1959 Austin Special

It’s interesting how things happen. People you meet throughout your life who don’t necessary become friends, but you run into them occasionally and they form part of your life and in their own way influence you, making you who you are. It is a small world, not only for acquaintances, but for cars as well, especially if you are involved in historic motor sport.

For instance, take the Sabrina Austin currently owned by Barry Naylor of Queensland, Australia. While the car was built in the Australian state of Victoria in 1959, it first came into my life back in 1977. My good friend Wally Gates had bought an Australian special made up from Austin-Healey parts including a supercharged engine.

I had heard it all from very good friend, Alan Jones (not the later GP driver) and being a young and impressionable Austin-Healey owner I was very interested in what Wally had bought. So I travelled across Sydney to take a closer look.

I arrived and the normal outgoing and personable Wally was close to pulling out what little hair he had left. Clearly Wal was somewhat frustrated as something was not going quite as he wanted it to. He was head down, tail up fettling a very large supercharger, so after a few more choice words we retired to the house for a couple of ales while Wal unburdened his troubles.

He told me that the car was known as Sabrina and he had bought it from the seller in Victoria some time back and had been working on it almost day and night. The 1978 annual All-Historic race meeting at Sydney’s Oran Park was fast approaching and he wanted to be in it. I had a close look at the car and being a little one-eyed thought it was far from being close to any Austin-Healey I had seen. Fibreglass body, tube chassis and a very unfamiliar cockpit. Sure it had what looked like a 6-cylinder Austin-Healey engine, but that was about it.

Wally did make it to Oran Park, but Sabrina was breathing atmospherically through twin SUs as he had lost the argument with the blower.

Lost Touch

Wally sold the car not long afterwards, more out of frustration than anything else and went on to build a between-the-wars special based on an Austin Big 7, but that’s another story. For many years later I lost touch with Sabrina as it seemed to have gone to that big garage in the sky.

Move forward a couple of years to 1979 and the same Alan Jones set off to the Winton circuit in Northern Victoria to watch the races and, as he was wont to do, help out his fellow Austin-Healey owners.

It was after Saturday’s practice that Alan had managed to get a lift from Terry Cornelius, another Austin-Healey owner. They were heading away from the circuit when their car was hit head-on by another that had swung on to the wrong side of the road. Tragically Alan was killed and Terry spent some time recuperating in hospital. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Sabrina was being trailered behind Terry’s car when the accident occurred.

Move forward again to only the last few years when Sabrina had resurfaced in the hands of Barry Naylor and is now being enjoyed by enthusiasts on circuits throughout Australia.

Once again it entered my life when I recently sat in that same unfamiliar cockpit and enjoyed it immensely around the Lakeside circuit on the northern outskirts of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. It was only when I did the research on Sabrina that I realiszd Alan was killed when it was being trailered back in 1979. Yes it did bring a lump to my throat that I thought had long been forgotten.

Sabrina Austin

So just what is Sabrina? Avid mammary gland watchers of a certain age would have fond memories of the 1950s British actress of the same name. Or perhaps you would prefer to be reminded of Audrey Hepburn in William Wilder’s 1954 film Sabrina.

Good thoughts both, but for these purposes it’s actually an Australian-built special constructed in country Victoria in 1959.

Laurie Knight lived in the Victorian country town of Benalla, earning his living through the running of an Esso service station and building fiberglass speedboats on the side. On the weekends he had built up a name for himself from competing in his Austin-Healey 100/6. No doubt seeing the value of his Austin-Healey rapidly disappearing downhill with every race meeting, he set about in 1959 with the assistance of local mechanic Ian Welsh to build a Vanguard chassis-based special fitted with Austin mechanicals that was more suited to the dirt circuits that accompanied almost every sizable country town at the time. Knight christened the car his pet name, “Sabrina.” The English actress of the same name hadn’t long beforehand visited Australia and her ample proportions were front page news in the daily press.

