LENHAM HEALEY [L25]

Lenham Motor Company was founded by Julian Kingsford-Booty and David Miall-Smith in 1962 (February 9, to be precise!).

Best known for their variety of GRP panels most notably for Sprite and Healey, and motor-racing activities, Lenham also produced the Lenham Healey being one of them.

Came about after a London-based businessman commissioned them to make a pre-war Alfa lookalike basing it on a Triumph TR6. Customers liked the car and it competed at the Brighton Speed Trials in 1977. Motor Sport magazine did a feature on it and other people then wanted one…

The commercial version was reminiscent of the Healey-Silverstone, produced briefly for a couple of years from 1949, the Lenham conversion was based on Healey 3000 or 100/6 and Lenham would convert a customer’s car or present a fully built one.

Lenham Motor Company 1977-82

Approx 19 made

LENHAM LE MANS/GT COUPE /GTO ROADSTER[L26]

Based in a leafy part of Kent, Lenham Motor Company was founded by Julian Kingsford-Booty and David Miall-Smith in early 1962, when known as the Vintage & Sports Cars Garage, located behind the Dog and Bear Hotel in The Square in Lenham village.

An aluminium-bodied Mk1 Sprite special, with a distinctive hardtop, commissioned by a customer (Mr Curry), was liked by all who saw it and the company received many requests to reproduce it. However, Booty reasoned that it would be un-economical in time and cost to do so. Julian was assisted by his friend Peter Coleman on this car for Curry.

However, Julian was very interested in fibreglass and enrolled on a course, with the result that he could create a version of Curry’s car in glassfibre. He then offered commercially a series of panels for the Spridget, firstly with the Lenham GT Coupe in 1963, which was designed for Mk1 ‘Frogeye’ and Mk2 Sprite and also Mk1 MG Midget (basically, the pre-1964 cars).

Next came the Lenham Le Mans Coupe for Mk3 Sprite/Mk2 Midget (post-1964 cars) of which there were two versions, one having a ‘scalloped’ section behind the rear window, while the other was smoothed out. In 1966, Lenham launched the GTO Roadster, which was a convertible.

Other ‘Spridget’ products included a Competition bonnet, the SLR (Standard Lightweight replacement) bonnet, the Superfast and the ‘John Britten Back’ a version of which was raced by the man himself with some success. Lenham also made the ‘Easyfit’ and ‘Torado Targa’ hardtops for the Midget/Sprite, a range of products that Kingsford-Booty was reluctant to do.

It wasn’t just Midgets and Sprites that came in for Lenham’s attention, as they also made fibreglass styling components for cars such as the Jaguar E-type, MGB and Triumph Spitfire, while in 1967 they launched the Healey Silverstone-inspired Lenham Healey with the sports-racer, GT arriving in 1969. Meanwhile, the John Britten connection bore fruit again when Rix and Kingsford Booty helped design the Arkley SS.

In 1967 they moved to larger premises in nearby Harrietsham in the old bakery (actually the oldest garage in Kent – opened in 1910) and began trading as the Lenham Motor Company. Another very important name in Lenham history, Peter Rix, joined the company in 1970 and still works there to this day, and although Julian retired a couple of years ago, however, still helps out from time to time

The Lenham (Booty/Rix) operation still exists, as mentioned, and the pair sold the company to Andrew Actman in 2005, who changed the name to Lenham Sports Cars, while they concentrated on restoration, general repairs and sales. Scott Reynolds bought the company in April 2011 and reverted back to Lenham Motor Company!

Meanwhile, after a gap of around 38 years, the Lenham Spridget glassfibre panel kits are available once more. A historic racer called David Coplowe purchased the moulds from Lenham in the late nineties and commissioned another historic racer, Shaun Rainford’s Classic Cars of Kent & Sussex, to produce them under license. CCK bought the moulds outright in 2010 as well as the Lenham GTO from David Matthews.

They offer the Lenham Le Mans, for semi-elliptic cars and the Lenham GT for quarter-elliptic-equipped vehicles, with the replacement back ends at £714 inc VAT and the front ends at £570 inc VAT at the time of writing.

The convertible Lenham GTO rear ends cost £570 inc VAT but for cosmetic reasons will require a hardtop (prices to be finalised at the time of writing in early July). In addition, the company can also supply other Spridget related-products such as the sports-racer Rejo fronts and rears, their own G.S.R panels and the late Steve Everitt’s Mojo Midget front.

Vintage & Sports Cars Garage 1963-68

Lenham Motor Company 1968-1973

Classic Cars of Kent 2011 to date

Approx 220 made