Classic British sports cars are magical things. They are in effect a completely immersive time machine to another time and place. They offer strong performance for the era, a great exhaust note, and striking styling. The Pick of the Day is one of the very best classic British cars ever, a 1954 Austin-Healey 100 BN1 listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Farmingdale, New York.
The Austin-Healey 100 was developed by the legendary Donald Healey and was in many ways his first truly successful sports car. Unlike the Nash-Healey, the 100 had a suspension completely developed by Healey with Austin mechanicals. The styling was done by Gerry Coker, and the chassis was designed by Barry Bilbie which (for the period) was pretty stiff. To help keep the vehicle height low, the rear axle was underslung, with the frame passing under the rear axle assembly.
The 1954 Austin-Healey presented here is said to be a very correct older restoration. It is stated that the details on the car, such as the red fan and proper shift boot, indicate authenticity. Compression is excellent, the gearbox and overdrive work properly, and the car is lively to drive.
The correct Spruce Green looks excellent. Body gaps look to be quite good as well, as these cars have a reputation for being difficult to get the gaps correctly. The exterior brightwork also shines well. This Austin-Healey is riding on the correct painted wire wheels with period-correct Dunlop tires. These kind of accurate details make me think this example is worthy of your attention.
The interior is also nice, with the green leather seats appearing correct and the covers well-installed. The dash also looks authentic, with the gauges appearing to have been well restored. It appears this vehicle has the original, stock steering wheel, another detail that makes it appear like one that received a correct and painstaking restoration that has held up well.
Under the hood is a correct 2.6-liter Austin four-cylinder that is fed by two SU carburetors that have the correct air cleaners. Other under-hood details look correct as well. I see nothing that makes me think that anything on this car has any needs.
This 1954 Austin-Healey 100 BN1 represents the first of the “big Healeys” and was a landmark car when new. Not only did it win in the showroom with 10,030 of the first version (BN1) built, but also won on the racetrack where it proved to be very competitive. The cost to restore a car to this level would be at least $100,000, as this older but very nice restoration looks like it has had everything done both correctly and well. Just to check myself, I had Healey restoration expert John Saccameno (owner of Sport and Specialty Restorations) take a look at the ad and he called it a very nice example.
A few years ago, this exact car would cost more than $100,000 but today it is listed at only $74,900. I’ll call this a great value! If you want the very definition of a classic British sports car, look no further than this 1954 Austin Healey 100.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com
