ENGINEERING A RACE ACE
TOL 563 will be a very different car to the one that ‘Gentleman Jack’ drove in the 1958 BSCC by the time it makes its debut at this year’s Goodwood Revival (September 7-9) in the Jack Sears Trophy, but the major changes are confined to the suspension.
Martin explains: ‘Engineering-wise, looking at the Austin and at the rules, I realised I could get a Watts link on it at the back. Most people put on a Panhard rod – the Westminster is a heavy old car and my theory is that what I’ve done will work better.’
A Panhard rod is a simpler and lighter means of locating the rear axle to the chassis; however, a Watts linkage ensures handling characteristics can be made to be identical, whether you’re cornering left or right.
‘There’s no back plate on the axle of a Healey/ Westminster so I had to make a cradle, but I had to find the right roll centres and drop angles from the chassis to get the Watts linkage in.’
Subsequently, Martin has had the old lever type dampers uprated and the springs replaced.
‘I do it stage-by-stage and then improve on it. Doing everything at once, thinking that’s the right thing to do, is fine until you suddenly find a fault, and can’t work out what’s causing it.’
The front suspension has been revised as well, with the heights adjusted, the spring pans changed and spacers introduced. ‘I wanted a semi-adjustable front anti-roll bar, which proved to be incredibly difficult to achieve,’ Martin adds.
The original engine has been safely tucked away, so the motor under the bonnet is now a 3.0-litre version of the C-Series engine, still on triple SUs carbs, but with much tuning work done by Jeremy Welch. ‘You’d never think that a car from the ‘Fifties would rev up to 7000rpm!’ Martin says.
Martin has also kept the Westminster looking as original as possible: ‘I’ve not changed the dashboard, the rear seats are still in, I’ve done my best to accommodate the features I’ve added around the original car.
‘It takes longer, but it’s worth it in the end.’