Coastal Classics – The Healey Tickford Saloon 1950-1954

The Healey Tickford Saloon Gallery

- Certain areas of the country are a ‘hotbed’ of classic car collections. The South Coast has dozens of clubs with thousands of members, my task is to seek out just some of them and bring a new story to classiccarmag.net each month.Sometimes you see a car and it just grabs your attention, not sure if you like it? Spend a bit of time looking over the lines and the shape and yes you do like it, like it a lot! A pillarless 2.5 litre saloon that says Riley, Triumph, Bentley and XK Jaguar all together, no accident as there are bits of these marques all over this car, more of that later. Owned by Clive Willoughby since 1999 this 1952 car was built in Warwick at a time when small engineering companies and off shoots of the main manufactures had free reign to design and produce such gems as this.A Riley 2442cc 4 cylinder OHV engine was advertised at 109bhp with a 4 speed Riley gearbox and a top speed of over 100mph. Just 224 left the production line (plus 77 Abbott soft top versions) now only a dozen or so runners are left in the UK, when you hear from Clive that the biggest issue is the dreaded rot in the ash frame that is wrapped in aluminium this is not surprising; 60 UK winters have certainly taken their toll on this model. She was a costly mistress in more ways than one, with a purchase price at the time of nearly £2,500.00 including tax (no heater or radio) as quoted by Autocar March 1952. In the year of the Queens Coronation the average price of a terraced house outside London was £1000.00 less than a new Tickford Healey. Therefore with an average wage at the time of £589.00 it was strictly a machine for the wealthy to buy and run at only 20mpg. The model was produced until 1954 and was the final road going car by The Donald Healey Motor Company from then onwards it only supplied sports and race cars. Whilst researching this car the one thing that stands out is the simple beauty of all the Healey’s produced at this time from the early Westland Roadster to the six cylinder Nash Healey that raced with great success at Le Mans in the early 1950’s. Clive’s car has survived very well having been a museum piece in the Ellard Collection for many years. It has been wrapped in several colours including a burgundy and metallic grey, she now sits looking very expensive in a light blue with light grey leather interior. Lucas headlights and rear number plate light of the XK Jaguar along with bumpers modified from a Bentley Mark 6, a Triumph Renown fuel cap and door handles from a Standard 10 meant parts bins were shown no mercy!Scouring autojumbles, magazines and obviously the net have enabled Clive to keep his 105,000 mile car to a high standard and his next task is to fit new boot hinges, which are the same as the ones used on the Healey 3000. For sharing time and his knowledge of the marque I must thank Clive, a true enthusiast who knows his way around most classic and vintage machines. I don’t profess to know everything about classic cars but I know what I like. Let me know what you think, email me via info@classiccarmag.net, if you have a coastal classic tells us about it. Editorial and photographs by Grant FordTags: Coastal Classics