Barn Find of a Lifetime

Recently, our family went down to one car, because, honestly, I don't ever need a second car. Most of the time I bike to work (sometimes I take the bus). At most, I need a second car only once a month. It didn't make much sense to have and insure a new car for such limited use.

A classic car would, ideally, be cheap to buy, maintain, and insure. Owning such a car would give me a car for those rare times I need it. My father-in-law George has restored countless cars and is truly a classic car enthusiast. Seemingly every time we talked, he had found a great deal on a classic car. I had mentioned in passing that I would love to own a classic car again. For years he was searching for the perfect car (and deal) for me.

In late June 2014, he came to me and said he may have found a Healey that has been sitting in a driveway for decades. I wanted George find the answers to two questions: 1) did he know for sure it was a "Big" Healey; and 2) was it for sale (in my price range)? The owner was a friend of his, and George found that the answer was "yes" to both questions. But before I committed to anything, I wanted evidence that it was a "Big" Healey (as I wasn't interested in anything else). George brought back pictures of the car from the owner's driveway as proof.

 From the pictures I was able to verify it was an early 1953-55 Austin Healey 100/4. The main giveaway was the shape of grill. Later Austin Healey grills were oval, while early Austin Healey grills took a much different shape (I don't know exactly describe it, other than it's a four-sided triangle). It was also obvious from the pictures that it needed a lot of work.

I know my fair share about cars, but I don't know very much about restoring them. My friends and I had an ill-fated attempt to restore a 1956 Chevy truck when we were 17 years old. I learned from that failed experiment that restoring classic cars takes time, money, and a lot of know-how. George had all the knowledge and know-how required to restore a car. Recently George brought a 1952 Ford wagon back from the dead. When he first brought it home, I thought the Ford wagon was hopeless with rust damage on every square inch of it. His finished project blew me away. For the record, the Austin Healey was in much better condition than the Ford wagon. I knew that if I were to take on this project that I couldn't do it without him.

George stated that if I wanted to buy it, I'd better act fast because the owner was looking to sell and the price he was asking was low. I talked it over with my saintly wife. We decided that we would buy it, thus beginning my journey as an Austin Healey owner once again. George loaded it on a flat bed truck and took it home. After decades, this Austin Healey had a new home.