57 FAC
HomeSister car to 56 FAC, this Healey was also specially built at The Cape, Warwick and prepared for the 1963 Sebring race, where it was the practice car and wore number 35. It did compete a year later, in the 1964 Sebring race where it was driven by Hopkirk and Clark as car #33. Hopkirk got a flat tire on lap one but still managed to work his way past 30 cars in three hours before turning the car over to Clark who only managed four laps before rolling the car. (from “The Story of the Big Healeys” by Geoffrey Healey)
Noted in the Brooks Auction 1989 catalog was that 57 FAC won the 4-Hour Sundowner Grand Prix in pouring rain (a division of the Player’s ‘200’meeting at Mosport) and the 1964 Canadian Racing Drivers’ Association Class Championship, driven by Don Kindree.
Ed Delong of Canada owned this car and sold it to Phillip Coombs in 1988. It was shipped to Fourintune for completion, and the restored, running chassis was shown in the lobby of the host hotel for conclave in 1989 at Niagara Falls. Work continued that summer as the car was consigned to the first auction held by Robert Brooks in the UK which was held in October.
For more about 57’s return to England read, “57 FAC Returns Home” in the October 1990 issue of the “Austin Healey Magazine” which features the car on the cover.
Prior to shipping the car over to the UK in 1989, the Healey had an outing at Road America’s Elkhart Lake Vintage Festival in September. Here it was taken on the track during touring by both Coombs and Kovacs for sorting. Put on a plane in Chicago, the car was met in the UK by Phil and then sold for a record $349,627 USA $ to Victor Guantlett of Aston Martin. A few years later, the car was sold to Australian, Frank Moore, who has since sold the car to Peter Harburg also of Australia.