The seller of this 1959 Austin-Healey 100-6 doesn’t disclose much information about the car, but the fact that it not only runs but is driveable means you could enjoy it “as-is” while refurbishing it! There aren’t many Big Healeys in this condition; most are restored or oxidized, motionless hulks. Despite the challenging photos, let’s delve deeper into this British icon.
The seller does show this rather large series of dents in the driver’s side rear fender. However, I’ve tried to fit a reproduction Healey fender before and I’d much rather work with an original dented one than a “new” one. I wish the photos showed the sills and the lower fender areas, which are the most vulnerable steel places on these Healeys. That being said, I’m quite pleased with the lack of visible corrosion between the steel fenders and aluminum shrouds.
This brochure is for the 1959 3000 Mk. I, although it’s almost identical to the 100-6 and a 100-6 with front drums is shown in this illustration (my opinion only, you may see discs). The main point of showing you the cover of the brochure is the ludicrous claim of an “occasional” 4-seater room. I had a 1959 100-6 when I was in college, and my girlfriend’s roommate used to ride to football games with us in the “back seat”. Lisa probably weighed 80 pounds, if that, and she still had to ride sideways with the top down to fit! I really want to hear from you in the comments if you are a full-sized adult and have ridden in the rear of a “four-seat” Big Healey!
Most 100-6s and 3000s were fitted with the excellent Laycock overdrive, shown here in another page from the 1959 brochure. I’m pretty sure this car was originally fitted with it, despite a later “center-shift” 3000 transmission having been installed (the original comes with the car as a spare). The seller also mentions that the front disc brakes from a 3000 have been installed.
This picture shows two other Healeys, presumably in the seller’s garage. This makes the asking price of $13,750 even more attractive–hopefully, you are buying from an expert owner! The car is listed for sale here on craigslist and is located in Warrenton, Virginia. Let us know about your Big Healey experiences in the comments!
If the underside isn’t crusty this is a pretty great price. This is what I see virtual parts car advertised for…..
This one had to go to my brother, pretty close to his back in the early ’70s. He will plotz when he sees the price. I get confused in my old age, and forget what he paid, I thought it was $1500 and was the last car before he went into the service. I’m not sure if I was going to get the car or he was going to sell it, but just before he left, someone pulled out in front of him, he hit the brakes, 1 front brake grabbed, spinning the car around, mowing over a traffic island. Totaled the car. Quite the sendoff. Considering Big Healeys were all the rage a while back, the market has softened some, and I think this is a plausible price for this. They were incredible cars, and am glad to say I got to drive one. They make such a neat noise when you tear the exhaust off,,,,
A couple comments here. In regards to the back seat, the Healey were similar to the MGB-GT’s. I have had a couple of those (and am working on one right now). The back seats are useless other than for a 3 or 4 year old. I remove the rear seat and build a hinged platform to match the rest of the deck. It may not be original however, utility is more important to me than OE. It looks better, is functional and 99% of people looking and enjoying don’t know the difference. Plus, it’s a real 2 seater! Only the purists will know. In regards to the picture; The ad says the car is In Virginia. The one car on the left with a license plate shows an old Jersey ‘blue and white’ plate. I’m from there but don’t live there anymore and I recognized that plate from the 70’s/80’s era immediately! ‘You can take the boy out of Joisey but you can’t take the Joisey out of the boy!’ ( Said lovingly!). There was plenty of old British iron roving around that state. Had much fun with cars there!!!
Interestingly, the lead illustration for the factory “3000” brochure does in fact show a 100-6. The rib on the bonnet and the front brake drums give it away….
From some time in 1959 until I turned 16 and was allowed to (occasionally) take the driver’s seat, I rode in the back of a 4-seat Healey, sometimes with a friend in the other “occasional” seat. Not going to lie, it wasn’t plushy, but someone in the upper-five-foot range could fit, snugly. It was fortunate that my father installed seat belts for the rear seats in both his 100-6 and later 3000. It could get bouncy back there….
Every 100-6 or 3000 I’ve seen has had overdrive. This one does, too; you can see the switch to the right of the steering wheel. I believe a few 100-6s and 3000s were built with disc wheels and no o/d. They’re pretty rare. I have been told some owners of o/d-equipped 3000s look for the rear axles of those “base” cars, which had a “longer” gear ration to keep the revs down a bit on the highway.
