1954 Austin Healey 100 BN1

This delightful and properly fettled Austin-Healey 100 comes to us with a rather special provenance. It has even graced the front cover of Classic & Sports Car magazine.

From 2005 until 2022 it belonged to Jamie Knight, the former Chairman of Motoring at Bonhams and a well-known Healey enthusiast and specialist.

This is a vendor whose 38 or so years’ experience of top-end classic car auctions means that he knows what people want and value in a classic: provenance, history, service records, paperwork, originality, etc. He is equally clear on what he wants from a classic – a usable, sorted, driveable, reliable automotive experience designed to reward your heel and toe skills rather than win concours points.

Jamie kindly previously provided the following background information and insights as a preface to our description.

“My interest in Healey started in 1988 when, at Christie’s, I handled the sale of ‘67 ARX’, the ex-Works 3000 Rally car. I had the privilege of meeting Geoff, Bic, and other members of the Healey families and became hooked. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to have handled any number of important Healeys, including Works Rally and Sebring 3000s, Sebring and Le Mans Sprites, ex-Works and customer 100Ss – including the ex-works Lance Macklin ’55 Le Mans car and the ex-Donald Healey 100S Coupe.

I always told myself that my first classic car would be a Healey 100 and it became a reality with TKN 888 in 2005.

I had been looking for a while but most of my visits to classified advertisers were a waste of time: they were generally over-described or too non-original. So, I joined the AHOC and placed a ‘Wanted’ advertisement in the magazine. I got a few replies, but one in particular sounded promising. It was from a thoroughly nice gentleman called Giles Harvey who said he was thinking of selling and thought his car might suit me. I had no idea at the time that I was in for a surprise.

When I met Giles a few days later I realised it was a car I had previously handled, selling it for the owner at the Brooks Beaulieu auction in 1997. We sold it to Andrew Booth of Orchard Cars and Giles acquired it from Andrew. Giles was just the sort of gentleman from whom I wanted to buy a car: his background as a former Army officer and a Rolls-Royce aero-engineer gave me total confidence that the car had been well looked after.

I didn’t want (nor could I afford) a mint restored car. I wanted a car in good condition that I could drive, enjoy and not be too precious about.

I’ve taken it on Continental tours and Club meets and get-togethers but mostly just enjoyed driving it in the countryside with my wife – more often than not with a pub as our destination.

A fair bit of work has been done in recent years, with Classic Motor Hub, Thornley Kelham and Woolmer Classic Engineering. These works include event preparation, brakes, clutch, suspension, lighting, electrics (including conversion to electronic ignition) and of course servicing according to requirements. Invoices for these and other works are on file. I also had the car re-painted a few years ago.

It’s not perfect, there’s a bit of corrosion in places and some wear which, bearing in mind its last full restoration was the late 1980s, is not surprising. But she looks and sounds great, and runs and handles really well.”

We think this car looks fabulous and has a delightfully lived-in patina that attests to a lifetime of being driven and cared for by people with the right amounts of diligence, passion, enthusiasm and money.

We also think Mr. Knight rather underplayed just how well this car starts, goes, handles and stops.

It does all of these things with an assuredness, ease and composure that you don’t expect to find in a car that first put its rubber on the road when Doris Day was in the charts, From Here to Eternity was in the cinema, and Hancock’s Half Hour was on the radio.

As regular visitors to this site will know, ownership of a classic car can often come with a price in terms of convenience and comfort. Yes, of course an E Type Series 1 ‘flat-floor’ is a beautiful and drool-inducing thing to look at. And you’ll look beautiful and drool-inducing when you’re sat in it.

But unless you’ve had a career as a contortionist or a circus performer, you’d be advised to have a chiropractor on speed dial should you ever decide to take it out for a spin.

This car exacts no such price.

It’s comfortable and fits like an old glove. The gears slot home slickly and effortlessly. The car goes where you point it without argument or delay. The steering is weighted, but not heavy. The engine pulls sweetly and strongly across the gearbox. It has balance, poise and agility in equal measure.

We really can’t fault the driving experience. It’s very good indeed.

This is a very pretty car. There’s no doubt about it.

Finished in Healey Blue (its original colour), the car’s panels are straight and untroubled by any significant dinks, dents, folds, creases or nicks to speak of.

The paint has an impressive depth of shine and lustre to it. The previous vendor had the car resprayed in 2015, or thereabouts.

The doors close with the right amount of precision and weight. The shut lines are consistent and even wherever you look.

