Photos by Tom Gidden, courtesy RM Sotheby’s.
The “Big Healeys” have a well-deserved reputation for being stout and entertaining sports cars, with a legitimate competition pedigree. While most associate the 3000 and earlier 100/6 with road racing, under the guidance of British Motor Corporation’s Competition Department, these cars saw some success in rally competition, too. On May 14, XJB 871, a works-prepared 1961 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk I that delivered a class win in the 1961 Acropolis Rally and later belonged to “The Rally Professor,” Rauno Aaltonen, heads to auction in Monaco.
BMC first began working on rally-prepared examples of the Big Healeys in 1958, debuting a 2.6-liter 100/6 at the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally. In mid-1959, the company introduced the 2.9-liter 3000 to replace the 100/6, and early versions acquired the Mk I designation after the 1961 introduction of the Mk II. Registration XJB 871 carried production serial number 13708, making it one of the last 50 Mk Is built before production shifted to the Mk II. It was also one of just five works rally cars built by BMC’s Competition Department for the 1961 season.
To prepare the 1961 3000 models for competition, BMC engineers bored the car’s inline-six to increase displacement from 2,912 cc to 2,967.6 cc, adding an aluminum head to shave roughly 35 pounds in weight. A hotter camshaft and triple SU HD8 carburetors (replaced by triple Weber 45 DCOE carburetors later in 1961) brought output to a respectable 180 horsepower, which was sent to the car’s live rear axle via a four-speed transmission. While production models received disc brakes on the front wheels only, the competition models used disc brakes on all four corners.
All 3000 models used body-on-frame construction, but to increase stiffness on works rally cars, the chassis and body shell were welded together. To save additional weight, components such as fenders, doors and hood were (generally) made from aluminum, while a molded fiberglass trunk lid was added in 1960. The bulge at the top of the trunk lid is functional, increasing the trunk volume to accommodate two mounted spare tires needed on long rally events.
The shortcomings of the Austin-Healey 3000 as a rally car were its low ride height and its short suspension travel. Skid plates affixed to the frame helped to protect the car’s oil pan and fuel tank, and the front suspension was raised as much as possible with the hope that the car would float over all but the largest obstacles in its path.
Despite these limitations, the works-prepared 3000 models fared reasonably well in rally competition, delivering numerous top-10 finishes, along with the occasional podium or victory. With driver Peter Riley at the wheel, XJB 871 scored a class victory and a third-place overall finish in its first outing, at the grueling 1961 Acropolis Rally, though it was to be the car’s only moment in the spotlight. At its next event, the 1961 Alpine Rally, Riley crashed the car and was unable to finish the event
Sent to the factory for repair, XJB 871 was sold to Finnish Motorbike Champion turned Finnish Rally Champion Rauno Aaltonen, who’d go on to earn distinction as one of the first “Flying Finns.” A factory driver for BMC, Aaltonen raced everything from Minis through the Big Healeys, and reportedly used the 3000 Mk I to help prepare himself for the 1964 Marathon de la Route, a four-day event that stretched from Spa, in Belgium, to Sophia, Bulgaria, back to Liege, Belgium.
Altonen drove a works 1964 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk III in the event, the last held on public roads, but he was quick to credit XJB 871 for giving him the familiarity needed to drive the car at its limit, even under difficult circumstances. With co-driver Tony Ambrose, the pair delivered a win for the BMC team, beating out Saab factory driver Erik Carlsson, who finished in second place with co-driver Gunnar Palm.
In 1965, Aaltonen sold XJB 871 to racer Caj Hasselgren, who reportedly drove the Austin-Healey for a decade before placing the car into storage. Some years later, the car was restored and prepared for vintage rallying, and Hasselgren actively campaigned the car for two seasons, 1996 and 1997, before shifting his focus to Historic Formula Vee. Hasselgren died in 2013 at age 66, having owned XJB 871 for 48 years.
Though the car earned only a single class win for the BMC team, it was one of just five examples constructed by the Competition Department for the 1961 season, and later went on to serve as Rauno Aaltonen’s semi-daily driver. Still carrying its original engine, the car is described as “the most original 3000 Mk I works rally car.” Given this history, RM Sotheby’s predicts a selling price between €250,000 and €300,000 (roughly $283,000 and $340,000) when the car crosses the auction stage in Monaco on May 14.
For more information on the Monaco sale, visit RMSothebys.com.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/1q9aWgv
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