I never really knew what an Austin-Healey was until my high school years. A classmate’s cousin had an early 60’s 3000. It may have been a ’62 or a ’63 and it had a Chevrolet 327 CI V8 engine connected to a Muncie four-speed manual transmission – I knew that wasn’t original. It was also a non-runner but the owner was quite the wrench and I imagine it eventually all came together. Today’s find, a 1954 Austin-Healey 100 is in need of a good wrench too but it’s a horse of a different color compared to the one that I was introduced to, so many years ago. This example is located in Forney, New York and is available, here on eBay for a classified ad price of $36,000. There is a make an offer option too.
The Austin-Healey 100 was introduced in 1953 and was named for its ability to reach 100 MPH. Designated as a 100-4, the “4” is indicative of its four-cylinder powerplant. Replaced by the A-H 100-6 in 1956, the 100, or 100-4, realized production numbers of about 10K units rolling off of the Longbridge, England assembly line. This series of Austin-Healeys are known as “Big” Healeys to differentiate them from the smaller Sprite.
The text on this Austin-Healey is light other than to state that, “This Healey is an excellent restoration candidate and extremely original. This car has some typical early Heaely rust but is a long time Southern California car and should be a straightforward project“. The body is showing surface rust in numerous places and there is some rust-through in the lower quarters. There is also evidence of quite a bit of Bondo so the question would be how much is present that isn’t evident? Most of the trim looks to be present, though the chrome plating on the front bumper is flaking away. There is a rear bumper included in the sale, it just happens to be lounging in the passenger compartment.
It’s a safe bet that the 90 HP, 2.6 liter, in-line four-cylinder engine hasn’t turned a lick in many years. There is no reference made regarding the motor’s possible operability, specifically, is it seized or will it actually turn over? At least the engine looks complete. Being a first-generation 100 model, the transmission should be a three-speed manual unit.
The diminutive interior is pretty well gutted. The seats are stripped and there is no floor covering but the floors, what can be spied, look sound. The door cards are in dilapidated condition and the steering wheel is missing some chunks. That said, the instruments show to be surprisingly clear. As with many sports cars of this era, there isn’t a lot of an interior to restore due to its compact size and austere nature. Some attention will need to be paid to that convertible top and frame as they are in a pretty shaky condition.
Big Healeys are formidable sports cars and they do have a dedicated following. This example will need a stem-to-stern redo however and the price of entry seems steep considering the long road ahead. What do you think, is this Austin Healey 100 a viable restoration candidate?
Seller is somewhat greedy asking $35k for this POS! There are several apparently very nice drivers of similar vintage for sale online in $35-45k price range.
Having rebuilt a ’55 from the ground up I can say that these cars are more complicated than the XKEs. The amount of labor involved and the asking price don’t add up to anything but upside down on the cost of restoring this car. Have done one XKE and would not do another for any amount of money. That should tell you something about the Healeys even though I was dumb enough to restore two of them. That was when I was young and stupid but I did learn from it. They are still one of my favorite cars… restored by someone else.
Couldn’t agree more! While I drool over a big Healey or the XKE, the fact that both of these cars involve a lot of your financial resources to restore. I think the same could be said for any classic when they are in the condition shown. It’s also something I ask customers when they bring a car that needs extensive work. What are your visions? What is your budget? Is it a family heirloom or something sentimental to you? I think it’s really hard to read a customer sometimes and the last thing you don’t want to do is not meet expectations.
I know for myself I need to buy the fixer upper because I don’t want to finance or can’t buy it outright with cash. My cars are like cash down with monthly payments in the form of blood sweat equity and parts purchased.
Don’t restore it, then. Make it work, make it safe, take it out and treat it as the makers intended. Much more fun…
C’mon Bob and others! The websters definition of restoration is’fun to money ratio!’ This is or shuold be undertaken as HOBBY! We really can’t look at every generic old car as having to justify the cost by potentially profiting from the awesome experience of being involved as owner or builder in the process of renovating these bygone treasures. It just can’t be always about the almighty $$$!
bob, no one mentioned that great feature of 100/4…windshield base slides fwd, w/s lies low & mean…be blessed, grateful, prepared…61 stage 5 bugeye new, 58 100/6
Said it all my brother !
Good luck on making this run and be safe for a reasonable amount of money. I owned four of them plus two 6 cyl Healey’s. I worked on dozens of them. One had a 3.4 L Jag engine; the “best” of both world’s. The 1967 I owned for 25 years.
Rust is the enemy. This example will require almost as much money as a Jag. The interior is simpler, but rust repair is not.
The clutch linkage ran through a tube hooked to the brake pedal. In icy weather, they would freeze together. Solution; Don’t use the clutch. My first example had a gearshift knob with L, 1 2 3., and a backward pattern. L was a grandma gear, and mostly useless. Some had a lockout plate, allowing the use of only the top three gears. I removed several so that he owners could say they had a 4 speed.
What was the competition in 1954 and 1955 ?. TR3’s were around, but the 100-4 is more fun.
Neither the Healey family or Austin or BMC ever called the 100 a 100-4.
That designation was added after the introduction of the 100 six (not called a 100-6 either), even though the distinction was obvious, the 100 was a 4 cylinder and the 100-six had a six cylinder engine.
Unfortunately, the 100-4 became so widely used it is not realized it was never used by DMH and company.
An aside, if you will. Here is what really ticks me off. Look at all those cars in need of a good home, (as opposed to being housed until they rust, or the owner dies). The owner has a psychological condition, commonly called hoarding. I think it’s also called selfishness.
If you got a few nice classics sitting around why not let them go? You’re not going to fix them all anyway, and by being gracious, you will help to keep your storage bill down too!
Many of us would take great care of that 930 turbo, or that Detomaso Pantera in the background. Please, give your cars to a good home so they can be appreciated by all. (Get therapy if necessary.)
kent , I have run across this syndrome too often myself. Hoarders are selfish. Period.
I Did a BN2, I would rather work on a jag flat floor..Not really! the doors require a shim of the body to make them fit, the top bolts on the front and rear wings take 45 min each to un do The wings don’t adjust to the doors ..this is a tough car to do bodywork on ..not for the weekend warrior ..Bring the bank. Not cheap, not easy, this car is way overpriced. They are way cool to drive,,, do it in the winter as the cockpit gets a bit toasty in the summer.
Pipe dreams on this one. Price is way overvalued for what is offered. Word to wise “Buyer Beware”.
Lowell and frank… Did the XKE for a customer (think money) and the two ’55s for us. Healeys were more fun but by the time I got through rebuilding them I was ready to switch over to stamp collecting.