Recently Bob Yule of Autofarm Ltd was kind enough to allow me to take a close look at a very early 1954 Austin Healey 100, with only 5300 miles on it from new, that he had in his shop for service. One does not often get the chance to examine such an original car close… Continue reading Low Mileage Austin Healey 100. A Rare Opportunity to Look Back.
Category: Healey Concours Information
BN1 Gearbox. A Plethora of Threads
Back in the days when I was a really poor British sports car mechanic I managed to pick up a Suzuki LJ80V all-wheel drive van with a badly slipping clutch to use for winter transportation. It was a horrible little thing but great in the snow and all I could afford at the time. Before… Continue reading BN1 Gearbox. A Plethora of Threads
Early Austin Healey 100 Steering Wheel Detail.
When I was a little nipper back in Dunedin, New Zealand our family car, the first I remember anyway, was a 1948 Austin 16. I have 4 siblings so journeys in the Austin with 3 in the front and 4 in the back were cozy affairs. There was always a race for which of the… Continue reading Early Austin Healey 100 Steering Wheel Detail.
What is an Oakenstrong Washer?
I received a copy of an SU information bulletin from Earl Kagna during my research into whether or not identification tags were fitted to Austin Healey 100 carburettors. Our local SU guru Blain Hughes was good enough to send me pictures of what he had in the way of ID tags from SUs with the… Continue reading What is an Oakenstrong Washer?
Austin Healey 100 #174 Heatshields
The drivers footwell heatshields on #174 were original and somewhat different from those that I have seen on later cars. These heat shields are installed on all “Big” Healeys to limit the amount of heat that is radiated onto the driver’s footwell from the exhaust manifold and down pipe. The Original Heatshield on the Front… Continue reading Austin Healey 100 #174 Heatshields
Healey #174..Original Dash Paint…A Real Mindbender
In my continuing efforts to accurately archive as many details of this very early Austin Healey 100Â as I can I have spent time gently sanding through the paint on the dash in an attempt to determine its original colour. I want to emphasize that all I am doing here is cataloging what I’m finding… Continue reading Healey #174..Original Dash Paint…A Real Mindbender
Austin Healey #174…What colour was the frame?
One of the things I tried to take particular care to record as I took this car apart was any evidence of original paint. There has been much discussion about what colour the frame and inner body of these early cars was originally. Many owners have reported finding that the frame and inner body, and… Continue reading Austin Healey #174…What colour was the frame?
Austin Healey #174….Unusual Front Fenders
Now that I have had the body panels for this car chemically cleaned I am able to see some details on the front fenders which are rather unusual and not evident on later versions. THE FENDER VENT CUT OUTS First is the strange way that the vent holes have been manufactured (that’s if you do… Continue reading Austin Healey #174….Unusual Front Fenders
Austin Healey #174 Healey Grey??….Paint History
When I received the Heritage Certificate for this car I was surprised to note that the original colour was noted as “Healey Grey”. I have not been a close follower of all the work that people have done on these very interesting “early” cars so was not aware of the discussion that had gone on… Continue reading Austin Healey #174 Healey Grey??….Paint History
The Story and Disassembly of Austin Healey 100 Number 174
This very early Austin Healey 100 has the serial number is 142618 making it the 150th production car (the first production car as body #24) and it left Longbridge on 25 August 1953. I know almost nothing about the history of the car other than it was sold on eBay to the person from whom… Continue reading The Story and Disassembly of Austin Healey 100 Number 174