1956 Austin Healey

Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

BN2L228137

Gasoline

I am offering my Austin Healey 100-4 BN2, 4 speed with electrical overdrive, 2 tone white on dark Blue.The car was initially red and owned by the same owner since 1978 and ran very little mileage until last year. It was painted at the end of the 90's, without much attention to detailing the engine bay and the underbody. It was intended for a 100M conversion with the addition of a correct alloy vented hood with leather strapping and a very nice and correct 2 tone silver and black paint of the dashboard. It would need the engine head, carburation and front suspension upgrade to complete the 100M conversion. The interior is black with White piping all leather, new carpet sets and the trunk was refurbish with the correct albacore type fabric and pattern for BN2. Tires are fairly new and wire wheels are very straight and runs flawlessly, yet as some rust on the hubs only. No shaking in the steering wheel, which is also a good sign for a straight and solid car. What attracted me was that it ran very well and held the road firm and straight, reflecting the original untampered undercarriage frame that is straight and solid with no rust holes. The only alteration I saw were at the driver and passenger under feet floor section which were replaced with flat sheet metal, which despite the flat sheet was well done, for this purpose I have bought the correct floor pans to eventually correctly replace, which I will include with the car.I ran a magnet around the areas where the doors, trunk and fenders that are made of metal ( since other body parts are alloy) and there was only at the front lower corners of the doors and the lower part of the rear fender dog leg portion, that the magnet would not stick properly indicating a little body prep was used in those areas.There is 2 small dings on the drivers door and driver side fender due to not having door stoppers, which I found replacement and will include. Also some small cracks on the top of the driver rear fender door jam section, that I can send picture of upon request. The rear trunk and front hood are solid without the typical flimsiness and cracks usually found on these cars. There is a couple of paint chips I can supply photos of as well.The chromes are good to fair, while the rear bumper is the rare to find original one piece, which as a small ding that can be repaired easily. It has the original steering wheel and center flasher/horn hub that works, yet the wheel would need to be refurbished to fix the cracks that are typical. the wheel is a little loose but still very serviceable. The ignition wiring, electronic ignition, Fuel tank, radiator are new, the braking system to name a few has been all replaced and gages were verified and repaired to work accurately. The engine starts at first crank! while puffing a little smoke the engine pressure will remain strong 50/55psi at 2000/2500 RPM, temperature rises to 70C/158F // 90C/194F and the idle holds steady at 900/1000RPM. The mileage shown is 57,645 miles today and I cannot confirm that this mileage is accurate or not, yet according to the records the car was bought by the previous owner on 4/22/78 with 45,000 miles! and I was told that the car had been seating for the longest while prior to that as well, so the mileage can potentially be close to the actual one!?!The overdrive and transmission as been serviced and runs very well, providing a very comfortable 60mph ride at 2500 RPM. I have a few videos I took from tonights ride I can forward upon request.It as a new canvas tonneau cover that fits perfectly and I also have the original soft top and frame as well as some side curtains that will both require to be refurbished. I would dare to say that the soft top fabric is the original one as it is faded to the point it looks like the headliner side! too many repairs and improvements as been made between 1992/1995 and 2006/2011 to list and all records of these will come with the car. A very fun and reliable driver with a lot of potential to become a 100M conversion, which I have been using with the windshield down and my goggles any chance I can get! A RARE and HONEST CAR WITH A REASONABLE RESERVE PRICE!Please feel free to contact me for any information! Please Note that I keep the right to end this Auction at anytime, since I have offered this car locally as well!This car is SOLD AS IS with NO WARRANTY of any kind / PICK UP is the responsibility of the BUYER and I will accommodate this process to the best of my abilities!On Aug-11-11 at 19:02:20 PDT, seller added the following information: Here is a video from last Sunday night at sun down after 1/2 hour drive demonstrating the gages levels, the shifting and engaging the overdrive. Sorry for the back ground noise du to the wind hitting the camera at times. hope this gives you a feel on how well this car runs even if nothing that replace the real thing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec-unlZBldI please contact me if you need any further informations! GOOD LUCK BIDDING!!!On Aug-12-11 at 10:57:11 PDT, seller added the following information: Here are some specific time table and informations I got from the documentation I just reviewed that should help further describe the car condition; It was bought in 1978 with 45,500 miles and owned by the previous owner until April 2011, it was off the road for most of 1980's in storage and was driven and some servicing done during the 1990's which period the car was switched from negative ground to positive ground. In 2004; the car was painted to the actual color, front new fender were installed and the Aluminum louvered hood added and 72 spokes chrome wire wheels, as well.January 2006; transmission, overdrive were serviced and new clutch and pressure plate was installed, all done by a Healey expert in Maryland.April 2007; new brakes, brake lines, sway bar and shock absorbers were installed. Electronic ignition was also added.October 2008; water/oil pressure gauges were sent to be rebuilt and adjusted. New Fuel tank was installed.March 2011; a complete tune up was performed, cleaning and servicing the carburetors, new spark plugs, distributor cap & rotor, ignition wires and new coil were replaced. Expert Healey mechanic tested the compression and noted that: "compression was within specs, leak down was marginal" explaining the little smoke when starting the car.( NOTE: all documentation history of work done will be supplied with the car) As I mentioned the car drives very well and cruises steady 70 to 80 MPH in 4th gear + overdrive on the Highway. hope this helps further more describe what you are bidding on! GOOD LUCK BIDDING!