In 1952 , just as Donald Healey began looking for ways to expand his business sector , Leonard Lord of the British Motor Corporation ’s Austin division was searching for a way to spruce up his line . So when Lord ascertain that Healey ’s prototype car at the London Motor Show was establish off the Austin A90 plan , history – and the Austin - Healey name – was born .
In the pages of this clause , you ’ll learn about the timeless Austin - Healey cars , from the Austin - Healey 100/4 that started it all to the decade - span Austin - Healey 3000 .
That original A90 image finally became the Austin - Healey 100/4 , a clean , sporty car that remain affordable . American enthusiasts were quick to indorse this lively , attractive machine , firmly establish Austin - Healey ’s report .
The natural evolution of the 100/4 – the Austin - Healey 100 Six – trade its four - piston chamber engine for – you guess it – a powerful consecutive six . The body was updated without losing any of its character , although it was significantly grave than the 100/4 , and carrying into action suffered for it .
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A few year after , Austin - Healey made up for the 100 Six ’s sometimes - inert handling with the zippy , frog - eyed Austin - Healey Sprite . A last - second modification in headlight design forced Austin - Healey to apply protruding , hemipteron - like headlamps which , combined with the automobile ’s tiny dimensions , gift it a completely unique look . People loved it . That it was also an agile , responsive , and implausibly cheap railroad car did n’t hurt matters , either , and the Sprite retains a partial place in collectors ’ hearts to this sidereal day .
Finally , the Austin - Healey 3000 labialise out the line , going through several incarnations in its nine - twelvemonth run , ending with the Mk III . While all good things must come to an end , you could find out all about these beloved Austin - Healey cars in the follow pages . Let ’s get started on the next page with the Austin - Healey 100/4 .
To learn more about Austin-Healeys and other sports cars, see:
Austin-Healey 100/4
Though the four - cylinder Austin - Healey was built for only 3½ year , there were four decided variation . The original car , build until the autumn of 1955 , was coded ( and is now colloquially known as ) BN1 . The undermentioned year , it gained a unexampled 4 - speed gear box ( still with overdrive ) to become the BN2 .
Meantime , the Healey company ( not BMC ) developed and further refined a racing BN1 in 1954 - 55 . Called 100S ( S for Sebring ) , it boast a leach all - aluminum bodysansbumpers and had a much - modified 132 - bhp engine . Only 50 were built , all intended ( and mostly used ) in competition . There were also 1159 good example of the 100 M , a BN2 rebirth with 110 bhp , duo - tone paint , and motley body and chassis qualifying .
The Healey 100 come after in establishing a fine reputation very quickly indeed , especially in the U.S. , where enthusiasts found it offered everything a contemporary MG did n’t . In fact , most of the more than 14,000 BN1s and BN2s built were sell in America , making the name Austin - Healey a permanent part of sports - car love and lore .
Austin-Healey 100 Six
BMC attend the Austin - Healey as an integral part of their lineup , so when the firm ’s engine scheme exchange , it was exculpated that the big sportsman machine would too . It was thus no surprise that the 100/4 became the Austin - Healey 100 Six in 1956 . The old A90 four was considered obsolete . In its stead was a young straight six of about the same size . But there was much more to the fresh model than just two extra cylinders and more low - rev torque , for the Healey fellowship , at BMC ’s behest , involve the chance to refresh up the car end to terminal .
U.S. market place feedback suggested purchaser wanted more cabin space than the 100/4 had , so the redesign admit a two - inch wheelbase stretching and the repositioning of some constituent in the tail to make way for the addition of tiny “ + 2 ” rear pail hind end . These may have been virtually useless for anything except parcels , but they met the demand of the sales strength . Styling for the Austin - Healey 100 Six was much the same apart from a new oval grille , fixed windscreen , choice of wire - spoke or steel - disc bike , and a bulged hood with a little working tune inlet at the front .
The big departure , of path , was the new six - piston chamber engine . This was BMC ’s bodied C - Series large - automobile unit , which had some design similarities – but few uncouth components – with the B - Series four used in the MGA sports car . A self-aggrandizing , heavy 2.64 - liter casting - atomic number 26 job with overhead valvegear , it was , allot to the lay claim figures , more powerful than the old big four ( 102 vs. 90 horsepower ) . A 4 - speed gear case was received , as on the ousted BN2 , but on the Austin - Healey 100 Six , designated BN4 , overdrive was an optional spear carrier .
Alas , the Austin - Healey 100 Six was a disappointment in its first year or so of output . Considerably heavy than the 100/4 ( 2435 pounds vs. 2150 ) , it not only felt but was less bouncy . It did n’t seem to handle as well either , and somehow came off as less of a sports car than its predecessors .
