Restore an Austin Healey; Healey Restoration Tips, Austin Healey Sports Cars

1955 Austin Healey 100 – 4: For Sale Restoration in Progress

Posted on September 7, 2010 by A3000

We are delighted to offer the following car, a 1955 Classic Austin Healey 100-4 For Sale.

This car is owned by a man on the west coast that purchased it to restore in total and after starting, his mechanic / restorer became ill and they were unable to complete the project.

1955 Austin Healey 100-4 For Sale front view

1955 Austin Healey 100-4 For Sale left side view

This is a major break for anyone that wants to start out with strong bones and finish the project. The description of this favorite classic sportscar is as follows.

[From the owner's description]
“A 1955 Austin Healey 100-4 BN1. This model is the one that has the fold down wind screen. Or more rightly that can be partially lowered and tipped back. I bought this car to restore and drive, .My friend, who did restoration work, started this for me, but became very ill and had to retire.

It came new as a black car with red interior and top. I purchased it last summer from a family who had it since 1962. Car was last driven in 1984, and had been in storage since.

It had a cracked head which was removed. I shipped it out to be repaired but it was non-repairable, so No cylinder head is included in this listing. The car has had fenders, doors, hood and trunk lid removed, dipped to remove all paint, filler, and rust and then sprayed with epoxy primer and are held on by a few bolts.

The front and rear aluminum cowls have been stripped and all stress cracks repaired. The radiator has been re-cored. The brake drums have been turned and the shoes have been relined. The car also comes with new wheel cylinders and a new Lucas master cylinder..The interior of the car has been painted, as well as under the hood.

That is the original worn out top and original carpet. The price is $17900. The car is in Eugene Oregon (541)579-1568 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (541)579-1568 end_of_the_skype_highlighting So there you have it. Good luck to the buyer and the seller. We do not charge either the buyer or the seller any fee for advertising, selling or buying their cars on our website here at http://AustinHealeyRestoration.org/

We would love to follow the progress of restoration of this classic and encourage the buyer to send photos and keep us up to date. We would be happy to publish more stories about the restoration project.

Do read our About page and note that all negotiations are between the two parties.

Tell your friends about us and we return favors.

Added: Please note, we do not charge either the buyer or the seller any fee for advertising on this website. If you have an Austin Healey for sale please contact us.

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Austin Healey Engine

Posted on September 3, 2010 by A3000

A true Austin Healey engine never really existed. Donald Healey was an auto engineer, but he concentrated on the body and components of the car not the engine. For this reason most of the engines only had the name Austin on them. Just like in the early days of Datsun. If you popped the hood there was a Nissan engine in it every time.

Every engine that was placed in the Austin Healers was borrowed from the Austin Motor Company who was a part of the British Motor Company. This included the very first prototype that made such a splash at the London Auto Show.

The original engines that were in the first Austin Healey’s were just stock Austin A 90 engines. Nothing was special about them. It has a capacity of 2660 cc in line 4 with a 3.4 bore and a 4.4 inch stroke. The difference was in the transmission. The first gear was to get the car moving, the second and the third were overdrive gears. The car went from 0 to 60 in 11.2 seconds with a top speed of 106 mph.

For a fair comparison the Austin A40 had the same engine but a different transmission. It had a top speed of 77.8 mph and accelerated from 0 to 60 in 25.6 seconds.

This video is what a restored Austin Healey Engine should look like.

See it at San Francisco Sports Cars.

Donald Healey did not build great engines; he was the master of taking parts and placing them together in the correct order for them to go faster than ever before.

So in reality there was never an Austin Healey engine, just cars with the influence of Donald Healey which brought out the true performance of all the combined parts to their fullest.

Read our post about the Austin Healey 100 4.

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Posted in Austin Healey Restoration | Tagged Austin Healey Engine, Donald Healey | Leave a comment

Austin Healey Restoration

Posted on August 30, 2010 by A3000

When involved in an Austin Healey restoration project, the more information a person has on the history of the car and those that made it the more it can be highly beneficial. One of the greatest pieces of historical information is how and where this car was originally produced.

The first Austin Healey’s were made in Longbridge, England, alongside the Austin A90 automobile. A number of the parts between these two cars are interchangeable. The most notable of these is the engine.

The same 2660 cc engine with a 3.4 inch bore and 4.4 inch stoke was used in both cars. The same transmission was also used but the Austin Healey’s was a modified version. The second and third gears were overdrives of the Austin Healey version. This is a good way to distinguish if your project car has an original engine and transmission, or a replacement with an A90 version.