Worth the money? I think so, as long as one is willing to take the time — and more money — to deal with inevitable mechanical, cosmetic, and rust issues. My personal choice would be to avoid 100-6s altogether. They’re nice enough, but not as desirable to me as either a 100 or a 3000.
RayT… I did exactly that trick with the build of my Triumph TR4… the non-OD TR4s have a higher final drive ratio in the diff, the OD cars lower, to match the fact that the OD adds 22%. My TR4 was originally a non-OD car with the higher rear ratio but I managed to source an OD set up to fit, I left the original higher ration diff in place so now mine has an extra-high “OD-top” for the highway. I was also doing some modest tuning updates on the engine so I reckoned it’d have a little extra torque needed to pull it.
interestingly, I noted that the Triumph Spitfires always had the same diff ration with or without OD. I guess that’s probably down to the Spitfire being sold at a cheaper price point so Triumph did everything they could to simplify and rationalize production? who knows?…but it does mean that there’s quite a difference between a non-OD and an OD Spitfire for highway use, and accordingly, the OD is such a desirable option to have on a Spitfire.
My first real date with my crew chief was in a ’55 100-4 and since l had a ’57 Porsche Cabriolet with much more room in it and reclining seats it became the date machine. The Healey was a bunch of fun to drive though and got it’s share of use. The locked out 1st gear was weird but it would go cruise at 65 with no problems. Engines were pretty stout. This car looks a little rough but all the panels look pretty good. Need an underside look before jumping into the fray. The 100 6 is one of my favorite Healeys. The following cars were all road cruisers, not real sports cars.
In High School Grade13, [Canadian system], I went to school, worked two jobs.
I delivered for a Pharmacy 3-6, pumped gas 6-10. [ close proximities]
I bought a 62′ 100-6 red on black.for $600,00 and miss it to this day. The sound of the engine, the smooth ride.
It had a removable hardtop, wire wheels.
I invited three lovely female classmates out for lunch during school, one up front and two squeezed into the back. The left rear wire wheel rebelled.
I will always miss the car and the gals.
Had a 58 100 6 in high school. Back seat good for a small dog. That’s about it. Sold it when going to college for $500. One of many let go that u wished I hadn’t. Great overdrive. Great sound. Just a blast to drive.
I’ve had 4 of these (one very early 3000, the others all 100-6’s). First one was a 100-6 that I bought for $1200 the summer of my senior year in high school (1965) and we put four people in that car lots of times – sometimes for long trips from Hartford, CT down to the beach on LI Sound. When I think about it now, kind of makes me shutter – certainly wasn’t safe – but, at the time we thought we were invincible. I’m sure the back seat passengers could barely walk after riding back there.
Sold then all for more than what I paid for them – even though I would need a hoist to get me out of a Healey now, I’d love to have one in my garage!
Nothing sounds better than a 3000 in a tunnel.
Well, maybe a V12 Ferrari…
Back in 72 my friends wife and I were going to the acreage where we kept our horses to feed and ride a bit. I was driving my 67 3000 and of course we were taking the back roads. On a long straight portion, I noticed the red lights, and I pulled over. The Sherriff deputy got out and was very angry. “Why were you running from me?” I replied that I wasn’t running, I simply wasn’t aware he had been pursuing me through the twisting north east Texas back country. He asked why I didn’t use my mirrors, and I explained that the back seat was full. Not believing there was a “back seat”, he wanted to see. Sondra, my friends wife – a very striking fashion model was surprised when he opened the door to look and see the “rear seat” filled with a western saddle, an English saddle, blankets and halters. Yes, the rear seat area has more room than folks think, especially the Sherriff.
The rear “seats” were really just two metal trays covered in vinyl, with no foam. The “seats” were really only for two small children. An adult could sit sideways, but only for a brief lift. A long drive would leave said adult with quite a pain in the rear.
I have had three Big Healeys and miss them. They were elegant, had a nice growl, were reliable, but were quite primitive suspension-wise. I miss them a lot, but having an E Type open two-seater helps me get over my nostalgia. If I were to have a bigger garage, I have no doubt a Big Healey would be part of my life again.
Did anyone remember seeing the car is brown but all the pictures but one is Blue. The tan one I think is the one for sale. I could be wrong but chances are I’m not for that kind of money.