Registration No: 767 KNX
Chassis No: HBJ7-64H-57-2
Engine No: XSP 2157-2
767 KNX is without doubt one of the most important surviving GT racing cars of the Sixties due to its history, originality and provenance. 767 KNX was built for the 1964 Sebring 12 Hour Race. Geoff Healey himself led the project to build the most extreme racing 3000 yet, and it needed to be as the only non-Ferrari in its class. As a ‘Works’ car, it was hand built in the Healey Motor Company Competition Department in Warwick. The spec included a lightweight steel chassis fitted with an all alloy body and fibreglass roof. The engine was very highly tuned with hot cams, ported aluminium heads and triple 45DCOE Webers, with power feeding through a 4-speed close ratio racing gearbox (with overdrive) and a ZF limited-slip differential. Meticulously prepared, Healey had done everything he could to produce a competitive car to take on the GTO’s.
For the Sebring 12 Hours on 21st March 1964 the factory fielded just one car, 767 KNX, and Healey sent over his favourite driver Paddy Hopkirk to lead the team with Canadian Grant Clark as his number two. Hopkirk started the race at a ferocious pace but he almost immediately hit trouble with a puncture. After his pit stop he completed over 40 laps before handing over to his Canadian teammate. Just minutes later whilst still trying to regain lost time, Clark lost control and ended the race with the car on its roof. A disappointing end to a promising Works effort, 767 KNX was shipped back to England and the light damage sustained was quickly repaired.
Healey sold the car in August the same year to Yorkshire wool magnate Mr Henry R. Crowther, and a copy of the original Sales Invoice is in the history file. Crowther only kept 767 KNX for a short time before Ted Worswick acquired it, an ownership period that would be as important for the car as its previous Works life. Worswick is regarded as one the main protagonists of the Big Healey movement, alongside characters like John Chatham, having owned, rallied and raced several ex-Works cars in period and throughout the following decades.
In the true spirit of an English privateer, Worswick competed at the highest level on a shoestring budget. He entered the 1966 Targa Florio and drove 767 KNX down to Sicily himself. He shared 767 KNX with Alan Minshaw but failed to finish due to a back axle failure, forcing a repair at the side of the road before the long journey home. Worswick also entered the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans but did not arrive for the race. A sabbatical for 1967 due to Worswick racing a sister car, ARX 91B, resulted in 767 KNX next running in the 1968 Targa Florio, a more successful race for the Healey after Worswick and Richard Bond finished 29th overall and 4th in class. Throughout this time, Worswick raced several times at national level before putting 767 KNX into storage in 1970.
Emerging from long term hibernation, Worswick entered 767 KNX for the 1982 Golden Fifty RAC Rally and finished 5th behind Paddy Hopkirk in the winning Mini and three other Minis. To reward his efforts he took the GT class spoils and the Team Prize. A return to circuit racing beckoned with a race at Oulton Park in 1984 followed by another trip to Italy to compete in the 1987 Coppa D’Italia. Worswick’s adventures did not end there as he took part in the Anglo American Challenge as part of Team Healey, 767 KNX making its first visit back to the USA since the 1964 Sebring 12 Hours.
Worswick finally sold 767 KNX after 26 years of ownership to Norman Grimshaw who raced the Healey throughout the Nineties with Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams. Grimshaw sold the Healey to Jonathan Procter in 2004 who immediately sent it to Denis Welch Motorsports for a complete mechanical rebuild. Following completion, 767 KNX was sold to a collector in Virginia, USA, who kept the Healey until 2013 when 767 KNX was brought back to England.
The current owner bought KNX in December 2015 and immediately commissioned the highly regarded marque expert, Jeremy Welch to race prepare the car to the highest standards. Every element was attended to. The important original engine was put to one side and a highly tuned Welch unit installed. The gearbox and back axle were rebuilt and the brakes, suspension and dampers were all overhauled, up-rated or replaced. A new fuel cell, fire system and safety roll cage were also fitted. KNX proved to be highly successful and the current owner modestly says that he never counted his podium finishes but has a significant number of trophies. KNX was successfully campaigned from 2015 to 2019 and a web search provided some results sheets. A typical one is reproduced here showing KNX finishing second in class, beaten only by the ‘Bread-van’ and running with some fast company.
767 KNX is offered in a highly competitive specification as its results prove but its originality is still evident with a wonderful and authentic patina. 767 KNX is offered with its original engine to retain its matching numbers integrity and is accompanied by a substantial history file and HTP papers. 767 KNX is the perfect car for Pre ’63 GT series and has been run in the GT & Sports Car Cup, Legends and Masters events. The new owner could be the first to take KNX to the Goodwood Revival, the Spa 6 Hours, the Le Mans Classic and the Tour Auto.
Ted Worswick owned a few ex-Works Healeys in period and the fact that he kept 767 KNX for 26 years demonstrates that this is a special car. Perhaps motoring author Burt Levy summarised 767 KNX perfectly as “the most historically significant, and certainly the most original Big Healey of the lot.”
