Many smiling faces and English cars were at this year’s Restoration Fair organized by The Old English Car Club & Saanich Historical Artifacts Society at Heritage Acres.
This year included a British Cars For Sale area, Swap meet booths from local professional hoarders and a great display of the island’s best British cars.
An absolute highlight was the 1926 Bentley 3-Litre Speed Model which was presented by the same family who has thoughtfully cared for it for 76 years!
Also on the radar was the 1937 Morris 8 Tourer E for sale by Ken Nottingham. As a special feature it came with “Lots of fresh air.”
While in Florida we had a pleasant surprise at the Bonhams tent where this 1956 Austin-Healey 100M BN2 was sitting.
It was brought along by Wayne Carini of Chasing Classic Cars and it will probably appear on a future episode.
Chassis BN2L/230966 was originally purchased by an architect who carefully preserved the original fit and finish for over 20 years and 37,253 miles of motoring. It then landed in the Fink collection and accrued only a handful of additional miles since.
As such, it is a stunning showpiece of originality, one that we had to photograph in and out.
Bonhams sold this BN2 for US$ 206,800 at their Amelia Island Auction on 12 Mar 2015.
Today we ran into Bill Emerson’s WSM Sprite on the Passport Transport Eight Flags Road Tour for the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.
The WSM Sprite was originally conceived by Douglas Wilson-Spratt as a Bugeye Sprite with a streamlined fiberglass body. In 2012 this car was built as a Sanction II model by the Spratt family utilizing an original 1964 Sprite donor car.
Bill is no stanger to Austin-Healey’s as he is the author of The Healey Book which chronicles every car and boat created by Donald and Geoff Healey between 1946 & 1978.
As we look forward to visiting the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, a highlight will be this 1955 Austin-Healey 100S offered by RM Sotheby’s with an estimate of $975,000 – $1,375,000 USD.
The highlights of this chassis are listed as:
*The first chassis of just fifty built of this special alloy-bodied racing model
*The fourth car to be finished; custom-ordered for actor Jackie Cooper
*Delivered to Cooper at the 1955 12 Hours of Sebring race
*Driven by Cooper, with co-driver Roy Jackson-Moore
*The only 100S delivered in Spruce Green
Pictures by Clint Davis ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Saving the best for last, RM Sotheby’s final announcement for their Amelia Island sale next month is 1955 Jaguar D-Type Chassis no. XKD 530 with an estimate of $3,750,000 – $4,250,000.
Highlights include:
*Extensively documented; multiple in-period 1st place finishes
*Comprehensive restoration in 2003 by noted D-Type expert
*Subject of a five-part feature series in Jaguar World Monthly
*Vintage racing participation, including at the Mille Miglia and Goodwood Revival
*Accompanied by a FIVA Passport, FIA papers, and a JDHT Certificate
Excellent images are by Patrick Ernzen ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
