The Engine Dilemma

My Austin Healey came with four cylinder, 2660cc (or 90 horsepower/2.6 liters) engine. The 100/4 name came from its top speed (106 mph) and the number of cylinders (four) in the engine.

The four cylinder engine was powerful and could move the car from 0-60 mph in 11.2 seconds. On top of that, the car still got 22.5 miles per gallon! Unfortunately, my Austin Healey didn't come with this engine or transmission (a three speed with overdrive). In fact, the last engine to be in the car was a Chevy 350 V8 (the previous owners butchered parts of the car to fit it in).

Before starting this restoration project, I had decided to use a Chevy V6 4.3 liter engine with a five speed manual transmission.

This Chevy V6 has many advantages. First, the engine is readily available, which means a lower cost. I should be able to find a good engine and transmission for about $600 to $800. Replacement parts are also readily and cheaply available. Second, this engine, unlike the V8, fits very well in the Austin Healey. Lastly, the engine does increase the power of the car. The V6 will move the car along very quickly (which is both a pro and a con).

The only disadvantage the Chevy V6 has it that it significantly decreases the value of the car. According to several experts, it decreases the value somewhere between $30k to $40k. Now I am in a dilemma, which engine do I choose?

I love the look, idea, and added value of the original four cylinder engine. However, I am not thrilled about the cost, as it will cost approximately $15k to $17k to install a rebuilt engine and transmission. Currently, my plan is still to use the Chevy V6 because my budget doesn't allow me to consider the original engine. Though once the car is finished, I can look into saving my money to get the original engine and transmission. I may put the original engine and transmission in my five-year plan.

Unveiling the Find

My father-in-law, George, had the Austin Healey for weeks before I was able to see it. By then he had already put it on jack stands. Upon seeing it for the first time, I loved it! The Austin Healey just needed some TLC. It came with a book on restoring Austin Healy 100/4s, 100/6s, and 3000s. Using this book and the car's vehicle identification number (and the type of rear axle), we were able to determine it was an early 1953 Austin Healey BN1.

Other than the frame and body parts, there wasn't much else that came with the car. All the car had with it was the radiator, gas tank, front/rear suspension & brakes, and the steering column. There was no engine, transmission, seats, and windshield. The original license plate, in California black, also came with the car. The last registration tag on it was from 1970.

In mid-July 2014, we began the restoration process and took every removable piece off the Austin Healey. Every bolt had 40 years of rust to knockoff. Most bolts we had to break using a drill.

We uncovered some original upholstery in navy blue. The exact color of the upholstery will be useful in determining the original color of the paint. There was rust damage, but not as much as we anticipated. With time and money, all of it can be repaired.

As we moved along, it was obvious that the last person to have the car running (not the person we bought it from) didn't know what they were doing. The had put a Chevy 350 in it, and, in the process, cut and poorly welded it in various places in order to fit it the engine in the car. Their jerry-rigging, though unfortunate, can all be fixed.

The above picture is taken of the engine compartment. The red arrows identify two areas that the previous owner had cut away in order to fit the exhaust of the Chevy 350. Ironically, this jerry-rigging cut into the leg room in the cab. After three days working on the car, we finally got it completely apart.

Now that the car was apart, it revealed the parts of the frame and sub-frame that would need to be fixed. Our next step is to sand blast the frame, further revealing the areas needing repair, and fix the problem areas.

George and I did get a chance to visit the previous owner, and he gave us valuable information on the car. He mentioned (as I had already come to find out) that the missing windshield posts and frame were extremely difficult to replace. Also, he had acquired it in the mid-1980s with the goal of restoring it. He purchased it from the person who had it last running (and had done the jerry-rigging). As the years passed, he realized he was never going to get around to getting it done, because he had several other cars in his yard he was going to restore first. Ultimately, his main goal was to have the Austin Healey go to a good home. He knew he accomplished that goal because we had done more work on it in three days than had been done in three decades.