1955 Austin Healey 100 Restoration Project

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our 1955 Austin Healey 100 will be the latest addition to the Bridge Classic Cars family.

Due for collection later this month our Healey will be scheduled for a full restoration very soon.

The current owner has owned the car for many many years and a lot of the preparation has been carried out already. The engine, interior, hood, frame and lots of parts are all out of the car but stored with the car.

We are very much looking forward to getting this rare Healey back on the road in the not too distant future.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”22824,22825,22826,22827,22828,22829,22830,22831,22832,22833,22834,22835,22836,22837,22838,22839,22840,22841,22842,22843,22844″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Source: Wikipedia

The Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car that was built by Austin-Healey from 1953 until 1956.

It was developed by Donald Healey to be produced in-house by his small Healey car company in Warwick and based on Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals. Healey built a single Healey Hundred for the 1952 London Motor Show, and the design impressed Leonard Lord, managing director of Austin, who was looking for a replacement to the unsuccessful A90. Body styling was by Gerry Coker, the chassis was designed by Barry Bilbie with longitudinal members and cross bracing producing a comparatively stiff structure upon which to mount the body, innovatively welding the the front bulkhead to the frame for additional strength. In order to keep the overall vehicle height low the rear axle was underslung, the chassis frame passing under the rear axle assembly.

Lord struck a deal with Healey to build it in quantity, bodies made by Jensen Motors were given Austin mechanical components at Austin’s Longbridge factory. The car was renamed the Austin-Healey 100.

The “100” was named by Healey for the car’s ability to reach 100 mph (160 km/h); its successor, the better known Austin-Healey 3000, was named for the 3000 cc displacement of its engine.

Apart from the first twenty cars, production Austin-Healey 100s were finished at Austin’s Longbridge plant alongside the A90 and based on fully trimmed and painted body/chassis units produced by Jensen in West Bromwich—in an arrangement the two companies previously had explored with the Austin A40 Sports. 14,634 Austin-Healey 100s were produced.

The 100 was the first of three models later called the Big Healeys to distinguish them from the much smaller Austin-Healey Sprite. The Big Healeys are often referred to by their three-character model designators rather than by their models, as the model names do not reflect the mechanical differences and similarities well.

BN1

The first 100s (series “BN1”) were equipped with the same undersquare 87.3 mm (3.4 in) bore and 111.1 mm (4.4 in) stroke 90 bhp (67 kW) 2660 cc I4 engines and manual transmission as the standard production A90, but the transmission was modified to be a three-speed unit with overdrive on second and top.

Girling 11 in (279.4 mm) drum brakes were fitted all round. The suspension used modified Austin A90 components in order to be as cost effective as possible, steering was by Austin’s worm and peg system. Front suspension was independent, double wishbone using coil springs and at the rear a rigid axle with semi elliptic leaf springs.

A BN1 tested by The Motor magazine in 1953 had a top speed of 106 mph (171 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 11.2 seconds. A fuel consumption of 22.5 miles per imperial gallon (12.6 L/100 km; 18.7 mpg‑US) was recorded. The test car cost £1063 including taxes.

A total of 10030 BN1s were built from May 1953 until replaced by the BN2 model in August 1955. A 1954 BN1 (chassis #446766*4) is on permanent display in the Bonneville Salt Flats exhibit at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, PA, USA.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]