The chrome and badging is in very good condition all round, including on the wire wheels and spinners, where there is just the lightest foxing in evidence.

There is a matching spare in the boot (without a tyre), accompanied by an older spare with a tyre.

The matching Michelin tyres, though not perhaps in the first flush of youth, have plenty of tread on them

The lights and lenses are good, with the headlights now featuring modern technology (which doesn’t stray far from the aesthetics of the original bulbs) that allows for safe night-time driving.

The leather bonnet strap is in good condition.

The roof goes up and down as it should but, in keeping with hoods of a certain vintage, it requires two people to do the job and to stick faithfully to the right procedures in the right order.

There are no holes or tears, save for some worn areas where the leading corners of the hood stretch over the windscreen pillars. The car comes with full weather equipment, including side-screens.

There is some minor blistering and bubbling on top of the n/s/r wing, plus some scuffs and tiny chips to the paint. Some micro-blistering is starting to appear around the o/s/r light.

There are some faint scuff marks on the bodywork between the cabin and the boot lid, and a chip of paint missing next to the o/s/r tonneau stud. The paint has rubbed away in places at the top of both windscreen pillars.

There is a crack in the paint on the n/s boot lid, and next to it on the o/s. There are also some stone chips at the rear of the o/s/r wheel arch and some minor bubbling at the front edge of the same wheel arch.

There is a small crack in the paint on the o/s/f wing, some tiny paint scuffs beneath the grille and some small paint chips on the leading edge of the o/s door beneath the opening lever.

The interior is a charmingly authentic and pleasant place to spend some quality driving time.

It’s held up fairly well over the years in general. The front seats wear the creases and patina of their age with pride and are both supportive and comfortable.

Clearly, there is some wear to the bolsters and places where the leather is starting to look a little overburdened by time and use, but this underlines the originality and authenticity of what you’re looking at - a car that has been used and enjoyed.

There are some indentations and small holes on the seat backs.

The carpets, door cards and mats are in decent condition, but the former might thank their next owner for a deep clean.

The dashboard, steering wheel and gear lever are all in decent nick.

All switches, levers, toggles, buttons, dials and gauges do what they’re supposed to do.

Lifting up the carpets here or elsewhere on this car reveals rust dust and the odd flake here and there but nothing that appears to have migrated beyond the superficial.

The hood lining is OK and seems to fit well but is stained and discoloured in a few places.

The boot is in good condition and is currently rather full of no doubt useful stuff. In addition to the two spare wheels (one with a tyre), there are assorted tools, cans of oil, covers, spare parts, etc.

In general, the undersides seem to have a good deal of integrity and, although there’s the odd bloom of rust dust here and there, we’ve seen nothing to raise an eyebrow or prompt a tut.

The engine bay is clean and dry, and everything appears to be in its right and proper place.

This car has more history than the Parthenon.

We know that its first ground-up restoration was carried out by Wilstoration Ltd (later known as Merlin Classic Cars) in 1988/9.

By then, the car had a replacement engine (it displays the appropriate tags to indicate this).

It is an early, rare, original 1954 BN1 RHD UK car, with sporting after-market louvered bonnet and strap ‘à la 100M’, original BN1 front wings, 4 stud axle and no reflector pods (these came in later and rather spoiled the aesthetics).

The car is fitted with an alloy radiator and the engine benefits from a lighter, more efficient alloy cylinder head by marque specialist, Denis Welch.

In recent years, it has had the suspension rebuilt, the brakes overhauled and the carburettors properly set up with the correct jets and needles.

This work, the vendor tells us, explains why the car is such a joy to drive.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard.

We think this is a very strong example of an iconic model and marque.

This is a car that been set-up and maintained to be used and enjoyed. Yes, there’s the odd cosmetic issue here and there, and perhaps a faint hint of bubbling in one or two places, but these flaws are few and far between and don’t detract from the immense appeal of a car that’s every bit as good to drive as it is to look at.

Vitally, most of its life is accounted for and documented. Its ownership can be traced back to the factory. It’s accompanied by enough bills, receipts, invoices, articles, restoration photos, letters and other paperwork to fill a long-haul suitcase.

And if that’s not enough for you, it comes with a British Motor Industry Heritage Trust Certificate to attest to its provenance and authenticity.

That and the fact that the previous owner is the former Chairman of Bonhams Motoring.

We’re confident to offer this delightful car for auction with an estimate of £35,000 - £55,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located with the vendor in Pulborough, West Sussex. Viewings are strictly by appointment.  To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.