Austin-Healey 100S Le Mans 1955
#1
Posted 19 March 2004 - 23:11
DCN
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#2
Posted 19 March 2004 - 23:30
I am the keeper of the 100S Register. Here is information from the database. You can see the car in Bill Emerson's book Austin Healey. Chassis - SPL 226B engine - 1B136878 rego NOJ393 current owner Scott, Jack of the U.K. history 53 LeMans damaged, 55 Lemans damaged, 54 Pan American( Macklin), unrestored, Le Mans damaged repaired. Sorry I have to leave the computer until Monday.
Ken Freese
#3
Posted 20 March 2004 - 02:27
-William
#4
Posted 20 March 2004 - 07:16
#5
Posted 20 March 2004 - 18:04
;) DCN
#6
Posted 20 March 2004 - 22:13
-William
#7
Posted 21 March 2004 - 02:17
Perhaps Ken Freese can confirm/deny that this is the car own and raced by Hugh Sutherland of Toronto in the late fifties-early sixties-I talked with him several times about that car and he always claimed a "works" history for it.
As a lifelong Austin Healey nut and, after sharing a couple of bottles of scotch with Donald Healey, I get very upset with people blaming Macklin and the Healey for the accident at LeMans.
David B
#8
Posted 21 March 2004 - 07:40
#9
Posted 21 March 2004 - 18:19
#10
Posted 21 March 2004 - 19:28
Originally posted by David Birchall
... after sharing a couple of bottles of scotch with Donald Healey, I get very upset with people blaming Macklin and the Healey for the accident at LeMans. David B
Presumably just as upset as 'Lofty' England used to get with people blaming Hawthorn and the works D-Type for the accident at Le Mans...??? They both - and 'Levegh' too - and the Le Mans authorities - were each 'involved' to some degree. But in the circumstances it's hardly surprising that positions were adopted at the time which would be vigorously defended by the principals ever after...
'AHN 26' on the boot lid - 'Austin Healey (race) Number 26' perhaps????
DCN
#11
Posted 21 March 2004 - 21:46
Can we hear what it was that started this thread? What hienous rumour did you hear?
David B
#12
Posted 22 March 2004 - 15:21
Ken
#13
Posted 22 March 2004 - 16:44
Thanks for the info Ken, Mallory ignition and Isky cam! blimey!
David B
#14
Posted 25 March 2004 - 04:32
#15
Posted 25 March 2004 - 10:05
Originally posted by xkssFrankOpalka
I had a AH100S cylinder hd for sale in the 60s, I think it came from a car that had a Corvette engine installed. It was said there were 50 made but it seems like a large number. Anyone confirm that?
Maybe the car that Alan Jones imported into Australia?
Production number, is that your question? From memory there were 55, at the time Alan brought his in there was eleven in Australia... about ten (again, IIRC) had been destroyed by that time... circa 1978.
Did your head have the carburettors on both sides?
#16
Posted 25 March 2004 - 16:19
There were at least 8 100S's that had Chevy V8's fitted to them in America including Allan Jone's car. Can you tell me where you were living and how you came by the 100S head? Maybe it will help figure out an original owner. A couple of months ago, I found a 2nd owner in Maryland that installed a Chevy V8 into his S in 1957.
Ken
#17
Posted 25 March 2004 - 16:48
Regards, David B
#18
Posted 25 March 2004 - 17:05
I don't show any Canadians as owners of the Alan Jones car although having the Nelson brother owning the car for multiple times is confusing. Likewise with Hugh Sutherland owning two 100S's for a short time.
The Alan Jones car is AHS 3603. 3/8/55 Detroit Kopplin, Karl St. Louis 1955 - 1957; Roberts, W. Munro Illinois; Nelson, Harry&Glenn St. Louis 1959 - 1961; Peace, Jackson USA 1961 - ? ;Wilson, Jack USA; Nelson, Gene & Harry St. Louis; Jones, Alan Sydney 1973 - 1979; Rees, John Brisbane 1979 - 1999; Combs, Phillip New Mexico 1999 - 2001; Burke, Fred 2001 -;
SCCA raced by KK & MR., raced early 60'S w V8 by JP., Australian vintage, 2000 Monterey Historics w Coombs Corvette V8 by Nelson, removed by Jones, to Australia 1974, to USA 2000, original engine from California.
Can you give me the name of the 100S owner and I will see if he is in the database?
Ken
#19
Posted 25 March 2004 - 18:03
The guy was a doctor who moved to Yreka California. Remember Yreka? It's where we had the first AH meet with Donald Healey attending. It was at that time (1976?) that I was corresponding with him. He had to go to a medical conference or something on that weekend so he missed the meet. Also, I don't think he believed me when I told him that Donal Healey was coming to his little town! I will dig through some stuff and see if I can find him again. I told Steve Pike this story years ago.