The Austin mechanicals came about from an opportunity that Laurie couldn’t resist. The story goes that the local police constable bought a brand new Austin A95 sedan, and local history says that on the night before he and his family were about to depart on a touring holiday his son took the car out for a spin. Well spin he certainly did, so much so that he rolled it after leaving a bridge sideways and somehow hit a tree 14 feet above the ground. Needless to say the car was completely written off and there is no record of what happened to the young driver.

From reports, Sabrina in its first guise was more of a prototype for some of his ideas, and it ran fairly unspectacularly at a dirt circuit at Undera south of Shepparton.

Fast Sedan

In the late fifties the Austin A95 was renowned for being a very quick motor car, and when it became clear to Laurie that the Vanguard chassis wasn’t the way to go he decided to build another car using the knowledge he’d learned, and reuse the Austin mechanicals.

After much head scratching, planning, and drawing to figure the correct placement of the Austin engine, gearbox and differential Laurie Knight set about to build the tube frame chassis of a new car, also to be called Sabrina. The front suspension was built up from an amalgam of Austin A95 and Morris Oxford parts, with the front brake backing plates extensively drilled to assist cooling.

Down the back, Knight positioned the A95 rear axle located by light plates specially fabricated and all attached to a modified Volkswagen crossed torsion bar arrangement.

Power came from the A95 engine that was fitted with a special camshaft, but as Knight was after more power he fitted a Roots-type supercharger that was mounted to one side and driven by a duplex chain (which often broke). The 4-speed gearbox was also from the A95, but as the saloon was column-change it was fitted with the side change mechanicals from an Austin-Healey. Being smaller than the sedan meant that the racecar’s driveshaft was only about 6-inch long, meaning that the universal joints could not work effectively. Consequently, the gearbox rear extension was shortened to allow for a tailshaft length of 10 to 12 inches. In this form it was raced bodiless for about 12 months.

First Race

The new Sabrina’s first race was on November 6, 1960, at a long lost circuit called Tarrawingee, where it gained instant acclaim.

Opened in 1953 and located in the town of the same name, the Tarrawingee circuit was typical of so many similar rural Victorian racing circuits, being an oil-bonded dirt surface which was progressively bitumen sealed as funds allowed. The circuit bounded approximately two-thirds of the local Australian Rules football oval allowing racing spectators the use of the football grandstand to view the action. Convenient too for spectators was the Tarrawingee pub, located just over the other side of the road.

The long defunct Australian Motor Sports magazine, in its Dec. 1960-Jan. 1961 issue, described the race meeting: “The atmosphere at these races is something in comparison to a country horse race meeting; everyone comes along to enjoy themselves as well as win races, and the circuit has proved ideal for that. Unless you spin out at least once during the meeting then you cannot really claim to be a Tarrawingee competitor.”

The AMS writer went on to say. “The hot sun had melted quantities of bitumen, notably at Pit Corner, and it was a revelation to watch the traffic pass through sideways, backward, and occasionally not at all.”

In amongst all this were Laurie Knight and Sabrina,which had to run against the open-wheelers as it was bodiless. AMS recoded Sabrina’s success as “Pat Hawthorne (Lycoming) showed the way home in the next event by almost half a lap to his nearest competitor. … Second placing was awarded to L. Knight in the very attractive A90 Special after a terrific dice involving about six cars.”

On the day Sabrina went on to win three other races and place 2nd in another.

No doubt buoyed by the success at Tarrawingee, Knight entered the car at the 1961 New Year’s Day meeting at Hume Weir. However, this time success turned into disaster as Knight managed to put the car into the concrete dividing wall almost head-on. Sustaining considerable damage, the only salvageable components were the running gear, engine, etc., and the main chassis rails.

