs and introduced in 1955, the MGA combined a rigid chassis with the Austin-designed, 1,489-cc B-Series engine that had first appeared in the ZA Magnette. Running gear was based on the TF, with independent coil-sprung wishbone front suspension and a live rear […]

They’re Not Real, But They’re Real Fun

Ask any classic car enthusiast to name the 10 most significant vintage race cars of all time, and I’d wager that the Jaguar C-type or D-type — or maybe both — would appear on the list. It’s no accident that the XK-SS — the street-variant of the D-type — is […]

1959 MGA 1500 Roadster

MGAs may be starting to catch up with Austin-Healey values, and this might be a good time to buy Chassis number: HDA4361077 The MGA was produced by the MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1955 to 1962. The MGA replaced the older T-type cars and represented a complete […]

1955 Austin-Healey 100S

These cars were almost lost in the limelight of the Jaguars, Aston-Martins, Mercedes-Benzes, and Ferraris that raced in the same grids Not long after the stunning Austin-Healey 100 debuted, Donald Healey began planning a high-performance version of his well-received sports car. Knowing that a competitive racing variant would boost the […]

1959 Austin-Healey 100-6 Jamaican

In light of its popularity, and taking into consideration the potential of its rigid and low-frame chassis, the 4-cylinder Austin-Healey gave way in 1956 to the first 6-cylinder version, the 100-6, which boasted a BMC C-Series engine with a cubic capacity of close to 2.7 liters. The success of the […]

1949 Jaguar XK 120 Alloy Roadster

The few alloy-bodied cars were essentially prototypes sold to raise desperately needed foreign currency for the factory design team   During the difficult period after World War II, Jaguar Cars became the United Kingdom’s biggest U.S.-dollar earner, thanks in no small measure to the success of its XK120 sports car. […]

1957 Austin-Healey 100-6 BN4 2+2 Barn Find

Introduced for 1956, the 100-6 represented the most radical step forward in the “Big Healey” sports car development. Despite its initial success, sales of the original Austin-Healey 100 had begun to decline by the mid-1950s, so the model was revamped as the 100-6, BMC’s 2.6-liter C-series six-cylinder engine replacing the […]

1961 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II Ex-Donald Healey

Graham Robson remembers the car in BMC’s U.K. press fleet, but there’s no mention of Donald Healey having a Mk II as “a personal car” Introduced in 1961, the Mk II version of Austin-Healey’s highly successful 3000 model was visually distinguished by its vertical radiator grille bars and revised front […]

Bugeye Sprite: 50 and Counting

Healey 100 designer Gerry Coker came up with “a working man’s Ferrari,” which could be kept in a bike shed, and used standard parts from BMC sedans {vsig}2008-12_2258{/vsig} Question: What collectible automobile copied the chassis design of the Jaguar D-type, was introduced at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, took first, […]