Regards, David B
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#20
Posted 25 March 2004 - 18:08
Ok, I know the car you are talking about and the Doctor's name. He wrote an article on him self and the car in the mid 80's. The car was last seen much modified in San Jose in the early 70's. This last sentance will be enough for a fraud to be constucted. It has been done before from perusing the 100S Register on the web.
Ken
#21
Posted 25 March 2004 - 18:22
David B
#22
Posted 25 March 2004 - 21:26
Well, for anybody reading this Ken pm'd me some info. It seems that there maybe more AH 100S cars out there than ever left the Cape factory....(Why are we not surprised?)
I wonder which car is the most replicated?
Jaguar D type, C type,
Ferrari 250 GTO (Sob!!)
Frazer Nash LM Replica
Short chassis 4 1/2 Bentley
Bugatti T35
Lotus 23
Shelby Cobra (Probably)
I suppose I should qualify this by asking for genuine (?) replicas : i.e. cars that could pass as originals
Whats your pleasure?
#23
Posted 25 March 2004 - 21:35
Originally posted by HangtownHealey
.....to USA 2000, original engine from California.....
Oh dear, poor Alan would turn over in his grave if he knew that! After all the work he did to foster importing the 100S to Australia, and his own car, of course...
Hangtown... how did you get on with that car I asked about early last year?
#24
Posted 25 March 2004 - 21:37
#25
Posted 25 March 2004 - 21:47
#26
Posted 25 March 2004 - 22:12
Originally posted by scags
The GTO's would be a tough sell( Most of the 37 cars have solid histories) , but you forgot maserati 250f's
yes I did forget the 250F didn't I?
As regards the GTO; yes the histories of the "Real" cars are known but there are good replicas out there based on 250GTE chassis mostly I believe. Personally I am in favour of them since it would be very difficult to pass one off as the real thing-no so the case with the less well documented cars.
David B
ps should this be a separate thread?
pps What the bloody 'ells a "Torana XV1s" Ray?
#27
Posted 26 March 2004 - 01:49
#28
Posted 26 March 2004 - 02:26
Originally posted by David Birchall
pps What the bloody 'ells a "Torana XV1s" Ray?
The XU1 is the product of a deranged mind. Basically it is an HB Vauxhaul Viva with the front end stretched and the 1100cc chugger replaced with a tuned 186 ci Holden 6 (aka boat anchor).
Australian cars of the period were better at more or less straight lines than turning or stopping.
#29
Posted 26 March 2004 - 05:19
Originally posted by soubriquet
The XU1 is the product of a deranged mind. Basically it is an HB Vauxhaul Viva with the front end stretched and the 1100cc chugger replaced with a tuned 186 ci Holden 6 (aka boat anchor).
Australian cars of the period were better at more or less straight lines than turning or stopping.
Much more than that...
For instance, it had the same front brakes as the Mk 2 Jag, a unique front suspension, bigger wheels and rear end, and the 186 with its triple Strombergs was not to be sneezed at. Nor the later 202...
The one thing it did lack (for such a non-pedigreed car...) was a bit of track, but there was a whole era of Aussie cars those days which had plenty of grunt and handled as well.
Damon Beck should come in on this one...
#30
Posted 28 March 2004 - 05:11
Ray, what sort of bhp did the XU1s make? I've never seen any numbers, standard or otherwise. From very unreliable memory wasn't the breathing restricted by siamesed inlets?
I do know that one of the trick racing mods was to substitute an Alfa gearbox, which is a bit of a tribute to the box's integrity.
Cheers
#31
Posted 28 March 2004 - 10:27
I think they had over 200bhp from the 202 engine in the end. But the sales brochures didn't mention figures that high at all. And yes, the ports were shared, but not as totally siamesed as in the BMC creations... it was possible to put a divider in there, though the original manifolds didn't have that. There was also a post in there for the headstuds... very wide ports coped with this.
#32
Posted 29 March 2004 - 07:15
Getting back on topic, how many Austin Healey 100S remain in Australia, it would appear that, like with a lot of other rarities, they have left the country. I certainly haven't seen one on racing (as opposed to regularity) for a while.
#33
Posted 29 March 2004 - 08:29
On the Australian 100S's - last time I checked, I got the impression there are more now than were imported in the 1950s. There's a website somewhere with a list of current owners worldwide
#34
Posted 29 March 2004 - 20:30
#35
Posted 29 March 2004 - 21:39
Here's a picture of the Austin Healey at the Milli Miglia :
and here's the picture of him at the Ring :
Does anyone know the chassis # and also if the car was his? Thanks for your help.