Sabrina Rebuilt

Luckily, Laurie Knight was uninjured, but not so Sabrina. So then followed a 12-month rebuild period before the car was seen again at the Winton circuit. Interestingly, Winton opened as just another country circuit, but is located halfway between the large population areas of Benalla and Wangaratta. Being in continuous use since 1961, the Winton circuit is still operating today and is particularly popular with historic motor sport enthusiasts.

In the intervening time, Knight had spent considerable time on the engine, including overboring and balancing as well as lightening the flywheel and fitting a later and more efficient Austin-Healey cylinder head. Plus, the supercharger was moved from the side of the engine to the front and was now driven directly off the crankshaft.

However, of greatest importance was that when the car was seen at Winton it was wearing its first set of clothes in the form of a shapely fibreglass body. It is understood that no mould was built to form the body, but remember Laurie Knight was well versed with fibreglass through his speedboat experiences.

With its long nose, upswept front guards, tail fin and headrest, Sabrina had a D-type air about it, plus its scalloped front guards also showed a tinge of Aston Martin DB3S. In connection with Knight’s service station, Sabrina was painted bright yellow with a center stripe in blue.

The car later sported wider rear wheels as Knight had experienced traction problems with the original skinny wheels and tires from the A95. In a letter from Knight to a later owner in 1992 he explains that back at Tarrawingee in 1960 he noted that Pat Hawthorn was running dual wheels and tires on the back of the V8 Lycoming. Being years before wide tires were the norm, he approached Hawthorn about the arrangement and was told that with so much power in a light car, it was important to have as much rubber/road contact as possible.

As Knight was experiencing the same problem with Sabrina he decided to experiment with wider tires and chose a set of Goodyear Balloon Light Truck Tires. However he left the wheel at the original width which resulted in quite a bit of rubber hanging out over each side of the wheel. To achieve total road contact he ran the tires under inflated, which of course led to incorrect tire beading and rim contact. At their next encounter with Hawthorn it was suggested that the solution was simple and all he had to do was to cut each wheel and weld in a small section so that the wheel was 6-1/2 inch instead of its original 4-1/2.

The following year Laurie Knight ran Sabrina in both Melbourne metropolitan circuits, as well as those in the country. These included Sandown, Calder, Winton, and Hume Weir. It resulted in moderate success for him, including an outright win in the North-East Drivers Championship series held at Winton.

Sold On

In May 1963, Laurie Knight removed the supercharger and sold Sabrina on to John Mahony of Wangaratta. No doubt Mahony was looking for something a little extra and actually managed to register the car so that he could drive it on the road.

Fitted with twin SUs and the accoutrements necessary for road use, Mahony and Sabrina turned up at the May 1963 Winton meeting, but it had quickly become yesterday’s racing car as Sabrina was hopelessly outclassed. While Mahony did compete in the car a few times over the next year or two, he perhaps showed a hint of desperation by entering it in an unlicensed dirt-track meeting near the northern Victorian town of Wahgunyah. In one race the engine blew in a big way.

During his exploits, Mahony had built up a degree of friendly rivalry with Terry Cornelius and the race was actually a two-car grudge match between the two of them.

With its broken engine, John Mahony advertised Sabrina for sale in Australian Motor Sports, but there were no takers. Not long later in what was probably an effort to regain some of the funds expended on the car, its main components were sold off. The gearbox was sold to a local Austin A95 owner who no doubt preferred a floor change over the standard column shift. The blown engine went to the same Terry Cornelius, while in November 1965 the chassis/body was sold to Adrian Keenan of Yarrawonga, another small country town in northern Victoria.

Closed Sabrina

Adrian Keenan, known to his mates as “Doc” had ideas on what the car should look like in the future and also how it should perform. He was also a Jaguar enthusiast and considered that Sabrina would fare better powered by a hot Jaguar XK engine and driving through a Moss gearbox. Not a problem really, as there was plenty of room. Down the back, the cleverly designed east-west VW based torsion bar arrangement remained, but the rear end gave way to that of a relatively unsophisticated early Ford Fairlane.

