Nash healy/Kaiser Darrin
Written by Keith Fudge

Recently, Dennis Gage traveled to Boyne City, Michigan to visit with Mike Stowe, the owner of Great Lakes Motor Works - a special place for some awesome cars!  When Dennis arrived, he began to talk with Mike about how he became interested in the hobby.  Mike told him that when he wanted a car as a 15 year old, his dad told him to go and build himself one.  That was 1953, and Mike found a 1949 Chevrolet convertible that he worked on and drove throughout high school.  Mike went on to say it was at this point that his dad got the car bug as well.  Then the two transformed their efforts into a family hobby and business!  Mike told Dennis that they still have some of those early cars that he and his father worked on together, such as a 1932 Ford Roadster with a Hemi engine.  In 1961, his dad rebuilt a 1936 Ford Roadster with a Buick engine that was given to his father by the folks at Buick.  Mike also talked briefly about the 1940 Ford Coupe that he built in 1958, and he still has the car today.  Not only is Great Lakes Motor Works a tremendous facility to store and maintain classic cars, but another thing that Dennis and Mike talked about was the program that Mike started approximately 10 years ago.  They bring in high school and college students to work on the cars and to teach them about the hobby.  Mike said that in the past 10 years they have had approximately 100 young people go through the program! 

As the talk again turned to classic cars, Mike walked Dennis over to a pair of vehicles that he brought out especially for this visit:  a 1954 Kaiser Darrin and a 1953 Nash Healey!  Dennis referred to both of these vehicles as, “exotic orphans of the 50s,” and exotic truly was the correct description.  Mike began by showing Dennis the Kaiser and told him that this model was meant to represent a major image change for the struggling car company.  The car was constructed from fiberglass, and there were only 435 produced.  They were made in Jackson, Michigan and came in four very 50s colors:  yellow, green, red, and white.  Dennis noticed the detail in the interior, including a rolled and pleated dash.  The seats were covered in leather and stitched elaborately.  The most interesting design feature of the car is the style of pocket doors that slide inside the front fender when opened!  This is the only production car ever to have this design.  Mike said there was a good reason for it - they just don’t work very well!  On the technical side, Mike went on to say that the car was built on a modified Henry J frame and features a 161 cubic-inch engine that makes 90 horsepower.  These engines were built by Continental and were referred to as F Head engines.  He described them as a “one valve up, one valve down” design.  These cars truly are elegant in their design and have many features of classic Dutch Darrin style, such as the “Darrin Dip” where the doors angle down from front to rear where they meet the rear fenders.  What a stunning ride!

Next, Mike walked Dennis over to the 1953 Nash Healey!  This car has a remarkable story before it ever hit the streets in the United States!  First, the car was built in Kenosha, Wisconsin then shipped to England where a Healey suspension was installed.  Then it was transported to Italy for bodywork by legendary coachbuilder, Pininfarina!  Mike noted that these cars were very expensive to produce and purchase.  For example, at the time a 1953 Corvette sold for $3,200, and the Nash Healey cost $6,500!  There were only 102 of these cars produced, so seeing one that looks as good as this one is a rare sight indeed!  Dennis noted that the body resembles a Ferrari in some ways.  Mike added that the body is constructed from steel except for the aluminum deck lid and hood.  At that moment, Dennis asked how did the notion of this car ever come into being?  Mike responded that supposedly the president of Nash and Don Healey met on an airplane flight and came up with the idea to wake up the Nash Company and promote a youthful image with the production of this model.

Under the hood is also another unusual feature, a 327 cubic-inch, six-cylinder engine!  The “LeMans Dual Jetfire,” as it was labeled, has two interesting features.  It has no intake manifold, nor does it have an exhaust manifold!  This car is just too good to be true.  Since it was such a beautiful day for driving, Mike and Dennis decided to take a cruise with Dennis behind the wheel.  As they drove on the Michigan back roads, Mike told Dennis that he purchased the car from a museum, and it was in good shape when he received it.  Since so few of these cars were produced, trying to restore one would be a nightmare because many of the parts would simply have to be fabricated.  We could tell that Dennis was certainly enjoying the drive.  When he commented to Mike how great the car was, Mike responded that driving this car was a much better experience than driving the ’53 Corvette!  He also added that the downfall of the car was its hefty price tag, more than double Chevrolet’s entry into the sports car market.

Dennis and the crew had a great time visiting Mike Stowe at Great Lakes Motor Works.  These cars are simply phenomenal!  Well, that’s it from Boyne City, Michigan.  So until our next visit, “Honor the timeless classics.  Happy Motoring!”