Ownership and Competition history of the 'black & white car'

CD-3000 Austin Healey 3000 1966 (BJ8)

The Wally Gates eras: 1973 - 1978 and 1987 - 1994

Wally Gates has had the longest association with the Black & white car. Wal was the third (and, later, the fifth!!) owner (or 'custodian') of the black & white car. Wally was a deputy Headmaster at a Primary School, and been a car enthusiast for many years when he bought the black & white Healey in 1973. It wasn't Wal's first Healey - he had already owned Healeys for many years, and had been racing an Austin Healey 100/4 for 3 seasons. Wally had won the Austin Healey Owner's Club (NSW) "Ross Bond Trophy' in 1971, driving his 'home built' 1954 Healey 100/4 race car - complete with huge flared guards. Wally had first seen the black & white car racing at Warwick Farm (in Ian Morgan's hands) in mid 1969 - and had remarked at the time "...imagine being able to afford to race a nice new (1966) Healey like that...".

Wal kept a complete, handwritten logbook of his time with the black & white car - and copies of most of his race entry lists/ results - and most of his memorabilia (like the 1976 6 Hour relay sticker and these 'Drivers arm patches' from the 1973 Calder 6 hour race, and the 1974 Oran Park 6 Hour race)- so this part of the black & white cars' history is very well documented (thanks Wal!!). Wally had agreed to purchase the car from Ian on 27th April, 1973, and took delivery on 27th May, 1973. Wal had already arranged the rego transfer from ADY-151 to his personalised number plates WG-218. The black & white Healey 3000 had 43,514 miles on the odometer when Wally purchased it, and came with all Ian's racing bits - wheels/ Detroit Locker diff etc. (I told you Wally had documented everything!!).

Wally sold the black & white Healey to Mike Holloway in Victoria, in May 1978 with an Odometer reading of 63,971 miles.

Wally bought the black & white car back from Mike Holloway on 22 April, 1987. It was registered (VIC) AGW-783, and the Odometer reading leaving Mike's place in Melbourne was 73,252 miles - (73,976 miles parked in Wal's garage). Wal spent several months going over the car, and getting it ready for a full 'pit inspection' (required for re registration in NSW). New pistons & bearings were fitted to the engine, the exhaust system was repaired & reworked, and the car had a thorough going over. On 7th October, 1987 the car was registered in NSW as WG-3000. Wal used the car primarily as weekend road car from this point onwards (covering under 2,000 miles over the next few years), and didn't use it in a speed event again. I bought the car off Wally on 31.12.1994 (odometer reading 75,800 - precisely!), by which time the rego had been lapsed and the car had been stored for several years.

"Cornerstone of the AHOC victory was Wally Gates' 3000,
here leading Dave Henderson into Mazda House" Pic: Mike Harding
From 'Racing Car News' June 1977, Amaroo 6 Hour Relay report.

Click the highlighted links below for more history of the black & white car. If you have any old 'Racing Car News' or 'Australian Auto Action' magazines covering any of the above events - or copies of the race results - I'd love to hear from you...

The ownership and competition history of the black & white car

• Back to history overview
• Richard Steil - London to Sydney in the Healey 3000 1967
• The Ian Morgan era 1969 - 1973
• The Mike Holloway era 1978 - 1987
• The Chris Dimmock era 1994 - present
• John Sprinzel and the Healey 3000
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