1956 Austin Healey 100-4 BN2 with 35,898 ORIGINAL miles

Description for Austin Healey Other 1956

This is the car you have been waiting for your entire life. It is a 1956 Austin Healey 100-4 BN2. the last year of this model. It has a retractable windshield so you can wear your goggles as you zoom down the highway. My good friend who is a automotive journalist described driving this car by stating. "this is the car god would drive. "Hagerty values the Austin Healey 100-4 BN2 at $109. 00 and NADA values the high value at $119. 00. This is also being sold locally so I reserve the right to end the auction early. This 1956 Austin Healey 100-4 BN2 (BN2L231749) is a matching number car with electric overdrive that has been beautifully restored in its original black over red color combination. The car was originally delivered to Japan according to the BMIHT certificate. but came to California after only 1000 miles. and at present the car has 35k original miles according to the seller. It was restored shortly after the seller purchased it in 1998. and it has seen 5000 miles since. The previous owner investigated the heritage to incredible success and documented the following: “I purchased the car from Peter’s Marina Motors in July of 1998. Peter bought the car in 1990 off a car transporter truck bound for the Long Beach harbor and eventually Europe with a load of other classics. and Dr. Dale Olsen (Pebble Beach. CA) had sold the car to the guys with the transporter truck the day before. Dr. Olsen bought the car in 1957 from a gas station parking lot in Madeira. California. at which time it had about 1. 00 miles on it. The BMIHT Certificate confirms that it was originally delivered in Japan. so my best guess is a GI returning from Japan brought it home. got married very shortly thereafter and that was the end of his British roadster fling. I spoke with Dr. Olsen in December of 1998 and he confirmed that the motor had seized with very low mileage only a few years after he bought it (it was abused by the doctor’s nanny and overheated). and that the car was never in an accident. He also confirmed that the car was black when he bought it. that he had had it painted white one day on a whim. and had instantly regretted that decision. He got more than a little misty eyed when he saw the car in its restored glory in his driveway. ” “Everything that Dr. Olsen told me is consistent with the condition of the car when I bought it. The body panels were all very straight (except for the aluminum rear shroud. which had some minor dents). the frame was perfectly straight and all of the original small parts were present and correct. The car had spent several years sitting outside so there was a lot of surface rust. the floor panels were perforated by rust. and the interior was rotted. but this was as close to a perfect candidate for a concours restoration as you were ever likely to find in 1998. Now I doubt that you would be able to find one in such condition at all. ” “In close consultation with Roger Moment (the world’s foremost expert in Healeys. IMHO). my dad and I undertook a complete. frame-off. nuts and bolts restoration as a father and son project. My dad had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease so it was my last chance to spend time doing guy stuff with him and we made that time count. As you can see in the photos. we kept detailed notes. an annotated photo log of the disassembly process and shots of all the fastener groups after they had been chemically stripped of rust and cleaned up on the wire wheel. but before they went off to be re-plated in cadmium. en masse. Eric Grunden and Hans Nohr of Absolutely British (then in Ontario. CA. now just Eric in Santa Maria. CA) rebuilt and restored all of the mechanical systems save for the rear differential. which was and is working perfectly. Steve Tanner (also in Ontario. CA) did all of the body work and paint. which is drop-dead gorgeous. ” “When the restoration was completed. 12 years but only 5. 00 miles ago. the car was very nearly a 100-point concours Healey (see photo of contemporaneous appraisal). The only deviations from absolute correctness were intentional and motived either by safety (60 spoke Dayton polished stainless wheels. modern radial tires). performance (lightened fly wheel. Jet Hot silver ceramic coating on the exhaust manifold. bigger radiator core). or aesthetics (black. rather than silver. brake drums to make the wire wheels pop. leather. rather than vinyl upholstery). and all could be corrected without a great deal of time or expense. if winning car shows is what you want. In the 5. 00 miles since the restoration the car was never driven in the rain and was always both covered and garaged. There are minor cosmetic signs of this usage but nothing that anyone other than an expert would notice from more than a few feet away. The car consistently makes everyone around it smile. and has started about a 1. 00 conversations with strangers. all of which I enjoyed. It will give you great pleasure from the moment you push the starter button. as it has done for me. ” The 35. 00 total miles were verified by discussions with the prior owners and by the condition of the engine bearings according to the seller. The meticulous. thorough and correct restoration. inclusive of all the original fasteners. has resulted in one of the best early Healey roadsters anywhere. The engine was balanced. blueprinted. ported and polished by Eric Grunden at Absolutely British. It starts instantly and is an absolute blast to drive according to the seller. both in town (thanks to all the torque) and on the freeway (thanks to the electric overdrive). On Nov-25-14 at 03:39:26 PST. seller added the following information:Just added photos of the undercarriage as many people have requested them.