2024-04-14 15:28:01 | pauls writes:

Car offered at:

carsonline.bonhams.com/en/listings/austin-healey/1006-bn4/e9f990a9-e152-4345-a85 ...

Auction description:

2.9-litre ‘Big Healey’ Spec Engine

Recently Serviced

Painstaking Restoration

Superb RHD Conversion

VIN BN4L045133

79 miles

2639 cc

manual

Black Over Red

Red

Right-hand drive

Vehicle location Bonhams|Cars Online HQ, United Kingdom

This is a very strong example of both the marque and the model.

No, it’s not in concours condition but it is an ex-California car that’s been mechanically sorted and sympathetically upgraded with no expense spared.

This vehicle is an early Austin-Healey 100-6, in BN4 guise, which means that it’s the 2+2 model, rather than the later two-seater.

It was exported new to the USA in LHD configuration and, we’re happy to report, spent the rest of its life there in sunny, salt-free, dry California.

It also spent some 30 years doing absolutely nothing and living in a barn.

It returned to the UK in, we think, 1996. It then went to live in Rugby for a while.

It next makes a public appearance in an Ebay listing in October 2005. The then vendor stated that new floors, sills and rear inner wings had been fitted, the car had been returned to RHD configuration and around £12,000 had been spent on sundry parts including suspension components, steering box, electronic distributor, uprated starter motor and alternator, wiring loom, and many, many other all-new bits and pieces. 

He had also had the gearbox, including the overdrive, fully overhauled, and completely rebuilt the engine, boring it out to 2.9-litre ‘Big Healey’ spec. 

The current vendor, who was at the time Head of Production with the Faversham brewers Shepherd Neame, despatched one of the engineers from the company’s transport fleet to take a look at the car. 

On that strength of the engineer’s glowing assessment, he bought the car and promptly set about a painstaking process of restoration, with new parts ordered from marque specialists AH Spares and Cape International, and the bulk of the work carried out by the expert mechanics of the brewery transport maintenance fleet.

Everything that need refurbishing, restoring or replacing was refurbished, restored or replaced as applicable and appropriate. 

The engine was overhauled and reconditioned by specialists Bailey & Liddle of Kent.

The car was also resprayed in the black-over-red livery you see today and the interior was retrimmed in red hide. A new black hood completed the vehicle’s splendid fresh look.

We have driven the car and can attest to its ability to start on the button, pick up pace eagerly, press on with enthusiasm and handle with all the balance and agility you would expect to find in a 1950’s Healey.

The vendor tells us (and we agree with him) that the steering geometry on the front wheels could do with a little expert attention, as it doesn’t feel quite right and is a trifle noisy. It may be as simple as adjusting the toe-in, or something equally basic. 

The vendor has recently had the car serviced and replaced the fuel lines and the rear brake pads.

The black fabric hood has been used once, which was when the car came to our HQ, and the vendor thinks that, although the hood is absolutely fine (and effectively brand new), it might not be correctly affixed to the frame and would benefit from the attentions of someone who knows about such things. 

The side windows are with the car. A spare exhaust system is available through negotiation with the vendor, if desired.

Exterior

The bodywork is decent wherever you rest your gaze, being free from any dinks, dents, bangs, crumples, creases, ripples or folds of real significance anywhere that we can see.

The panels, panel gaps and shut-lines are entirely consistent with the best tolerances achievable by 1950s engineers. 

The doors, bonnet and boot all open and close properly, although the passenger door isn’t entirely flush with the surrounding bodywork. 

The wire wheels are in fine fettle, as is the chrome elsewhere on the car.

The matching Uniroyal tyres look to have a good amount of life left in them.

Much of the paintwork is good and has retained plenty of shine and lustre, but it’s not perfect.

There are some flat patches, swirly scratches and the odd spot of micro-blistering on the bonnet.

There are also some swirly scratches and the odd scuff here and there on the boot lid, which has a couple of small, drilled holes, presumably where some badging was once affixed.

The top of the n/s/r wing has a couple of very shallow indentations to show for itself, plus a couple of scratches and scuffs.

There are some scuffs at the top and bottom of the passenger door, and the rubber trim at the base of the windscreen is warping and lifting in a couple of places. 

The lights, lenses, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings all appear to be in good order.