But autumn 1957 convey two of import developments . First came a major strategic move as BMC adjudicate to concentrate assembly of all its sports cars ; this meant that Austin - Healey yield moved 50 mile south , from Longbridge to the MG manufacturing plant at Abingdon . At about the same time ( the phase angle - in tip was neither tidy nor exact ) there come along a much - ameliorate railway locomotive , with a revised piston chamber head and more effective manifolding that boost elevation ability to 117 bhp and afford a more sporting torque delivery . The difference was perhaps more pronounced than the figures suggest , for road tests pointed to an 8 - miles per hour amplification in top speed and speedup mend to something like BN2 level .
Then , the two - seater returned as an addition to the line . Designated BN6 , it ruminate the sort of “ 2nd sentiment ” backpedalling that would increasingly add up to characterise BMC selling . Moreover , BN4 assembly was suspended for a time , then resumed once exist inventory was clear ( most in the U.S. , presumably ) .
Still , these were exciting year for Austin - Healey , especially once the little “ frogeye ” Sprite come in 1958 to take the brand name into high - volume territory for the first time . With two different models in the saleroom , enthusiast began to pertain to the 100 Six ( and its successors ) as the “ Big Healey . ”
By that point , the disappointing BN4 had been forget , and the reputation and sale of the previous six - cylinder Healeys continued to climb . As in 1953 , these were sport cars with great character and mode that not only performed well but made all the correct noise . They would be a tough act to follow , but BMC thought it could do just that . It did . The Austin - Healey 3000 was at hand .
Austin-Healey Sprite
Few cars have been more adroitly timed – or morerightfor their prison term – than the original Austin - Healey Sprite , the beloved “ Bugeye . ” It was conceived to meet an obvious market place opening that existed by the time the truly minuscule sporting milligram , the Midgets of the 1930s and forties , had evolved into the big , costlier , more modern and “ mature ” MGA of the 1950s .
BMC chairman Sir Leonard Lord seldom pretermit a commercial trick , and invited the Healey family to plan a small , back - to - basics sport motorcar that would complement , rather than compete with , the popular MGA . As this collaboration had already led to the Austin - Healey 100 , which was sell very well in the U.S. , Lord was win over that the new belittled Healey would have alike success . As it turned out , he was correct .
Donald Healey and Word went to workplace at Warwick , though their creation was finalized by MG at Abingdon and put into production there commence in mid-1958 . The “ olde worlde ” Berkshire works thus recover itself build three unlike sports railroad car : the MGA , the Austin - Healey 100 Six , and the unexampled Sprite . BMC turn over into its boastful boxful of registered trademarks for the model name , which had graced a Riley sports car of the 1930s . ( The Nuffield Organisation had acquired Riley in 1938 , then joined Austin in 1952 to mould BMC . )
Riding an 80 - in wheelbase , the Austin - Healey Sprite was midget by the standards of its day ( and ours , come to that ) though larger and heavier than thirties Midgets . Alfa Romeo and Fiat had already produce whole - construction play car ( both on shortened mass - market sedan platforms ) but the Sprite was the first unitized British sportswoman car . It was , of course , a spare two - seat runabout but , with a 1460 - pound curb weightiness , was n’t all that Light Within for its size .
To keep the Austin - Healey Sprite social system as simple and rigid as possible , the Healeys omitted an external trunklid ; you loaded luggage through the cockpit by folding down the seats . Front sheetmetal – hood , fenders , and surround panels – was hinged at the firewall to raise up as a unit of measurement , thus provide almost unrestricted access code to locomotive and front break . Doors were mere shell ( scoop up out for storage ) to which slide side curtain could be tie . Per British tradition , the soft top was of the “ build - it - yourself ” sort , though an optional bolt of lightning - on hardtop was offered soon after introduction .
What everybody noticed , of course , was the protruding headlamp that give the Sprite a “ bugeye ” or “ frogeye ” look , hence the soubriquet that persist to this day . This coming into court differentiation was quite accidental . Retractable lights had been mull over ( prototypes had them ) but were cancel at the last minute as too costly ( so was a fold - down windshield ) , by which time it was too late to change the styling .
monetary value consideration also dictate off - the - ledge running gear and human body components , a motley of item from two belittled BMC kin sedans . The Morris Minor 1000 donated its wheel - and - pinion steering , while the Sprite ’s 4 - swiftness gearbox , firmed - up front dangling , and venerable BMC A - series four - piston chamber engine came from the Austin A35 . The last also contributed its rearward suspension , with a live axle turn up by upper spoke arms and cantilevered quarter - oval-shaped leafage springtime .