Thankfully, the world doesn’t possess the impeccable taste like you and I have, as Keenan then set about to graft the hardtop from a Triumph Herald Coupe to the car. As it was never fitted with anything more than a racing screen, this meant that the Herald windscreen was also fitted. This was no mean feat, as the body was originally built with the forward opening bonnet in one piece incorporating the front guards, racing screen and the top of the dash.

Once again it was registered for the road, but from the complete scarcity of reports it would appear to have received very little use through to 1974 when it was sold on to a Steven Northey, also from Yarrawonga. By this stage memories were short and Sabrina took on a mysterious air.

In the June 1976 issue of Cat-A-Log, the monthly journal of the Jaguar Car Club of Victoria under the heading “Sabrina Surfaces,” it states: “After seeing the photo of the Sabrina-Jag in the current Cat-A-Log I have reason to believe that it is actually a car once known as the Austin-Sabrina ….” It goes on to say “The Sabrina-Jag is now for sale by its present owner and restorer Steven Northey, after a complete rebuild and is painted maroon and fitted with a fixed head. … It is eligible for historic racing and would be ideal for the Clubman series races. If you are willing to pay out the $1600 ….”

Kevin Quinn (no relation) of Melbourne must have been willing to part with the $1600 as he was the next owner. However his ownership was brief as it was then passed on to Des Donnan. In his hands Sabrina was even more mysterious, as while he applied and received a CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motor Sport) Group M logbook for the car, it became quite a talking point when he started to run the car in hillclimbs. Group M did and still does cater for racing, sports racing, and clubman sports cars with a competition history established between January 1, 1961 and December 31, 1965.

Where’s Wally?

So, full circle and we are back to Wally Gates. In a letter to a later owner Wally wrote: “A good friend of mine—Alan Jones—rang me in about 1976 and told me about a ‘Healey Special’ which had been advertised in a Melbourne paper.” Wal confirmed that on checking the car that the good news was it was indeed a ‘special’ and that it still had the mounts in the engine bay to fit a Healey engine. However he went on and said that the bad news was that it had a Triumph Herald windscreen, a Jag engine and gearbox, and Ford “Tank” diff.

As mentioned, it was Wal’s aim to have the car ready to run at the January 1978 All-Historic meeting at Sydney’s Oran Park. This meant that Wal had to locate a suitable Austin engine and gearbox, rebuild the body back to its original form as it was in the 1960s and, what proved to be a real hurdle, obtain a suitable supercharger and get it to run correctly.

In his letter Wal wrote. “I obtained four blowers off Commer ‘knocker’ diesel trucks, none of which worked. They were being sold as scrap—by this time the engine/gearbox, diff were installed and body work just about finished. (Lots and lots of work!!).”

Wally went on to admit that he knew very little about superchargers and bought every book he could on the subject and talked to as many “learned” people as possible, but try as he might, found that he couldn’t build a coupling that would drive the blower from the front of the engine reliably and without breaking.

Historic Rules

Historic Motor Sport in Australia is governed, quite correctly by strict rules as to what category cars are run in. As previously mentioned, Group M caters for those cars with a competition history from the beginning of 1961 through to the end of 1965, while Group L is for those cars with a competition history from between January 1, 1941 and December 31, 1960. Surely the period that Sabrina fell into.

So Wal ran in the 1978 Historic meeting with twin SUs, but with the unserviceable supercharger still hanging off the front of the engine. He was also granted a temporary Group M log book as he was unable to find evidence that would allow the issuing of one for Group L.

Sabrina ran well at Oran Park, and quicker than some other competitors. Then, as they say, it hit the fan as Wally received quite a number of unofficial protests about the tires and the body. It appears that some people wanted Wal to run the car without the body as it did at Tarrawingee in 1960! As much as he tried Wal couldn’t have his temporary log book converted into the Group L log book that he really wanted. Disenchanted, Wal put the car up for sale and it was sold to the same Terry Cornelius who had bought the damaged engine some years beforehand.

