1956 austin-healey 100m dr

#52DECEMBER, 2009

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Austin-Healey Special

LOTUS LOTUS TURBO ESPRITS

GO RACING

BUYER’S GUIDE MAZDA RX-7 CONVERTIBLE

100M SPEEDWELL SPRITE

The Ultimate Healey Road Car Drive Report

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HEMMINGS SPORTS & EXOTIC CAR • December 2009 HEMMINGS.COM18

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Healey’s Ultimate Road CarThey made them bigger, but they didn’t make them better than the Austin-Healey 100M

Donald Healey may not have looked the part, but he liked life in the fast lane. “Like all men, he liked fast

cars, and he certainly enjoyed company in his travels,” said his son, Brian “Bic” Healey. But where he had to live with the people nature provided, when he wanted a faster car, he could have one made..

The Donald Healey Motor Company (DHMCo) before 1953, including Nash-Healey and Alvis Healey, was a bou-tique manufacturer—25 of this car, 45 of that, and never more than a few hun-dred of anything; 1,287 cars altogether from the company’s first in 1946, through 1953, including race cars. Those they campaigned to great success and fame, but the company remained small, until Donald Healey met Austin’s Leonard Lord in 1952.

After several trips to America (HS&EC #49), Healey had recognized the potential

in the American market, and his engineers were working on a sports car he thought could fit between an MG and Jaguar. His initial brief called for a “scaled-down XK120,” wrote the car’s designer, Gerry Coker, in The Healey Book. ”I explained I thought he wanted a Healey, not a Jaguar,” and had a fresh design stretched around the chassis’ hard points by late 1951. Thinking about American sales, he was careful to provide room for his own 6’2” frame, with a distinctive, effective large grille opening and Donald Healey-speci-fied folding windscreen.

Coachbuilders Tickford built the proto-type Healey Hundred in aluminum, and after testing, Donald Healey used it to set a land speed record for its class, 111 MPH. By the time it was displayed at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show, an agreement was in place with Austin, so it debuted as the Austin-Healey 100.

Healey established an international repu-tation early on with aggressive and success-ful racing at Le Mans and in major rallies, and there was no question that the new 100 would race as well. In 1953, as a first test run of twenty 100s was in production, Donald Healey and Leonard Lord autho-rized five “Special Test Cars” for endurance events. They were built from light alloy, and the Austin Experimental Shop built the engines, which were equipped with larger, dual 1¾-inch SU H6 carburetors with air-box, high-lift cams, racing flywheels and double valve springs. They went through a variety of configurations through their life spans, and DHMCo further modified two into full-race 100S models. But the original 100M configuration proved very effective, and in 1954 the factory began offering a customer Le Mans kit that largely replicated their 1953 Le Mans race entries. These kits were sold both over the counter

100Ms were built on fully trimmed base models, and their full slate of options was on the table.

Healey gauges changed little over the years. 16½-inch wheel has self-correcting traffi cator turn signal switch in the center, and is here correctly centered, spoke up.

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID TRAVER ADOLPHUS

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Leather belt was a Le Mans requirement, and the Vee louvered hood extracts heat at racing speeds.

Both this badge, on the cold air intake box, andthe front M script, were available from the factory.

“

”

Brought up in a sports car family, he’d seen them race at Watkins Glen essentially since they were new.

for installation, and as a factory retrofit for existing cars.

The following year, 1955, saw the intro-duction of the “BN2” second series of the 100, and Healey made the M pack-age available on new cars from the fac-tory. Aesthetically, it was little changed, although a louvered hood, buckled down with a leather strap (per Le Mans regula-tion), made it obvious that this wasn’t your everyday 100. DHMCo again built the Austin A90 engine in-house, adding 20hp (for 110hp) with high-compression pistons, high-lift cam and double valve springs, high-output distributor with modi-fied automatic advance and, as with the previous aftermarket kit, twin SU H6 car-buretors fed by a filter-less cold-air system. If, upon opening the hood, the big alloy box attached to the SUs didn’t clue you in, it had a plaque screwed on, which read, “This car has been fitted with a ‘Le Mans’ modification kit.”

Underneath, stiffer front lever-arm damp-ers were used, and it had an uprated (“rac-ing type”) front anti-roll bar. All BN2 100s now had a standard four-speed Austin transmission with electric overdrive on third and fourth, and it was used for the 100M, as well as that car’s new 11 x 2.25-inch drum brakes. Actually, there’s still some slight mystery about what the full kit did comprise: Many, but not all, 100Ms have the high-compression pistons, and the company offered a long list of perfor-

mance, comfort and convenience options for all cars. Either way, years of exhaustive research have determined that the fac-tory built 640 of them before the 100-6 was introduced in 1956. Around 160 of those are confidently accounted for, but as feature car owner Randy Hicks pointed out, the number of fakes and clones far outnumbers the original production, fur-ther confused by the factory aftermarket kit. An American builder even produced a brief run of fake 100Ms from base 100s, all with the same genuine serial number, before disappearing one step ahead of an angry mob.