The result was a nervy small car with enormous graphic symbol andjoie de vivre . With its rudimentary rearward end , the Bugeye could be darty and prostrate to oversteer , but since the steering was so responsive – and top speed only 80 mph – it seldom got off from you .
And because it could be flung about with abandon , the Sprite was perfect for slaloms , gymkhanas , and other competition , and demand from weekend warrior presently inspire all sorts of hop - up and handle kickshaw from aftermarket reservoir . Much - qualify Sprites , with front magnetic disc brakes , heated engines , and smoothed - out bodywork contend gamely but with distinction against far larger and more powerful machine at places like Sebring and Daytona .
constitutional mechanical sturdiness and race - and - ride versatility aid sales , but monetary value was the big factor . At about $ 1500 unexampled , the Sprite was cheap – $ 1000 or so less than an MGA and Triumph TR3 – and a whale of a buy . Alas , it would n’t last long : just three old age and near 49,000 unit . Its successor , the Sprite Mark II of 1961 ( also clone for a new MG Midget ) , was much the same car with additional agreeableness and more ceremonious , square - rigged styling .
But Len Lord ’s bargain - cellar buggy had done its job , reinstate a democratic market class while instruct an entire coevals whatrealsports - railway car motoring was all about . While it ’s potential that few than half the original Bugeyes survive today , it ’s almost possible to build a raw one from scratch , so numerous are the reproduction of virtually everything – mechanical parts , body control panel , trim , the work . That “ garish wheel ” can enliven such long - live affection may be surprising , but then , the Bugeye was much more than the sum of its small parts .
Austin-Healey 3000
Though we number the Austin - Healey 3000 as a freestanding fellowship , it was little more than a 100 Six with a bigger engine and better Pteridium aquilinum . It was only in the 1960s that more meaning change came along . Thus , the “ Big Healey ” formula establish in 1956 was n’t altered conceptually in its 12 years .
From the first 100 Six to the last 3000 , these were rugged sports cable car with a 92 - column inch wheelbase and a backbreaking but true engine – not to cite a hairy - chested , rumbly personality and smooth styling . The Austin - Healey 3000 , introduced in the spring of 1959 , spanned nearly nine of those 12 yr . In that time come in Mark II , Convertible , and Mark III modeling , plus assorted running change in engine , chassis , gearbox , and body construction . But almost all these development were logical and improved the basic car . We can also be thankful that they did n’t change its character .
ab initio , the Austin - Healey 3000 ’s chief distinctions were an enlarged engine with 2912 cc and 124 horsepower , plus front - disc brakes ( barrel continued at the rear ) . These changes mirror those made that same class to another Abingdon - built fun car , the MG MGA . As before , there were two roadster styles : two - seater BN7 and BT7 2 + 2 .
Two years later , BMC announced the 3000 Mk II , for which the engine was given three SU carburetors . Rated end product rose to 132 bhp but magazine exam show no gain in public presentation , and since the frame-up was tricky to keep in tune , BMC drop it a year later . Also during the Mk II running , a novel type of gearbox shell and linkage were adopted with a more verbatim - acting selector mechanism .
At the end of summer 1962, the Mk II became Mk II Convertible, the body getting its first (and only) re-jig. Without changing overall apperance, BMC gave it a slightly more curved windshield, roll-up door windows, and a proper fold-away soft top. The two-seater was discarded and all Austin-Healey 3000s were now 2 +2s. The engine, modified yet again, reverted to twin SU carburetors yet suffered no power loss. All in all, the new Convertible was a more modern and practical package.
The Big Healey saw one more major revise in the spring of 1964 with the advent of the 3000 Mk III . Boasting even more power – 148 bhp – from the same - size engine , it featured a restyled dashboard with wood paneling , and a between - the - tooshie center of attention cabinet . A “ Phase II ” version arrived later in the twelvemonth with modified rear - axle location ( now by radius arms ) and chassis alterations provide more suspension travelling .
Built at Abingdon from former 1964 to the winter of 1967 - 68 , the Mk III was undoubtedly the best of the breed – and the fastest : top speed was about 120 mph . Snug and well equip , it was equally well-situated open and closed .
Of of course , not even the most popular cars go on forever , and the Big Healey was begin to look a second old - fashioned by the mid-1960s . Even so , no few than 5494 Mk IIIs were produced in 1966 , the highest one - year counting since 1960 , when the original Austin - Healey 3000 was at its sales peak . But by then , BMC faced new U.S. safety machine and emission regulations and decided that modifying the Big Healey to cope with them was n’t deserving the money . Thus , except for a single motorcar assemble in 1968 , the Big Healey was consigned to history at the close of 1967 .
