This ‘British’ Roadster Is A Faux-ster! Members’ Rides

What do you do if you want a classic British car, but you also want power and reliability? This week’s featured Member is Bob, an assistant occupational therapist living in the Sacramento CA area, who reached out to me after the article about John Cena’s kit car and felt like kit cars and replicas weren’t given a fair shake and he wanted to argue in their favor. He’s got what I think is an awesome Austin Healey 3000 replica. It only caught on fire once! He’s also got a classic bike, and some “normal” cars so let’s take a look.

Welcome to Members’ Rides! This is where we share the cars and stories of Autopian Members. The potential to be featured here is a perk for Autopian Members of every level, from the ultra-affordable “Cloth” tier all the way up to “Rich Corinthian Leather.” Click that link and join today!

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How did you get into cars?

I’ve loved cars for as long as I can remember. I remember riding my bicycle around the neighborhood just to look at what I thought were cool cars.  Specifically, I remember a DeTomaso Pantera, Opel GT, Fiat x1/9, and Lancia Scorpion as being some of my favorites. I also remember getting a car book when I was a kid that had Lancia Stratos in it. That got me interested in euro rally cars. I was also inspired by one of my friend’s dads. He had a 1968 Austin Healey 3000 and used to ride motorcycles. I loved when he would pick us up after practice and we would get to ride home in the Healey. Since I was a teen I have almost always had at least one car and one motorcycle.

I love my Austin Healey replica and I think it is great in spite of or maybe because of all its flaws. It caught on fire, was totaled, and I chose to take the insurance money and rebuild it. I love weird and what many people consider flawed cars.

What’s currently in the garage?

• 2011 Hyundai Sonata
• 1998 Toyota 4Runner
• 2009 Mazda Tribute Hybrid
• 1989 Honda Hawk GT
• Austin Healey replica

How is the Sonata?

This is my daily driver and I have had it for about two years. It’s not bad, but it is not exciting in any way. I do like the seat comfort, it’s fairly quiet inside, and it gets great mileage. I manage to average around 30/31 mpg in my commute.

Have you ever had issues or concerns about it getting stolen?

Unfortunately yes. I have had two failed theft attempts. One before and one after the recall/software update. Mostly annoying, but I was out of my high insurance deductible both times. Luckily the insurance has not jumped significantly so far. I just wish that the ignition was better engineered originally so it wasn’t an issue.

When did you pick up the 4Runner?

I think we’ve had it since 2007 or 08. I bought it from my mother (the original owner) when she got a new car. Surprisingly for its age, it only has 160k miles. Mom did not drive it too much. This is currently my wife’s primary vehicle. It’s been great, there are some annoying things like the sunroof is no longer functional, but nothing major.

What led to the Tribute hybrid?

We were looking for a new car for my daughter. She wanted a hybrid, I wanted something with traction control that was safe-ish. She also wanted to spend way more than I did. We ended up spending a few weeks doing research and hunting before we landed on this one. Right after we bought it, we had to replace the hybrid battery. Including that, we spent a bit more than my original goal, but I think we have something that will hold up well for a while. It was a good learning/bonding experience for us.

How do you like it?

I don’t love the driving dynamics, and the interior trim is a bit noisy. But with that, my 16-year-old daughter is the primary driver. She tends to accelerate hard and not worry about fuel economy, yet she manages around 30 mpg in city driving which is pretty impressive.

Tell me about your Honda Hawk

I have had it for about 12 years. It handles like a dream and is a good amount of power for me now that I am not young and stupid anymore. It is a little cramped for me on longer rides though. I think it looks great. The styling/design has held up very well. It feels like a smaller bike than it is. It’s very narrow and fairly low for a 650cc.

Have you had many other bikes?

I had an 87 Suzuki GSXR 750, 82 Honda CB750, 87 Honda Elite 150, a 90s Yamaha Chappy, and an AMF Moped.

Which has been your favorite?

That is hard. I have the most memories of rides on the GSXR and the Chappy. The GSXR was really uncomfortable, stupidly fast, and frankly scary as hell. I am quite lucky to have survived that bike without injuries. The Chappy was slow and a maintenance nightmare, but I had great adventures on both. I need to ride more.

Alright, so now tell me about the Austin Healey replica

It is a custom tube frame chassis and fiberglass body, the front suspension and rear axle are from a Mustang II, the engine is a Ford 302 and it has a T5 out of a 90’s Mustang.

How did you find it?

It was originally my father-in-law’s. When my wife and I were engaged we went to the east coast to visit her parents. While there, I saw a car buried under a cover and a ton of detritus in the back of the garage. I asked what it was and it was revealed to be the Healey replica. My Father-in-law liked projects and at some point had gotten into kit cars. This was the 3rd or 4th one that he completed. He drove it for a while until it was crashed by another relative and then parked for more than a decade.

