This website is a photo record of Uncle Murray’s beloved Donald.
The content is mainly photos + a few notes that Murray left in his estate that we collated and scanned. There are a few different Healey’s in this story: Green, Yellow, Red, Blue, The Rebuild & ‘Donald.’
With a bit of my ‘very novice’ CSI detective work and some helpful past (brief and maybe exaggerated) tails that Murray told the Family and me, I have been able to piece together a bit of history/timeline/journey.
If you are reading this and know more about Murray and Donald’s journey, please contact us to help fill in the blanks or correct the story.
The 1954 Austin Healey 100/4 (ground-up rebuild – modified to a 100S replica, running a Nissan FJ20) is a great car to drive. It has an impressive history along the way, with many miles covered in Australia and New Zealand.
Murrays Healey was raced, written off, and rebuilt from the ground up.
I had the honor to drive Donald around Invercargill in 2020 while I prepared him for sale.
Murray built this for the road; it sits low and handles exceptionally well, turning eyes wherever it ventured. Murray was known for going for very long KM drives; the furthest I drove Donald was 200km. Top-down, of course.
I also took a few locals passengers out for a drive and even picked my teenage Daughter up from school one day. (That was great, she was embarrassed to be picked up by Dad in a convertible, then excited to be in a classic car, but likely more embarrassed. And that’s what Dads do)
In Murrays later years. Medically, he was unable to drive, which was quite devastating to him as one could only imagine., Considering this was what he loved to do (and all he lived for). Not only did he own the Healey 100S replica (Donald), he also owned a 2-door 1989 Nissan Fairlady (non-supercharged), a 325i BMW, two Suzuki motorcycles, an Ebike, and two pushbikes.
We are pretty sure, even though he wasn’t legally allowed to drive anymore. He still did. For those that knew him, you know he was never going to listen!
After Murray’s passing, the Family contacted the Austin Healey Club of New Zealand, and many months later, Donald started his next journey with his next owner.
This site serves as a tribute to Murray’s lifetime passion and love for Austin Healeys.