New Owner

Terry Cornelius is still very much involved in historic motor sport and, on instructions from Bill (Mr. ERA) Morris, recently finished building the body for the reconstruction of the Kieft DeSoto. Sadly, Bill died in May last year and did not live to see his Kieft GP car team up with the DeSoto-engined sportscar at Goodwood last year.

We caught up with Terry and discussed his time with Sabrina.

“I was at Tarrawingee when Laurie Knight first brought the car out.” Terry told VR. “He was a real hero that day after a terrific dice with six other cars. After I bought the engine a few years later, what was left of the chassis/body was sold to Doc Keenan for the grand sum of $100. I remember Wal called me when he was thinking about buying it and how excited he was. It had a Jaguar engine then, but both of us knew what the car really was.”

“I didn’t think twice when Wal later told me that it was up for sale; however, I wasn’t too sure about tunning it in Historics. Eventually, I was advised to run it as a Group M, as at least it would be out on the track. My first outing was at Sandown in Melbourne in 1978, but it was still using SUs instead of the supercharger. Then I wrote a fairly impassioned letter to CAMS pointing out that as a Group M car it was up against far more modern machinery. Cars with rear engines, inboard disc brakes, and the like. One of the cars I compared Sabrina with was a Lotus 23B that was far more sophisticated than a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive car that used components from the late 1950s. In December 1978 the car was granted a Group L log book.”

Upside Down

“After some work I finally got the supercharger working and entered the car for the 1979 Winton Historics.” Terry added. “It was running on ethanol and performing perfectly and then the headgasket blew so much so that I couldn’t repair it at the circuit. So, I made the decision to take the car back to my garage for repairs overnight. Alan Jones had come down from Sydney for the race meeting and it had been arranged that I would give him a lift so he could meet a mutual mate and spend the night at his place.

“We towed the car on the trailer with its cylinder head off the engine and sitting on the floor. The other guy who caused the accident was on our side of the road and put his car sideways so that we T-boned him. Tragically, Alan was killed, my car was a complete write off and Sabrina ended upside down with parts and bits of the body scattered for hundreds of yards. After some time in hospital I went back to the crash site with a bucket and managed to fill it with bits and pieces that were lying about. Each year since at Winton there has been an Alan Jones Memorial Race.”

“It took two years to rebuild the car.” Terry said. “In a way, the time rebuilding Sabrina was very therapeutic for me after the accident. The body was a complete mess and it was easier to build a mould for it and for the future. However, toward the end I was itching to get the car back on the track and received permission from CAMS to run the car for a time without a body.”

“It was during this time that I was continually working on the supercharger so that it eventually became reliable. In the end I placed it facing backward to the left-front of the engine and driving through belts. As part of my therapy I also visited Laurie Knight, taking the car with me. Laurie hadn’t heard about the introduction of historic racing and became so interested that shortly afterward he bought a rear-engined Rennmax. Ironically, in one race later at Sandown that was for mixed Groups I started with Laurie right next to me on the grid.

“Not long after I fell in love with an Elfin Streamliner,” Terry added. “I wanted it badly and put a ‘for sale’ sign on Sabrina, but I can’t say that I was knocked over in the rush. It actually took about 12 months before Roy Williams came up to me and said that he was interested and a deal was done. Sadly, I was too late for the Elfin, but ended up with a BMC A-series powered car called the Schazm that was as different to Sabrina as chalk and cheese. It took me some time to get used to the fingertip style of driving after Sabrina. It really is a great car and probably my favorite in a hair-raising sort of way! There was nothing quite like it when the supercharged 3-liter engine was on full song.”

Sold On

Roy Williams of Geelong, south of Melbourne took delivery of Sabrina in October 1986, and immediately started to record his thoughts, jobs to be done, and even down to the weather when he ran the car. Between then and his first race meeting at Sydney’s Amaroo Park in January 1987, he appeared to have rebuilt everything that hung off the engine and then some.