The same transmission housing was used but the gears themselves were different. If you find that your car does not obtain a speed of 100 mph, then look into replacing the gears to the Austin Healey version of gears.

In restoration projects, it is the little things that count. By restoring a 40 to 60 year old car like an Austin Healey, original parts are sometimes hard to find, if not impossible. For Austin Healey enthusiasts, there is an advantage. The last parts manager of the Austin Healey Motor Company started a parts business when the company closed its doors.

This company is named the AH Spares Limited, and is located in the UK. They have over 330,000 parts in stock ready for shipping to you. They handle original, along with OEM reproduction components. For this reason, be specific about the part you desire to purchase.

Just remember that with your Austin Healey restoration project, attention to detail is what it is all about.

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Posted in Austin Healey Restoration | Tagged 2660 cc engine, AH Spares Limited, Austin A90, Austin Healey Restoration, Longbridge, restoration projects | Leave a comment

Austin Healey Mk1

Posted on August 30, 2010 by A3000

The Austin Healey Mk1 was the second in a line of great little British sports cars that not only took both sides of the pond by storm, but influenced how British sports cars would perform and look like for decades. This was all due to the influences of Donald Healey, the designer and engineer of the Donald Healey Car Company.

Donald knew that for a car to gain wide acceptance, it has to be inexpensive but fun to drive. In 1958, the first Mark 1 that followed this premise came. It was affectionately called the bug-eye car because of its appearance with the headlights and the front grill. This car was presented to the world at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix in 1958 and was officially named the Sprite.

The car itself was made at the British Motor Company factory in Abingdon. This is the same plant where MG cars were produced before the war. Healey’s design and genius was so respected that it heavily influenced the MG line of cars, which then spawned the MG midget that closely resembled the Mark II Sprite.

The Mark 1 was produced until 1961 when it was revised, changing the way it looked. Gone were the bug-eye features forever.

Watch this video of a 3000 MK1 to get your heart pounding.

In 1959, there was a second Mark 1 created by Austin Healey. While the Sprite was highly successful, it was also underpowered. With the ending of the Austin Healey 100 line of cars, came the “Big Healey” or the Austin Healey 3000 Mark 1. It was produced from 1959 until 1961.

It was named a 3000 because the engine was nearly 3000 cc (2912cc). This is the one that really took off and made the Austin Healey a production race car for enthusiasts.

With both Austin Healey Mk1 cars in production, there was one for both the budget minded car lover and for those that wanted more performance.

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Posted in Austin Healey Racing | Tagged 3000 mk1, Austin Healey Mk1, British Sports Cars, Donald Healey Car Company, Monte Carlo Grand Prix | Leave a comment

Austin Healey 100 6

Posted on August 29, 2010 by A3000

The Austin Healey 100 6 was the last of the 100 model series. It had a production run from August of 1956 until March of 1959. In that time period two different versions were produced, the BN4 and the BN6.

The BN4 differed from the earlier models in several ways. The wheel base was extended from 90 inches to 92 inches. The power plant was also changed. It now was a 6 cylinder British Motor Company’s C series engine that had a displacement of 2639cc’s. It produced 117 bhp at 4750 rpms and had a top speed of 111 mph.

The engine also sported dual SU side draft carburetors along with an overhead cam and a 6 port cylinder head. The first of the cars equipped with this new engine were sent to the Bonneville Salt Flats for testing. There is set 28 international and American speed records.

One of the cars was then fitted with a supercharger and let loose. This car broke the 200 mph barrier.

Because of the longer wheelbase 2 children’s seats were added to the rear which made this car to be classified as a 2+2 model. This model was aimed at the American market where it was well received.

In 1958 the original 2 seater returned in the BN6 model. This still had the high performance 6 cylinder engines that were capable of exceeding 100 mph.

The Austin Healey 100 6 body no longer had features of the earlier model which included the windscreen that would fold down but because of the need for more air into the engine a hood scope was added. In all 14,436 units were produced.

This is a popular series for an American restoration project.

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Posted in Austin Healey Restoration | Tagged 2 children’s seats, 200 mph, 6 cylinder, american restoration, Austin Healey 100 6, BN4. BN6, C series engine, dual SU side draft carburetors | Leave a comment

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1955 Austin Healey 100 – 4: For Sale Restoration in Progress

Austin Healey Engine

Austin Healey Restoration

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Austin Healey 100 6

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