The Story of 100-4ord

I graduated from high school in 1966.  This was the age of the Detroit muscle cars, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve been a motor head.  I’ve owned quite a few cars over the years.  Some of the most memorable to me would be: a 1962 Ford Fairlane 2 door, a 1966 Mustang GT fastback and a 1964 Ford Falcon Ranchero.   These cars all had V-8's and stick shifts.  I have also owned two 1959 MGA coupes and a Nash Metro.  I like hot rods,  I’ve always liked Fords and I’ve always liked British sports cars.  Perhaps, I could have been happy with an A C Cobra or even a Tiger except that a car came along that changed my life forever.

During the summer of 1967, at my girlfriends family gathering, I saw an Austin-Healey up close for the first time.  The car was a 100-4, except that it had a Corvette V-8 and a 4sp. Trans..  I was stunned!  The owner was my girlfriend Sandy’s cousin, Don Bangle.  He and his dad had built this fine machine.  It looked low and fast.  It sounded potent.  Could I ever be so lucky to own a prize like that?  As I recall he broke a fog lamp that day against the curb because it was so low.  ( Don still has this car, won’t sell it to me, and is a member of the Nasty Boys )

In the fall of 1967 I got my first ride in a Healey.  A fellow college classmate had a yellow 1962 3000 tri-carb.  He had seen my 1959 MGA Coupe and offered me a ride in a “Real” sports car.  Needless to say, I fell in love with the great sounds, acceleration and overdrive of a big Healey.

In 1969, not having forgotten about Don’s car or the ride in the 3000, I purchased a 1964 - 3000 for Sandy, my teenage bride.   We had sold the MGA Coupe because it was only a two seater and very hot in the summer.  I convinced her that since the Healey had back seats, it was actually a better family sports car.  Since it was to be her car, she agreed.  Our son, Russell,  was one year old and fit nicely in the rear.  It became her daily driver.

In 1975, now with our daughter Jeanine as well, we joined the fledgling Austin-Healey Association of Southern California.  We formed some great family friendships with the members.   The rest is history, so to speak.  Some of our family trips, from southern Calif., with the kids in the back,  included Shasta and Bend Oregon.  We still have her 3000 and have used it extensively in the club.  We call this car, “R Healey”.  It’s pictured on the cover of the second edition of the “Austin-Healey Buyers Guide” by Richard Newton.

Healeys and Healey people became our most dominant hobby.  We relished the club events and fellow enthusiasts. Several years later, a car that really got my juices flowing again, was Ken Carr’s black 100-4 with an all aluminum Buick 215 cu. in. V-8 and 4 speed.   It rekindled my memory and desire for a hot rod.  The exhaust sound of these modifieds is much more robust than our 3000 and I fell in love with that throaty note.   I started saving my money for a “modified” Healey.

In 1980, before I found a modified to buy, I came across a great, although stock, 1956 100-4 BN2.   This car had been put away in a box for 13 years, fully assembled, by the owner.   Our kids would no longer fit in the back of our 3000,  so we “needed”  this additional Healey to get the whole family to events.  Even though I wanted a modified, this one was way too valuable as a “survivor” to think about for a hot rod.  I brought this very original car back to operation and it is a very special car to me.   We call this car  “BoxdCar”.  It’s pictured inside and on the back cover of “Sports Car Color History - Austin-Healey 100 & 3000" by John Heilig.  I think the 100-4 body design, with the windscreen down, is the best of the best.  But, the big four cylinder just doesn’t have that great sound that was locked into my brain.  So, again, my intent  became to find a modified.  Only now, it needed to be the 100-4 body style.

In 1990, after several more years of looking for a 100-4 V-8, I bought a 1959 Bugeye Sprite.  This, I thought, could be my “hotrod”.  I decided that I would turn this Sprite into a vintage racer and pursue that great sport.  I joined VARA , went completely through this car, installed a built 1380cc motor and went off to the races.  I’ve never had a go- cart, but this must be pretty close.  The Datsun 5 spd. Trans. I installed kept it from being race legal.  It’s such a hoot to drive on the street that I don’t really care if I can race it or not.  The nickname for this car is “Bullfrog”. It shares the book cover with “R Healey”.   But, even with all the go fast goodies it just does not “sound” or “feel” like the V8 hotrod that was instilled in my memory.  So, my quest was still not satisfied.  I will keep the Sprite, the 100-4 and the 3000 and resume my search.

Time was going by all too fast.  1998 had arrived.  I was turning 50 years old and I still had not found my dream modified.  I started looking again, in earnest, for that elusive ride.  By now I had refined what I wanted in my modified.   After all, I had been building this car in my mind for years.  I wanted a 100-4 BN2 body (the front wheel openings of a BN2 are larger than those of the earlier BN1) with bonnet louvers and leather strap.  I love the look of that lay down windscreen.  The 100-4 is shorter and lighter than the 100-6 or 3000.  The power would come from a warmed up small block Ford V-8.  The trans. would be a Borg Warner T-5 5speed.  The rear-end a narrowed Ford 8" with positraction.  However, the car would still  “look” stock.  It would look like a 100-M.

In March of 1998 my dream project finally became a possibility.  A good friend and fellow club member had changed his mind about restoring a parts car that he had and offered it to me.  A 1956 BN2!  Exactly the model I wanted.  A rusty derelict, with “Fred Flintstone” floorboards, that has been sitting outside a few blocks from the ocean for 15 years!  It’s fully disassembled and incomplete!  It was perfect!  I would undertake to build, not buy, my  “Austin?-Hardly!”.

It surprised a lot of people in our local club when Sandy and I drove the finished car to an event in March of 2001.  I had finished it in just three years.  It had consumed around 1500 to 2000 diligent hours.  I did 99% of the work myself, in my own garage.  I learned to do a lot of “new to me” things, including  fabrication, Mig welding, body work and painting.  I think it turned out fabulous and I’m very proud of my “modified”.  It’s exactly what I wanted and more.  It’s an unfair comparison to our other Healeys.  They are still fun to drive, but, on a personal level, this “improved” one puts the biggest smile on my face.  There are progress photos and specifications of my 100-4ORD project in a supplement to this story.

The sound?  Robust!  Fabulous!  The performance?  Wow!  Why didn’t I do this sooner!  We’ve driven it to Bakersfield for CHW ‘01, to Solvang for CHW ’02 and to Lake Tahoe for Open Roads 2002.  What great trips.  We call this car, “100-4ORD”.  It’s not in any books, but has won awards in shows and autocross.  It runs the quarter mile in the 13's at over 100 mph and cruises the freeways with ease.  It’s a great feeling to build “the” car that you’ve wanted for 34 years and have it live up to your expectations.  If you’ve done that, you know what I mean.  If you haven’t built one,  trust me,  it’s worth the effort.

     Cheers - Ron Davies