With 28 examples produced, there is no wonder that this caused some head scratching. And, if you didn't own Bill Emerson's "The Healey Book" you would have passed this car on the grass without notice. I might have done the same except I met the owner of the car as he was jumping up and down when we both happened to stumble upon the Peerless GT at the same time from different directions. It is not too often that you run into another Peerless owner. It is even more unusual that they also own a Healey. At Goodwood, you really had a better chance of finding Elvis, then a Peerless.
He pulled out his tele' and started calling all his car buddies to come over to look at the Peerless (none cared). While he was waiting, we chatted and here is what I learned (his buddies never showed up).
The reason the "1951 Alvis-Healey" is parked in front of the Peerless is because the owner drove it around to show Donna and I. Designed by Gerry Coker (who also penned the Austin Healey 100), using a unique Healey chassis and Alvis 3 litre, the limited production roadster was capable of 100 MPH with good power and had some advanced features for the time; door locks, standard radio and heater and roll up windows. Like most of the Healey's of the time, they were intended for dual use (sport and pleasure). The Alvis-Healey retained the "race" pedals (L-brake - C- gas - R-clutch), so I don't think any examples were imported to the US. Healey was really a specialty provider, so a run of 28 cars was typical run for Healey at the time.
Also in production was the Nash-Healey. Although they look similar they are fundamentally different and do not share the chassis, running gear or any body panels. What they do share is the same coach builder - Panelcraft.
So given that Larry provided the year (correct) and the correct spelling of the most significant part of the make (Healey) I am awarding the full 1.0 point to Larry as he came so close to the target.
Hard to forecast a winner...
Gene - 1
Malcolm - 1
Steve - 1
Larry - 1 (good job...you worked for this one. Besides, Steve stole the Gordon-Keeble from you:)
If you don't agree with scoring, you will need to file a protest with the with governing board on the last Friday of the month, following the first full moon, in a year when Easter falls occurs in April, and El Nino is predicted.
Protests are reviewed on a first come first served basis. Protest decisions are based on the traditional bribery process.
The next one might not be as hard, so speed could be the deciding factor.
Dean
Larry Kluss wrote:Okay, Dean, here's my best guess...it's a '51 Nash-Healey Le Mans Alloy Roadster.