School him: Neighbor considering Austin Healey 100-4

[sugarwood]

Anyone know anything about these cars?
He seems to be a roadster fan: AH, Triumph, MG, etc.

His dream car is a '55 AH 100-4.
He said he's got $65k to play with.

What does he need to know?

I told him the obvious stuff about any vintage car:
Get the best one you can afford, but don't overpay a crack pipe, either
A sorted restored car is usually the best value.
Make sure you know a local indy who can do the work.

Austin Healey 100 | eBay

[Evans, Marv]

Your advice is good. Hope he pays attention. I owned two AH 100-4's but that was back in the '60s. From what I remember, they were dependable cars at the time. One was a '56 & the other was a '54. They weren't particularly zippy, just as none of those old British sports cars were. They were fun to drive. I seem to remember something about them needing bearing replacements every 30K miles, but I never experienced that. They did rattle a lot & needed things tightened up periodically. The '56 experienced a front axle failure, where the front right axle cracked & broke off. I was glad that happened when I was only going about 25 mph on the way to work. The '54 had the carpet start smoking on a trip to the coast once from the tail pipe heating it up. Glad I had a bottle of Coke in the car for that. The electric overdrive was nice. Also had a '59 TR3 I liked a lot. I had to give it a valve job, but that was just from normal wear & tear. All old English cars from that time are well known for their carb & electrical issues. Sorry I can't add more than that.

[LakeCleElum]

One of my worst car experiences ever: In college, I had a 1959 AH 100-6 for a few years.....Oil consumption, electrics, had side curtains that leaked like crazy in the rain. Coolest feature: a 4 speed with electric overdrive.....Like an automatic in and out on the freeway......

Tell him to go a few years newer and get 6 cylinders......$65 K is very top dollar even today...

For that money, he could get a very nice longhood or a Project XKE (If he must go British?)

[nota]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

One of my worst car experiences ever: In college, I had a 1959 AH 100-6 for a few years.....Oil consumption, electrics, had side curtains that leaked like crazy in the rain. Coolest feature: a 4 speed with electric overdrive.....Like an automatic in and out on the freeway......

Tell him to go a few years newer and get 6 cylinders......$65 K is very top dollar even today...

For that money, he could get a very nice longhood or a Project XKE (If he must go British?)

do they still make the sebring ? a plastic body re-pro of a AH with chevy V-8

a buddy had a 100LM an alloy race body he found in a junk-yard
that he swaped in a 283 in to back in the late 60's

[vonsmog]

I have had 6 big Healey's 56' 100M, 4 100-6's and 1 3000. I still own one 100-6 BN-6 (two seater, no jump seats) which was my first car ever! Never had the heart to sell it, just too many good memories. For $65k he should be able to get a very good restored car. I would look for a 67' 3000 if it were me, as they seem to bring the most money, and have the best power.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by vonsmog

I would look for a 67' 3000 if it were me, as they seem to bring the most money, and have the best power.

Thing is, the dude has a woody for a 55.

[Joe Bob]

Lucas, enough said.....

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

Lucas, enough said.....

55 is before the Prince of Darkness had electrical shortcomings.

[BeyGon]

I would buy one, I had one, a 56 Le Mans in 63/64 it had a small block chevy in it and I loved it. Louvered hood, leather strap, the chevy weighed less than the engine that came out, nothing on it is rocket science.

[masraum]

I love the AH 100 and 3000. Super cool. My dad had one before I was born.

What I've read is that they (may just be the 6-cyl/3000 models, get REALLY hot in the footwell. Like, melt your sneaker soles hot (that may be an exaggeration.

I'd love to have a good one of either the 100 or the 3000 style.

[manbridge 74]

Had a 66 3000 when I was in my 20s. Had a friends dad pass away so it came with zero history and didn't run. Fun to tootle around in but a fairly antiquated feel with the knee action lever shocks and all the other Brit design touches. Got good at SU carb work with that one.

[manbridge 74]

Yeah they had hot footwells. Mine was helped by the ventilation provided by rust holes.