Amaroo was a success for Roy, coming 2nd in one race even after the car refused to move off the line. For the rest of the year Roy was extremely busy, entering hillclimbs, race meetings and sprints. At the 1988 Geelong Speed Trials Roy managed FTD of 13.41 seconds for the standing quarter-mile against the 13.58 of Murray Richard’s Cooper-Climax, Ian McDonald’s Cooper-Jaguar (13.59) and the 13.71 of Keith Berryman’s D-Type Jaguar.

After sustaining a relatively minor accident at Oran Park in October 1988, the next entry on Roy’s diary is: “Things to do —A MAJOR REBUILD OF SABRINA.”

Roy was amazingly quick, for between then and May 1989 the car was completely stripped to the chassis, which was fitted with new sections and then sandblasted and painted, engine and gearbox rebuilt, front suspension completely rebuilt with new bushes, differential rebuilt, brakes rebuilt, body rebuilt incorporating a new floor pan, alloy sides as well as hundreds of other smaller jobs that go into any rebuild.

On May 10, 1989, Sabrina was tested at Calder Raceway, northwest of Melbourne. From his notes Ray was pleased with the result, but it is interesting that at the end he added:

“DON’T PUT POWER ON UNLESS CAR IS POINTING IN DIRECTION YOU WANT TO GO!”

After a less than satisfactory start at Sydney’s Amaroo Park in August 1989, it didn’t quite improve over the following months, especially in the supercharger department. There are constant entries on problems being experienced with supercharger drive belts, head gasket, and blow-off valves.

Seemed Okay

Roy Williams continued to run Sabrina through to 1997 with intermittent success and, to give credit where it’s due, certainly did not scrimp on devoting time and money to the car. He also did not scrimp when it came to the journal he kept on the car, which ended up being some 118 pages of in-depth notes and thoughts on running the car, including hand drawings of the smallest alteration.

After persevering with Sabrina for 11 years and also repainting it from its original yellow to silver, Roy sold it in 1997 to Terry Smith of Innaloo, a suburb of Perth in Western Australia some 2,130 miles on the other side of the country. It is understood that in his hands the car did very little work indeed and this was confirmed when we spoke to the present owner, Barry Naylor of Park Ridge, which is just south of Brisbane, and another long haul from one side of Australia to the other.

Pulling Hair

“I bought it in 2005 from Terry Smith in Western Australia.” Barry Naylor told VR. “There were only 20 entries in the log book in his name when I picked it up. Since then it’s been a slight case of pulling my hair out. Most of that has been trying to get the engine running leanly enough. I like a challenge, but this has been a real difficult one. Sometimes the front three cylinders would run rich and the rear three would be lean, then the other way around.”

“After a couple of outings I was close to satisfaction with the car and then we took it to Sydney’s Eastern Creek where it just refused to handle in the way I wanted it to. Then followed a lot of work on suspension settings and experimenting with different wheel widths and the like. Eventually it started to go round corners like I wanted it to, but Sabrina then decided that she didn’t want to stop. We managed to fix that. Frustrating could be one way to describe it.”

“The next fun was at Phillip Island when it was going like a train. Sabrina’s an extremely quick car when everything is going like it should be. Anyway, I came around the corner onto the straight on the 4th lap when the engine detonated. Nothing else to do but to put the car back on the trailer and join the spectators.

“In among other things it took a year to rebuild the engine.” Barry said. “As part of the process I also rebuilt the supercharger so that it could take methanol again. That was a good move as it took some time before I was happy with the engine. Like my predecessors, I have had problems with the supercharger drive. It used to run triple V-section belts, but they would frequently break. Then I hit on the idea of using AS section belts and incorporate an idler pulley that takes the strain on acceleration.