Over the next couple of years, we got it to a running and poorly driving condition. At that point the car was gifted to me and transported west.

And then it lit on fire?!

Yeah. I was driving with my daughter who was 4 or maybe 5 at the time. I stopped at a light and saw some smoke. Someone in another car yelled that I was on fire. I got myself and my daughter out, got her to the side of the road, then ran across the intersection to a gas station and begged for a fire extinguisher. I ran back to the car and emptied the extinguisher. It slowed the fire but did not put it out. The fire department showed up shortly and put the fire out. My daughter still gives me grief about it.

What happened?

Still not one hundred percent sure, but I think I had a fuel leak somewhere up by the carburetor that caught on fire. That spread and soon the whole engine bay was on fire.

How bad was the damage?

All the wiring, part of the firewall, everything in the dash, the hood and front of the body needed to be replaced. The insurance company totaled the car.

Ouch. How hard was the rebuild?

I appealed the insurance payout, won an increase, and bought back what was left. Then I took everything to a mechanic/friend. He slowly put it all back together. The hardest part was sourcing the body since the original company is long gone. I luckily found someone through the internet who had the parts I needed. The car is now in better shape than ever before. It is very reliable now and I never worry about being able to hop in and drive it anywhere.

How does it compare to an actual Austin Healey?

It’s not quite apples to apples. If you are talking stock AH with vintage tires then the replica would outperform the original. It is a little lighter, has more power, wider track, and larger contact patch than an actual AH.

What is your favorite thing about it?

My favorite part is just driving it. The feedback is fantastic, and it is so simple and basic but in a good way. You feel, see, and smell everything going on with the car. It’s also great to get thumbs up and waves from people all the time. I’ve taken the car on vintage rallies and to track days, but mostly I just drive it like any other car. I don’t save it for weekends. Living in Sacramento we are lucky with the weather most of the year.

Is it difficult to find parts for if/when things go wrong?

The hardest part is navigating the parts counter. You have to pick from an assortment of vehicles for them to look up the correct part. Most of the running hardware and maintenance parts are available anywhere. Austin Healey trim parts from Moss Motors can replace most cosmetic items.

Why do you think replicas in general are a good way to go?

A replica can be good. It depends on the quality of the kit, and the skill of the builder. Kits can offer the chance to have a fun car that you might not be able to afford or might be too precious to modify or drive the way you want. They also give you a chance to get a truly analog driving experience.

If you are wanting an exact copy of a supercar or worry too much about what other people think then it might not be the best choice. On the other hand, if you want something odd or unusual and/or like the idea of putting together a life-sized model then it’s great! If anyone is looking at buying/building a kit/replica my advice is don’t purchase anything till you can purchase everything. These companies go under or are sold frequently. You don’t want to only have part of what you need.

You mentioned your love of “flawed” cars. What do you mean by that?

I have a bit of a contrarian streak and like an underdog. I like the oddball and unusual. Some of my favorite vehicles are donks, low riders, and silly things like lifted Miata’s. They don’t fulfill their function as “well” as they originally did. Objectively they are more flawed now, but subjectively they are more fun. I haven’t owned any of them yet but hopefully someday.

What is your favorite flawed car?

I have a hard time coming up with a favorite. I love it when an aspect of design or engineering gets to trump practicality, convenience, and efficiency. Cars like the original Viper, Mini Moke, or something like the Murano Cross Cabriolet are good examples. Lots of people like the viper, but no locks, plastic windows, and burn-inducing side pipes, it’s flawed but fantastic. The Murano Cross Cabriolet is a silly vehicle that doesn’t make any sense. It’s goofy looking, it must have terrible driving dynamics, but I would happily daily drive one. The Moke is just about fun, with no notion of practicality.

What would be in your dream garage?

• Jensen CV8: To me this is the equivalent of a sedan version of the Shelby Cobra. Take a very British luxury sedan and shove a giant American V8 into it. What’s not to love?!
• Matra Murena: A three-abreast French wedge. Fantastic even if a bit slow for its looks.
• 1967 Imperial 4-door hardtop: I love the straight-edge styling of the Imperial, and it’s a great example of when American luxury cars were truly world-class.
• Aston Martin Lagonda: This is just such an amazing car. Designed and created when the rest of the British automotive industry was imploding. It was/is so over-the-top bonkers I love it.
• Citroen SM: I think this would be a perfect GT car for me. Citroen hydropneumatic ride and Maserati soundtrack and speed.
• Lynx Eventer: These were a series of coach-built shooting breaks made from Jaguar XJSs. Who doesn’t love a sport wagon??

Thanks Bob!

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