Description
1951 Healey Silverstone Replica
Registration SSU 183
Chassis no. C1978, Engine no. B6797
The Healey Silverstone was only made from 1949 - 1951 and featured a 104bhp Riley ‘Big Four’ 2. 5 engine in a stiff box-section chassis with distinctive trailing arm independent front suspension and a front anti-roll bar. Clothed in minimalist aluminium bodywork designed by Len Hodges, it weighed only 953kg and had an excellent power-to-weight ratio, winning many races including the 1949 and 1951 Coupe des Alpes and the 1951 Liege-Rome-Liege Rally.
Two versions were available, the original D-Type and the E-Type of 1950 which had a wider body and a more spacious cockpit. Only 104 were made in total and a real one would set you back a six-figure sum today.
First registered in 1989, this well-presented Silverstone replica incorporates a 1951 Healey Tickford chassis and Riley 2. 4 litre engine, the glass fibre body having been moulded directly from a genuine Silverstone D-type no D32. The car has recently benefitted from a partial overhaul which included a total respray, fitted doors, correct mounted behind the grille headlamps and a partial engine overhaul.
When acquired in 2017, SSU 183 was finished in red with white racing roundels on the sides, as shown in many photos on file, but in 2019 the owner had it professionally repainted to a high standard in the current British Racing Green. He also had the wheels refurbished and fitted with a new set of Firestone tyres.
Invoices show that he also renewed various other parts including: new 3. 5:1 crown wheel and pinion; new core plugs; new ignition parts, oil filter and service items; new brake pipes; brake master cylinder rebuilt; new pistol-type handbrake assembly; new rear wheel brake cylinders; rebuilt water pump; new Lucas 7” halogen headlights and side lights; new battery; handmade plywood transmission tunnel/ gear surround; new Corbeau Sportsman Recliner seats; new tonneau cover plus various other items.
The V5C records it as a Healey Sports, taxation class Historic Vehicle, first registered in May 1989, declared manufactured 1951. The history file includes a wealth of technical information relating to the model including copies of period advertising material, press cuttings etc. The car is well known to the Association of Healey Owners and there are various bits of club literature and newsletters on file. There is also what looks like a modern reprint of an original 20-page Donald Healey Motor Co. ‘Instruction Book of the Healey 2. 4 Litre’.
The MOT history shows that the car was regularly tested between 2006 and 2012, always passing with no advisories but only covering 300 miles during this period. It has covered another 1, 135 miles since 2012, the odometer currently showing 7, 933 miles which is presumably how many miles it has done since it was built in 1989.
Selling on behalf of my sister’s late husband, who was a member of the Association of Healey Owners. It has been starting promptly and running well as it has been regularly moved whilst in storage with good 55psi oil pressure.
