Lookin' Good

Here is a shot of the front shroud. It is a bit obscured by the lift, but needless to say it is ultra smooth and really black. You'll notice that the dust is already forming on the shiny new paint. I can't wait for the loads of pollen and tree sap that will be dumped on this car the once it comes home.I've also got a nice shot of the completed dash with all the cleaned up gauges. Looking pretty good.

Black Beauty

The paint has been applied! It is hard to see in these pictures, but the paint is really, really deep and super glossy. I'm not sure if this was exactly how it rolled off the assembly line in 1954, but man does it look nice now. My initial feeling when I saw it was "there is no way I'm going to be able to drive this car". I'm afraid every possible bump and chip will be looking for this car. Still to be painted are the rear trunk lid and the fenders. I believe the fenders have been sprayed on the under side but have yet to be completed.

The Muscle

As you can see the engine looks pretty good. Now that the exhaust, starter and rebuilt radiator are together. I still need to fix things up cosmetically, the radiator cap needs some attention, but I was happy to keep the original top. The chrome rocker cover and air cleaners aren't correct and will be exchanged at some point. This motor is fairly big as old British cars go. It's 2660cc's which should be good for 90bhp at 4000rpm. What does that mean on the road? I'm not sure. I've never driven a 100/4. I'd guess it will get along pretty good, although any Honda civic will most likely eat this car for lunch.

Slow Progress

Here is a shot of the bare interior. During the original restoration back in the early 1990's they looked after the floors, bulkheads and frame. As you can see it looks pretty good, just dusty from sitting for so long. I haven't had the overdrive tested, but hopefully since the car seems to be in OK shape the OD will be fine. Not shown in these pictures are the doors. They were pretty good and didn't require too much work. The seats are another matter, but that will be another post. The two piece dash needed a little work, but again was complete, so shouldn't pose too many problems.

It's Alive! Sort of..

OK, so I got the call that the car was running. The new harness was in and everything was there to at least see if the car would run. From what I can gather from what Len told me the Healey was last on the road in the early 1980's when the restoration originally started. When I bought the car it had a license plate that was from 1982 (they were light blue with white numbers back then). So, without an actual eye witness it seems like it has been at least 20 years since the car had been driven. Here are some pictures of the car with a tin can as a gas tank, since the original was rusted beyond repair. I actually have yet to hear the car run, but Ken told me it runs and Len told me the engine had good compression when I bought it.. so fingers crossed!

Body Shop

After trying to get things started solo I figured the best plan of attack was to get some professional help, I mean to get the panels started at least. I had the car towed via flat-deck across town to Lancaster Restorations. I really didn't know where else to start as nothing looked familiar inside the car. There was an engine and transmission sure, but there was no wiring and no dash. No batteries, interior, roof. Really just a huge pile of rusty old parts. So off it went. Luckily the guys at Lancaster know Healeys. Ken had 5 or 6 laying around in various state of restoration. Terry worked his magic on the front and rear fenders. Then moved onto the shrouds. Since the shrouds, hood and boot are all aluminium it took a bit of work to get them back to the original shapes. The areas that were the most damaged were the rear trunk lid (boot) and the rear shroud. Being that they are so soft the years of abuse had taken their toll on the panels. I wish I had a few pictures of the car with all the panels on the chassis, but I don't. Needless to say eventually it got to the point where things were all in primer and looking like they belonged to one car. In the time between these pictures I had the radiator rebuilt, bought a original style cloth covered wiring harness, starter and a complete muffler system.

The Start....

Here is my 1954 Austin Healey in "as purchased" condition. Car/ chassis no. BN1 - L/151633, Body no. 1664. I think this car was one of the first 1000 built. It is a 3 speed with a Laycock de Normanville overdrive on 2nd and 3rd speeds. Originally shipped to a dealer in the USA, although I'm not sure where and it isn't noted on the Heritage Trust certificate. It came painted black with off-white trim and I believe a black hood, again not noted. I bought this car from Len Drake of Kelowna, BC in 2004. Len had been holding on to this early aluminum version for himself. Luckily I was able to talk him into selling it. He had begun to restore it in the early 1990's. But at some point that job stalled and it had been sitting in the back of Len's garage for the better part of 14 years. The frame and bulkheads were in good condition with no rust to speak of. The shrouds were in OK condition, although they both suffered from metal fatigue in a few places and required some skilled metal-work to make them nice again. The original fenders were good, but required the bottoms replaced as did the outer door skins. I was told the engine was good and had good compression 14 years ago. All the wiring, gauges, seats and miscellaneous bits came in assorted boxes. There was no roof or top frame.

2006 resolution(s)....

OK, I'm posting before I thought I would. Honestly I'd post more if I could get things together and get my digital camera working. These posts are pretty dry unless there are some interesting pictures, anyway here I go...

I've decided my New Years resolution is to finish these out of control projects.. I'll focus soley on the Healey here, although I will need to get the bus running first since I don't have any winter driver (other than the Vespa...brrrr) Not to mention the BMW motorcycle sitting half done while I wait for the heads to be rebuilt... Ah, you see my situation. I've gone out and aquired all my favorite things, the "if I buy this last one, this one rare version I'll be satisfied". Well I have the projects, but I don't seem to have time to finish any of them. Instead of buying one and finishing it I've bought 4 and am now trying to finish 4 at the same time.

Read on....

Welcome

Welcome to the "3Speeds blog" ...OK, so I'm submitting to a blog. Soo nerdy, but a good place to put all my stupid car stuff. I'll get a few digital pictures to do some "in progress" shots on my projects. Mostly 1950's 3 speeders.. 1954 BN1 Austin Healey and a 1960 Vespa VBB (currently the only one that runs. Some daily driver during winter, typical).

So, that’s all for now. Next post some time in April 2006.