A Healey of a raffle prize

For the last few years Jim Blackhall’s 1962 AustinHealey 3000/Sebring MX kit car sat unused in his garage, quietly biding its time.

Built by Blackhall and his friend Grant Allen more than 25 years ago, the Healey had been a rewarding project, but it was time for it to find a new home. Rather than sell the Healey, Blackhall wanted to help out a Calgary charity.

“I remembered attending a charity event some years ago where an old car had been raffled off — people really enjoyed the experience, and I wondered who could benefit from my Healey, ” he said.

He found out who would benefit late in 2016 when Blackhall’s neighbour invited him to attend a tour of the Fred Phillips automobile collection. Phillips uses his impressive personal museum to raise funds for the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre (AARC). He gives regular tours, and asks attendees for The Austin Healy kit car, which will be raffled for charity. a donation to AARC. Whatever the total, Phillips matches the funds.

“I knew about AARC and thought it was a good organization,” Blackhall says. “And after I met Fred with his car collection and his support of AARC, well, I thought this was a gift made in heaven for me. I asked if he’d be interested in taking the car and raffling it off to benefit AARC.”

In the late 1980s Blackhall became interested in restoring an antique vehicle. His co-worker Grant Allen suggested a kit car, and the pair settled on the Austin-Healey 3000 kit. For $13,900 it included frame and firewall plus a fibre glass body, hood, trunk lid and doors.

A donor car was required to complete the Healey/ Sebring. Blackhall and Allen found a 1978 Mustang II, and it provided them with a 302 cubic inch V8 engine, threespeed automatic transmission and a rear differential.

Power brakes, discs up front and drums at the back, and power steering were borrowed from the donor Mustang.

Blackhall’s kit car maintained the stock Mustang headers and exhaust system, but a Healey-style dual tip was added at the back. A set of aftermarket finned alloy rims were equipped with Michelin tires for rolling stock, and there’s even a space saver spare tire should there ever be a flat.