The complete package added weight to a 100, but it was no porker, and mas-sively quicker: zero-60 in 9.6 seconds (two seconds faster than a 100); and a 109 MPH top speed, with windshield folded. The standard rear end gears were 4.10s, giving the little roadster great grunt out of the corners, but limiting its usefulness on the highway.

From the moment you start it up, you know the 100M is ready for action. Randy drives his 1956 100M hard, and has it equipped with a stainless exhaust, which undoubtedly magnifies the effect; but start it up, and it barks, loudly. This is not a mild four-cylinder rasp, it’s near-race tune, a little loping at idle, hard and angry with a blip of the throttle. Despite maintaining “Ruby” (naming cars is a longstanding Austin-Healey tradition) in winning con-

cours condition, Randy puts on several thousand miles annually and has made a couple of subtle upgrades, including front disc brakes similar to a contemporary fac-tory accessory Dunlop kit, dual fuel pumps and a 3.54 rear axle ratio to make long dis-tance touring easier. A period, finned alloy aftermarket valve cover both decorates the engine bay and provides a little extra cool-ing; the original head was cracked, and the engine seized, when Randy acquired the car in 1999.

Even built around an American tem-plate, all the big Healeys are notoriously tight for tall occupants. Our average-sized frame fits perfectly, but if you’ve ever been compared to an orangutan, you’ll find

A steel-faced head gasket was also part of the 100M engine. Almost all external engine components—starter, spark plugs, distributor and generator —are on the right side.



your right elbow poking out the window and the wheel burnishing your sternum. If you’re normal, the driving position is sublime. We’re not necessarily big fans of the arms-out style; having the wheel 18 inches or so away gives you the leverage for quick, accurate movements.

The suspension is taut and will bounce you around on broken surfaces, but race-tracks aren’t usually broken surfaces. Very quick, tight steering helped make corner-ing a blast, and while we didn’t have the stones to throw it into a curve hot, the big Healeys can usually be steered with the rear end. Randy’s 15-inch Vredestein Sprint Classic radials undoubtedly have more grip than a Fifties bias-ply would have—power-on oversteer was a matter of fact back in the day. Where the car really shines is in low-end acceleration: The long-stroke engine is happiest below 3,500 RPM, providing its big 144-lbs.ft. of peak torque at 2,500. It won’t pin you back, but a sub 10-second time in a car from this era was usually reserved for Italian exotics (or Chrysler letter cars). Factory rear-end gearing would certainly take it into even more rarefied territory. Heel-and-toe was

important, especially in low gear, but we would have taken any excuse for an extra blip of the throttle, turning the throaty bur-ble into a ripping snarl. Pedal placement and action are excellent, and the engine very quick revving—especially for a long-stroke design. Randy’s car clearly didn’t enjoy low-speed, around-town puttering as we made our way through traffic to a photography location, and we later had to stop to clean deposits on three plugs.

Our only complaint in driving was vague action from the long, dogleg shifter, but as with any car, familiarity would negate that. Braking took a hard stomp to make the manual binders clamp properly, with no fade or pull. Our previous experience with stock all-drum-brake 100s, and any other light car with big, high-quality drums, says that in anything but the hardest track use, you’d never know the discs were there. In fact, if it were us, we would have skipped the disc conversion altogether, and sprung for custom-arched shoes. But we can’t deny they look badass behind the 60-spoke wire knockoffs.

Randy knew all about the 100M’s racing credentials. Brought up in a sports car fam-

Two-tone paint wasn’t available on 100s, but factory 100Ms usually have an additional color sprayed onto the lower portions. With the windshield fully up, occupants are well protected. Down, and a substantial wash takes you in the face. Goggles are de rigueur.

Donald Healey asked for a fl at windshield, but the raked design is good for about seven MPH.

Two people are needed to properly remove and align the light folding windscreen.



1956 Austin-Healey 100MLow $85,000Average $111,000High $150,000

What to Pay

Austin-Healey Club of America 110 N. Rastetter AvenueLouisville, Kentucky [email protected]: $40/year; Membership: 4,000 Austin-Healey Club USA8002 NE Highway 99Suite B PMB 424Vancouver, Washington 98665-8813408-394-3444www.healey.orgDues: $45/year; Membership: 3,000

Worldwide 100M LeMans Registry533 Cedar DriveWatsonville, California 95076831-722-3253 [email protected]

Club Scene

Pros & Cons

ProsGet lost in the torque

Beautiful girls drape themselves over it

Hop in and drive

ConsVague gearbox

One size fits some

Literally hundreds of fakes

1956 A–H 100MOwner’s Story

Ruby was built to be driven, and is very original except for front disc brakes

and dual fuel pumps. She has won numer-ous awards at New England car shows as well as at the Conclaves in Lake Tahoe, Washington, D.C., and San Antonio. Besides looking great, she finished second in class at Summit Point time trials during Conclave 2003.

