1954 Austin Healey 100/4 BN1

It’s incredibly rare to have such a detailed provenance of a vehicle, but ownership of this car was held within the same group of friends from 1972 until only last year. ‘I had it for 30 years alone,’ says former owner Nigel. ‘Prior to that it was in the care of my good friend Paul Bennett, and then another friend AJ Pope who I bought it from.’

Pope intended to restore the car but with his Triumph TR4 taking up all of his time, it would be Nigel who took up the reins. ‘He’d only started work on the steering and front suspension by that point, but I moved it to a large barn adjacent to my house and work started.’

The comprehensive bare-metal restoration process took quite some time as life got in the way, but it was eventually completed in the late Nineties. ‘By that time we had a holiday home in South West France and it lived there until 2019, we had perfect weather and roads for the car.’

There are a good number of invoices in the history file (see photo gallery below), both from the time of the restoration itself and of subsequent work that Nigel carried out. He was good enough to compile a summary list of all parts fitted. Restoration work apart, most recent big bills include: a new windscreen frame (£600); a fresh petrol tank (£274.95); carburettor refurbishment (£337.52); and fitment of a full stainless steel exhaust system (£263.94).

‘I always brought the car back to Britain on a trailer for any work or maintenance required,’ explained Nigel. Last year the car was sold to our vendor. 

The vendor says it still drives superbly and that he has had this car fully recommissioned, serviced and tuned: “The overdrive has been restored, it has had safety harnesses fitted and had a full brake overhaul (with new brake shoes, new drum cylinders where required and a new master cylinder).

The reason he is selling this car is to move to an even rarer Le Mans spec. BN /1.

There’s a tiny split in the paint by the nearside bonnet aperture, but that’s all we can find and the paint finish is still excellent – impressive if the restoration was 21 months old, let alone over 21 years. Panel fit is equally good, and there’s no sag present in either door. The Blue over Cream colour scheme looks even better in the flesh than it does in the pictures and suits the Healey’s sweeping outline perfectly.

Bright work is of a very high quality. Again, the only small imperfection we can find is a touch of surface rust on the nearside chrome headlight surround. That’s an easy fix, or, like us, you could be of the opinion that it adds a touch of patina to the car’s overall presentation. The bumpers, windscreen surround and chrome wire wheels are all very smart.

Overall, it’s a truly captivating example.

The bucket seats were rebuilt during restoration and still feel fully supportive. Overall condition of the leather and carpets is excellent. The interior bezels weren’t restored, so still have some pitting on them and the steering wheel looks original with a bit of paint chipping here and there, but that’s as bad as it gets.

The fuel gauge doesn’t work (show me a Healey’s that does), but there’s a carefully calibrated stick. And there's a modern windscreen washer, so there’s an extra push button – a lovely job. Even underneath the dashboard is very neat and tidy, with smart paintwork. A natty tonneau cover is included.

The boot’s back wall has been adapted with a small cut out that allows the spare wheel to push through slightly. It sits in a carpeted sock and the upshot is that this is a 100 that actually has the ability to carry some luggage, huzzah!

The engine has had a few upgrades to improve starting and driveability. These include the fitting of a High-Reduction starter motor, a Mallory twin-spark ignition coil (although not original its Red top ensures that it looks so) and the carburettors have had new throats fitted to better deal with modern fuels (and ethanol additives).

It’s not a concours engine bay. There’s a bit of discolouration here and there, and some light surface corrosion on metal caps, screws and nuts. The engine block also has a little coating of road dust. It would respond well to some detailing, but in reality is appealing as it is – and personally that’s how we’d leave it.

Have a look underneath and you’ll find it to be almost spotless. The chassis looks well protected and to be lovely and straight, while floors and sills are in very good condition, as are the suspension components. Pride of place goes to the stainless steel exhaust system.

There’s an impressive and nicely organised history file included within which you’ll find: photographs of the bare metal restoration; the original Buff logbook; a filo of restoration and maintenance invoices; and a British Motor Industry Heritage Trust Factory Record Certificate detailing colours, build numbers and original destination dealer.

Prior to this auction (i.e. last week), the vendor gave the car to Healey specialist Steve O'Connell at Chiltern Sports & Prestige for a full check over to make sure everything was shipshape. There was some brake work done and after a compression test (these chaps are thorough) they fitted a new head gasket.  It's worth noting that this included skimming the cylinder heads - so a proper job was done.  What a lovely chap to buy a car from!

This Healey has a V5 document and an original Austin Parts List booklet is included.

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

The current vendor says "If you are after the purist Healey driving experience, the BN/1 is the car of choice." He should know, as a regular customer, we know he runs an MGA almost daily, has always run multiple classics and always has them in strong condition ready for any adventure.  

It’s still in absolutely spot-on condition and presents in such a charming fashion. They did such a gorgeous job on the original restoration, and it’s only done a few thousand miles since completion. With its careful maintenance it still looks as if it’s been freshly done.

With the amount of cars that pass through The Market, we’re the first to admit that we can, on occasion, be a touch hard-hearted when it comes to assessing them. This one though has melted our hearts – its condition really is that nice. Overall, tangibly and intangibly, it’s one of the better, and most authentic, cars we have had in. Full Stop.

Of course that’s nothing if it doesn’t drive similarly well, and we’re in the position to confirm all of the vendor's opinions. The high-reduction starter sees it fire instantly first time, every time and the engine immediately settles into a lovely idle. On the road it’s utterly superb, and has an engine note that’s to die for.

With four careful owners since 1972, it’s time for this car to find a new caring guardian. We think the next owner won’t be disappointed, and will be buying one of the best ‘real-world’ examples out there. As such, we expect it to sell for between £44,000 and £54,000.

Remember inspection is encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located here at The Market’s HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment 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, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.