[SCadaddle]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Anyone know anything about these cars?
He seems to be a roadster fan: AH, Triumph, MG, etc.

His dream car is a '55 AH 100-4.
He said he's got $65k to play with.

What does he need to know?

I told him the obvious stuff about any vintage car:
Get the best one you can afford, but don't overpay a crack pipe, either
A sorted restored car is usually the best value.
Make sure you know a local indy who can do the work.

Austin Healey 100 | eBay

How about this one?

[Alan A]

It's British.

That means it will rust.
Check for rust.
Then check again. The bits you checked may have rusted in the intervening time.

It's agricultural. Crude and slow, but if that's what floats his boat your advice is about as good as it gets - buy someone else's restoration.

They are pretty easy to wrench if you have even minimal skills.

I'm more up on TRs so I can't give you better specifics on the AHs. Especially the earlier ones.

[Cajundaddy]

Slow, crude interior, crude suspension, crude elect, lotsa rust. Other than that she is a peach and pretty easy on the eyes. More of a parking lot peacock than a drivers car really. She ain't no 356 Speedster.

[Cooper911SC]

Wow, 100-4!
I've had some seat time and fun experiences in a '56 100-Le Mans.

A mentor and now long time friend of mine had a post production, factory conversion car, between about 1992 and 1999/2000.

I cut my "detailing" teeth taking care of his Healy and '65 356C.
I also learned to drive a manual trans. in the Healy among other cars.

Each year in August the cars would be made ready for spirited drives up from Southern California to Monterey for the Historic races. We hauled tents and camp gear up to Laguna Seca raceway and called it home for a few nights.

The Healy did have its quirks...don't drive it for 6 months? Guess what, you don't have any brakes and get to rebuild the wheel cylinders...

One year(1993) we made it as far as the fire station on highway 68 (just before the camping entrance on that side of the track), we stopped to regroup and hide 3 "campers" under tarped trailers to avoid the $40.00 camp fee... (I was 15 YO and thought this was funny daring stuff, LOL)

The Healy wouldn't re-start, it was flooded!
I learned about the stuck float and "whack it (carb. float bowl) with a shoe" trick in auto shop...guess what, it really works. Makes me laugh to say I've done it!

A few years later the owner had new "custom laced" wire wheels made up for the car by Dayton Wire Wheel. He's more than a weekend spirited driver and had had wheel issues in the past.

The Healy made it up the coast but not all the way back that year. Got a ride on a flat bed home from around Coalinga Ca off the 198. Seems that all but 18-20 spokes were broken on 3 of the wheels!

The Healy was generally fun. The Monterey runs were fun, but always hotter than hell...the firewall was mostly a heater blowing hot air on you across the Central CA Valley. Nothing like 100* ambient plus 125* "heater" blowing on you for miles.

Good times! Thanks for bringing back memories!😃

As others have said, make sure he's ready for some quirks and potential projects!

Cooper

[1990C4S]

Not fun in the heat or the rain.

As long as he knows that before he buys....

[lin7310948]

i have two...a 100-6 two seater and a 3000 bj7....both with sbc conversions and 200 4r automatic overdrive transmissions. both are a joy to drive and to me one of the best looking affordable cars of all time. tell your friend to join the british car forum at no cost and about two minutes of time...he can find out every detail concerning that car and model. personally all stock healeys are too slow for me!!! but back in the day they would keep up with most traffic. he can get a really nice car for 65 grand! also a good source to check for price comparison is ebay under completed listings....very few sell for asking or listed price.\ and most do not meet the reserve.

[sugarwood]

I have verified there is a specialty shop within 30 mins of where we live, and another about an hour away. Always good to have 2 indy options.

Next time I see him, I will tell him to call those 2 shops and tell them he's in the market. The shops might have a client who is looking to sell. That might be the best way to find a non-dealer car.

[asphaltgambler]

Tell him to give me $25k, I'll let him down constantly and make his life miserable for 1 year. After that he still has enough dough to buy something decent.................