#36
Posted 29 March 2004 - 22:46
#37
Posted 29 March 2004 - 23:10
Maybe not? I will do a little more research into car number 247 tonight.
#38
Posted 30 March 2004 - 05:37
The LHD car in the second photo is of course a non-100S Healey.
NOJ393 was on the 1954 works car SPL226B
#39
Posted 30 March 2004 - 05:45
http://www.wsrp.wz.cz says Wisdom and Monaco were in Car 247 in the 1956 Mille Miglia. The site calls the car a 100M, which is preusmably a mustake
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#40
Posted 30 March 2004 - 15:20
Here is a quote from Tommy Wisdom's Austin-Healey Guide.
"There was no official working team for the Mille Miglia of 1956, representation being left to the two private entries of leslie Brooks and the well-known motoring journalist and racing driver, Tommy Wisdom, who was taking part in the race for the 10th time. Wisdom took Walt Monacoas his passenger while Brooks took rally driver Stan Asbury. The latter pair unfortuanately crashed early, luckily escaping with nothing worse than bruises. But Wisdom's great experience of the course helped him to finish as runner-up in his price category class."
I would have thought the "experienced journalist" might have done better than 77th.
#41
Posted 31 March 2004 - 08:00
#42
Posted 31 March 2004 - 08:07
Originally posted by HangtownHealey
5 100S's were imported new into Australia. Now there are 11 from Portugal, UK, and the US. also a couple of replica's. The Aussies started searching the world over in the 70's while the rest of us were asleep. For the abbreviated 100S Registry, look at Austin Healey Club USA at http://www.healey.org/
Not to mention the engine with the carbies hanging off both sides... or has that left us again now?
I note in the list that David Shmith has his name mispelled...
#43
Posted 31 March 2004 - 08:55
#44
Posted 31 March 2004 - 09:17
OT - you know of course the Cooper is a Mk IV (or earlier), not a Mk V
#45
Posted 31 March 2004 - 09:28
As you've dragged me off subject !!!! ~~~
The Cooper 500s that raced in Ontario, or elsewhere in the hands of Ontario
drivers, from 1950 to 1954. Paul White, Peter Dillnut and Russ
Moodie all drove a Cooper 500 in that period. White drove for owner
Charlie Wheaton. Dillnut probably drove for him too. Because
there is no overlap between these three, I have come to suspect that
there may have been only one Cooper 500 in eastern Canada
at the time. Now Frank has evidence of a Cooper 500 racing at Edenvale
in 1955 - a year or so after Moodie's last appearance with
a Cooper. Could it be the same car? Who is Clark, the driver in
Frank's picture? Was he a Canadian?
#46
Posted 31 March 2004 - 10:01
Thanks
#47
Posted 31 March 2004 - 10:13
Originally posted by soubriquet
Please pardon my ignorance, but what made a 100s an "S"?
To be honest, I was going to delve into this myself...
There are certain things I know. Four wheel disc brakes, the engine and gearbox (from memory...) differed from the 100, the grille was different...
The engine was the main point. It had an alloy head with much improved breathing, while the crank was nitrided steel and the stud pattern differed from the original to cater for the different porting, which meant the block casting was different too.
I am of the opinion that the crank came from the diesel variant of the engine, but I may be wrong (of course...), while the block casting may also have been from the diesel, but was more likely a special run through the foundry.
The 'S' stood for 'Sebring' didn't it?
#48
Posted 31 March 2004 - 11:03
The blocks and cranks on all 100/4s were the same as used on the Taxi engine which was also used it a small truck.
#49
Posted 31 March 2004 - 11:10
The block was from the Austin A90 Atlantic, while (to my knowledge...) the truck only ever had the 2.2 litre version.
The 'taxi' engine would have been either the 2.2 petrol or the diesel variant, the size of which is beyond my knowledge.
There is no doubt that the 100S engine had a different block casting to the standard 100... it had headstuds in different places, and that meant that the casting had to cater for those drillings. The main reason I mentioned the diesel engine was because I would have expected it to have a different (stronger...) crankshaft, and BMC were pretty good at sharing standard parts around when they went into competition.
As for the brakes, you could get 4-wheel discs ex-factory for road cars, these cars being the 100Ms. Or is my memory failing me there too?
#50
Posted 31 March 2004 - 11:20
My 100/4 had a works Disc convertion ~ bloody awful Dunlop things which were not self adjusting and the pedal just got longer and longer. This was on the front only. Can't honestly remember if rears were an option.
I also did a bare chassis up restoration on an Atlantic convertible about 15 years ago with an up rated engine (so it would do a gebuine 100mph ~~~ Terrifying!). I can remember buying a load of taxi engine parts and 100/4 bits to help with the build but which were which ????