We feel fortunate that fate has taken us down this road, as we have gotten to know so many wonderful people associated with Austin-Healeys, and have made some life-long friends in the process.

—Randy Hicks

Reproduction 60-spoke Dayton wheels reveal period aftermarket-style front discs.

ily, he’d seen them race at Watkins Glen essentially since they were new. “Finally, in the early 1970s, after owning a string of MGBs, I bought two 1962 tri-carbs (six-cylinder Austin-Healey 3000s) trying to get one together.”

He found himself in over his head, both financially (kids had arrived) and informa-tionally, and he had to let go of the project, “but not the desire to own a Healey.” It wasn’t until 25 years later that he was in a position to aspire to Healey ownership once again. In 1999, with the help of Tom Kovacs and Oklahoma’s Rocky Santiago, he located a genuine 100M from the West Coast, which Tom’s Fourintune Garage in Wisconsin restored in 2000, on time (eight months!) and on budget. Nearly a decade later, the quality still shines through. Randy drives it weekly through the warm season, racking up thousands of miles every year—more than 25,000 since restoration—and over the winter goes over it front to back, pulling off the exhausting feat of making it both a driver, and a national Austin-Healey Club of America show winner.

100Ms have been the subject of speculative buying in the last two years. One moment they were $35,000; the next, one sold for nearly a quarter-million, then another at six-figures-plus. Many people, us included, think that sure was a lot of money for any post-war, four-cylinder British regular production car. But there’s also no doubt that, for a long time, the 100M was deep in the shadow of the 3000, despite offering a purer sports car experience. Now they’ve emerged, and rightly so. This was a factory package built for racing, one of the most charismatic, entertaining and flat-out beautiful cars ever produced. It’s the epitome of the British roadster, with all its faults and virtues, unapologetically raucous, ill-fitting, ill-mannered, seductive yet slightly brutish, and it’s hard to say it isn’t worth every penny.



1956 100MPERFORMANCE

SPECIFICATIONS

AUSTIN-HEALEY0–60 MPH 9.6 sec.

1/4 Mile 17.4 sec.

Top Speed 109 MPH

ENGINE Type ............................... Austin A90 OHC inline-four,

iron block and head, alloy pistonsDisplacement ................. 2,660cc (162.3-cu.in.)Bore x stroke ................. 87 x 111mmCompression ratio.......... 8.1:1Horsepower @ RPM ....... 110 @ 4,500Torque @ RPM ............... 144-lbs.ft. @ 2,500Main bearings ................ 3Fuel system .................... Twin 1.75-inch SU H6 semi-downdraft

carburetors, “galleried” intake manifoldIgnition .......................... 12-volt; coil, points, condenserLubrication system ......... PressureExhaust system .............. Two-piece cast-iron manifold with

single exhaust

TRANSMISSION Type ............................... Four-speed, Laycock de Normanville

electric overdriveRatios: 1st ...................... 3.076:1 2nd .................... 1.913:1 3rd ..................... 1.33:1, 1.037:1 o/d 4th ..................... 1.00:1, 0.778:1 o/d Reverse .............. 4.176:1

DIFFERENTIAL Type ............................... 3/4 floating hypoid bevelRatio .............................. 4.10:1

STEERING Type ............................... Cam and leverRatio .............................. 12.6:1Turns, lock-to-lock ......... 2.5

BRAKES Type ............................... Girling hydraulic drumFront/rear ....................... 11 x 2.25-inch drum

(11-inch front disc shown)

CHASSIS & BODY Construction .................. Steel and alloy body on box-section

ladder frame with cross bracingBody style ...................... Two-door, two-passenger roadsterLayout ........................... Front engine, rear-wheel drive

SUSPENSION Front .............................. Independent, double wishbones,

coil springs, anti-roll bar,lever-arm dampers

Rear ............................... Live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs,Panhard rod, lever-arm dampers

Wheels .......................... Dunlop wire center lockFront/rear ....................... 15 x 4.0 inchesTires............................... Dunlop Road Speed

cross-belted bias pliesFront/rear ....................... 15 x 5.9 inches

WEIGHTS & MEASURES Wheelbase ..................... 90 inchesOverall length ................ 151 inchesOverall width ................. 60.5 inchesOverall height ................ 49.75 inchesFront track ..................... 49 inchesRear track ...................... 50.0 inchesShipping weight ............ 2,385 pounds

CAPACITIES Crankcase ...................... 7.5 quartsCooling system .............. 12 quartsFuel tank ....................... 14.4 gallonsTransmission .................. 6.6 pintsRear axle ........................ 2.7 pints

CALCULATED DATA Horsepower per cc ......... 0.041Weight per hp ............... 21.68 poundsWeight per CID .............. 14.7 pounds

PERFORMANCE 0-60 MPH ...................... 9.6 seconds¼ mile ET ...................... 17.4 secondsTop speed ...................... 109 MPHSource: Road & Track

PRICE Base price ...................... $3,275


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1956 austin-healey 100m dr

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brian bic healey

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