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.

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.

The Beginning of My Love for Healeys

I have always had an infinity of Austin Healeys. It all began with a 1965 Austin Healey Sprite. This Sprite was the first car I owned (picture below). On January 27, 1998, I bought it, much to my parent's chagrin, after seeing it in a newspaper ad for $1,000. According to the ad, the Sprite ran well, but had been sitting for a few years and, as a result, the brake master cylinder needed to be rebuilt. My friends, Tim and Colin, and I rebuilt it in the guy's garage. We had never rebuilt one before, as we were novice mechanics, but we did an exceptional job and drove the car home. Here's a picture I dug up of us working on it that day:

I took it home, cleaned it up and fell in love with it.

The Sprite was the lower-end model of the Austin Healey convertibles; however, it drove beautiful. Heads would turn on every street I cruised. I could maneuver this car on a dime. I spent more time at a European car shop than I did in school my senior year of high school. My parents gave me a convertible top for it as a graduation gift. I learned how to diagnose and fix my first car problems on my Sprite. I learned how to rebuild a front suspension and replace wheel bearings and various other car parts. I enjoyed every aspect of this car.

The only problem was the size of the car. As the name indicates, it was small (and if you have never seen one, it is smaller than you think). My parents thought it was a death trap due to its size, even though they bought me a roll bar and seat belts for additional safety.

Sadly, I traded this classic convertible for a 1955 Chevy four door sedan, mostly because of safety concerns with the Sprite. I thought and hoped the Chevy, a car I always wanted, would be an even greater classic car experience. I was mistaken. The Chevy did not live up to my expectations and the experience and thrill I got from the Sprite. Ever since my Healey days, I have longed to drive a Healey again.

In the background of my mind, I always wanted a "Big" Healey (the name of the "Big" Healey is used among enthusiasts to distinguish those Healeys from the Sprite, which came out years after the first "Big" Healey). The "Big" Healey was the higher-end of the Austin Healey and came with a 2660cc engine. They were formally called the 100/4 (100 because its top speed was slightly over 100 mph and 4 because it was a four cylinder).

The 100/6 and 3000 (named because of the 3000cc engine) models followed the 100/4 in later years. These Healey were faster, better designed, and, overall, a much, much better car than the Sprite, but they were always going to be out of my price range.