100-6 LHD/RHD mystery

[TangoXrayAlpha]

Hello all,

I was lucky enough to recently inherit a 100-6, and over the past year or so have been trying to get to grips with a car that I’ve known (of) for most of my life, and always dreamt of being able to drive/use.

Although my mechanical knowledge/skills/equipment are fairly limited, so far I’ve used this forum as a great way of boosting the first two of these - in the hope that it might compensate for the lack of the third - and have had some joy with carrying out some relatively basic repairs/maintenance.

As far as I know the car itself was bought by my grandfather in around 1980, and was restored by him through the '90s. However, as I’ve started to scratch the surface of Healey ownership, it's thrown up a number of questions about the car itself! Most strangely, the chassis number of the car appears to suggest that the car was originally LHD (BN4L…). This matches the engine, and the stamped number above the chassis plate on the firewall matches the numbers on the car elsewhere (I could find it on the bonnet latch etc).

What intrigues me is that I’m pretty certain the car was RHD by the time my grandfather purchased the car in a pretty shocking state (apparently it wasn’t much more than a rusty rolling chassis with boxes of parts on top). Although I was too young to remember the car when it was being restored, I do recollect seeing a picture of it in a pre-restoration state, and I’m pretty sure it was RHD at this stage (having quizzed my dad, who was around then, he’s almost certain this was the case).

This would suggest that a conversion from L --> RHD was carried out in the ‘60s or early ‘70s, given that it was already in such bad shape by about 1980. Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of conversions like this taking place? Or could it be that the chassis number is not correct for the car (even though it matches the engine)? It strikes me as strange to have spent the money to change the orientation on a car that would have already been somewhat out of date by this stage, and equally so to do so on a car in bad condition.

Additionally, the number plate (TXA 509) seems to be correct for a car of this period, and would seem at odds with a car being exported from the UK (obviously it could have been re-registered when it was brought back to the UK).

I plan to get a Heritage Certificate to see if that reveals any telling information (e.g. dealer location), but I would really appreciate it if anyone can shed light on what seems to me to be something of a mystery to me.

Like I said, I’m new to this Healey business, so be gentle with me if I’ve asked something stupid!

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[dcarlg]

Could the "L" mean it is a Longbridge car?

 

[healey106]

Actually the "L" means left hand drive and not Longbridge

 

[CLEAH]

Perhaps an American serviceman purchased it with the intent to take back to the States and sold it instead. If he was driving it around in England wouldn't it need a standard registration? A Heritage Certificate might be revealing, and might show Donald Healey as the supplying dealer if it was purchased by a serviceman (am I recalling that fact correctly?)

 

[John Turney]

Perhaps an American serviceman purchased it with the intent to take back to the States and sold it instead. If he was driving it around in England wouldn't it need a standard registration? ...

That would be my guess.

 

[Rob Glasgow]

No matter what the history of the car, the fact that you now have a car that your grandfather owned and worked on is priceless and you should be proud to have the chance to continue the ownership. Good luck to you and enjoy the family connection.

 

[vette]

I have read that at some time, an I don't really remember details, that some of the early sports cars were bought and brought back to the UK from the States. So the car may have been converted to RHD in a scenario like that. It would be very interesting to see what the British Motor Heritage Cert has to say.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

I plan to get a Heritage Certificate to see if that reveals any telling information (e.g. dealer location), but I would really appreciate it if anyone can shed light on what seems to me to be something of a mystery to me.

The "L" in BN4L was BMC's code for a left-hand drive car. If the car was intended for the USA, the certificate will perhaps identify the USA Port of Entry (which can be different from the original selling location), but it is unlikely to give the actual dealer location. Cars for the UK sometimes had the actual dealer and location on the certificate, but for USA cars the factory would have no way of knowing which USA dealer would sell the car. The cars were imported by BMC distributors and allocated to dealers depending on where the demand was. A car that was RHD and went to the USA might have been "Personal Export Delivery" and ordered with RHD.