1954 Austin-Healey 100

[rmjbn1]

There's a bit of an ongoing discussion at the mo, about the relative benefits of old vs new servicing, so I'll add it here:

A lot of us can remember when most steering joints eg top and bottom ball joints/track rod ends/prop shafts etc had grease nipples to top up

Oh gawd don't. Here's the 'regular attentions' for my old car. As in a car I have that's old, not as in a car I used to have.

20 grease nipples! Every 1000 miles!

Plus two bonus ones on the rod operated clutch shaft! But they're only every 12k miles so we don't worry about them.

Some vandal put sealed track rods on it at some point in the past, so I only have 16 to worry about

 

[rmjbn1]

That chassis looks very familiar - two 6 volt batteries behind the seats, lever arm front shocks, twin SU carbs (I think?) then I spotted the gear lever which doesn't look like one I recognize, so what's the car?

Nowt wrong with your eyes Jock! 1 1/2" H4 SUs. Yes, that gear lever is a bit odd. Because the casing was originally for a column change - on the Austin A90 Atlantic. But they only sold about seven of those. So they put a short lever in it under the passenger's knee in the Healey 100.

By the time of the 3000 they'd found a proper gearbox lying around at Austin so they lost that distinctive 'feature'.

It's also a bit odd in use, with an upside down gate, so 1st is right and down, 2nd left and up. And because 1st gear in the A90 was too low for the Healey they just blanked it off (although it's still rattling around in the 'box). So 3 is your lot, top being direct. Plus overdrive to knock about 500rpm off.

Thankfully plenty of torque from the long stroke 2.7 four lump, so you don't need to stir the box too much

 

[rmjbn1]

Ah, didn't think of that one. I noticed it was a four cylinder and I tend to think of six cylinders where the "big Healeys" are concerned forgot about the 100/4. Had a ride in a 3000 once - much more exciting than in an E type! An MGB/Triumph TR and others did come to mind but there was just too much different for that and that gear change was just so "weird". Of course the illustration being only of the chassis doesn't give much clue but I was betting on a 2 seater when I saw the short prop shaft.

A very good friend of my mother once visited us when I was young driving an Austin Atlantic and I remember being impressed with it as it looked very streamlined and had a power hood and built in jacks. He showed me how it went up and down on it's own in our driveway - at around 10 years old I was ever so impressed and he gave me half a crown for opening the gate for him when he left - Half a crown was a lot of money for a wee lad in those days.

3 speed boxes? My old 1936 series one Morris 8 Tourer had one. That upside down gear pattern must have taken a bit of getting used to? Unless I'm thinking of something else, the Morris was left and forward for reverse. Left and back for first then right through the gate and forward for second and then straight back for direct drive top. Unless I'm greatly mistaken I think the 1930 Morris Minor I had before it (my first car bought from the scrap yard) actually had a 4 speed box? I remember the flexible rubber/canvas disc on the gearbox output shaft - instead of a universal - broke up quite often but then I was "ragging" it around the fields (I was only about 12/13/14 years old then) The engines in those days were nothing like as powerful but had much wider spread of torque so were quite driveable, steep hills were always a bit of a challenge though and with no water pumps circulation was by convection which meant overheating if you really made it work hard for long. Imagine one of these modern small turboed jobs with a 3 speed?

I thought that as well - compared to other cars of similar vintage, the Healey feels very, er, vintage. Less refined I suppose, more exposed, a bit of scuttle shake and the feel of the steering box all add up. One of those cars where anything over 40mph feels quick. A bit of an assault on the senses - wonderful

Yes, the gear pattern can take some acclimatisation if I haven't driven it for a while. But then the gearbox doesn't like to be rushed, so you get plenty of time to think about what you're doing!

And once you're on the move, it can be mostly left in direct top and the overdrive flicked on and off with a little switch near the wheel.

I do like a small engine as well, though. Some of my early cars were 2CVs, 602cc air-cooled flat twin, which loves to rev. Which is a good thing, because it needs to if you want to make any progress

I've always had a soft spot for Morris 8s (and Austin 7s), but never been in one yet. Would love to. Small, simple and rugged, nothing you don't need, just my idea of what a car should be