“I then ran Sabrina at Bathurst last year and I will say that it was as good as it gets. It’s an amazing circuit and to feel the pull of the engine going up the mountain was simply wonderful. While it ran perfectly, the fuel mixture still wasn’t correct as it was lean coming out of a corner and then change to rich so much so that it would blow black smoke. Yes it was great fun, but I was a little surprised at the 3 ½ mpg it was returning! I then spent some time changing carburetor needles and later at Sandown it ran perfectly. Let’s hope that’s how it will be for the future.”

At Lakeside

We arrived at the Lakeside Circuit, located in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. Closed for some time, it was thought that Lakeside had succumbed to the onslaught of suburbia. However, while the houses are close, the track has survived, but there are strong restrictions on the number of cars on the circuit in any race and the amount of noise.

Through the efforts of Queensland’s Historic Racing Car Club a number of cars had been lined up to enjoy. Sabrina was one and I felt as if I had come full circle after that meeting in Wally Gates’ driveway some 32 years beforehand.

Yes, the Austin C-series six-cylinder engine is very familiar, but not so the blower and complicated manifolding hanging off its side. Similarly, the Austin 4-speed is also familiar, but exposed and sharing the cockpit with me. I look closely at the foot pedals and they too are familiar, but they point upwards, unlike the pendulum arrangement in a six-cylinder Austin-Healey.

The gearshift falls easily to hand, and thankfully the clutch is progressive. Into first and out onto the circuit and I feel instantly at home. Was it the familiar sound of the engine coupled with the gearbox whine? Into second and whoa! What was that? The car seemed to jump sideways a little. It took me a second or two to realise that it was the Detroit Locker working as it should.

In second and Sabrina soon tells me that she runs harder than other cars I have experienced with the same engine. Into third and I feel Sabrina’s sideways movement through my behind. Now this is fun! Then into fourth around the back of the circuit and while not at full racing speed Sabrina feels sure-footed on the road and the brakes, while four-wheel drums, do provide quite a degree of confidence.

While mindful of the engine revolutions, I enjoy the rawness of Sabrina’s acceleration for a few laps until I catch up with the camera car and that’s the end of the real fun. Being a real fan of the cars from the 1950s and early ’60s and their relative lack of sophistication, I quickly fell in love with this version of Sabrina. Sure it’s been a challenge for owner after owner, but when she is behaving herself Sabrina is a delight in a heavy-handed way.

During May 2009, Barry had the opportunity to meet up with Laurie Knight, Sabrina’s original owner, who was very complimentary of the car in its present condition. In a comment Laurie mentioned that despite the years, Sabrina was still a real, raw horsepower-driven sports car. I couldn’t help but agree.

SPECIFICATIONS

Chassis: Twin-tube longitudinal

Body: Fiberglass two-seater open bodywork.

Wheelbase: 97”

Weight: 1,950-lb.

Suspension: Front: Independent with torsion bars, Armstrong double-arm lever shock absorbers and anti-roll bar. Rear: Torsion bars, traction rods, adjustable lever-arm Armstrong shock absorbers.

Steering Gear: Rack and pinion.

Engine: 6-cylinder, 185-ci (3.28” x 3.5”)

Power: 232 bhp at 5,500 rpm at rear wheels

Carburettor: Wade Roots Supercharger, Twin 2” SU Carburetors

Clutch: Single dry-plate.

Gearbox: Modified Austin-Healey side shift

Gears: 4 forward, 1 reverse

Foot Brake: 4-wheel drums.

Hand Brake: Operating on rear drums

Wheels: 5½  x 15

Tyres: 500 x 15 Hoosier Vintage TD

Resources

Terry Walker Fast Tracks – Australia’s Motor Racing Circuits 1904-1995, Turton & Armstrong ISBN 0 908031 55 6

John B Blandon Historic Racing Cars in Australia, Turton & Armstrong ISBN 0 908031 83 1