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100-4 rear fenders

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rezqu44

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As I continue to bring batches of parts to my house from my fathers old workshop I am coming across several questions, some answered with further digging, some not.

Today's question is in regards to the rear fenders:

What is the appropriate rear fender or which is for which(BN1/2)?

I have a set that have the body accent line stopping at the wheel arch with the fender being smooth after and a set that have the body accent line before and after the wheel arch.



Still attempting to identify more on the car itself (chassis/body #s etc) which will have to wait until the car is in my own garage, hopefully next weekend, it will be the last thing to leave his workshop.

Thank you for any info you may have, especially with limited info on my end!
 
The fenders with no swage line are earlier vehicles. I don't know without looking in my library where the switch came in terms of BN1/BN2 vin numbers but I'm sure someone will chime in. I cant recall where I read but I recall someone saying that some intermediate cars may have been delivered with one of each; at least that's the story. Gotta use up your inventory and you can't easily see both sides at once if at all. How'd you like to plunk down your hard earned $3800.00 for a new one and not notice for a couple of weeks.
 
I believe the break is at the model change--that is, BN1's have the smaller front wheel opening and no swedge in the rear fender aft of the wheel opening whereas BN2's have a slightly larger front wheel opening with the swedge line running to the rear of the car.

As with all rules for Austin-Healeys there were apparently exceptions and I recall someone saying that one of the fenders on his BN1 had the swedge line leaded in, though it is entirely possible that the fender was replaced with one from a later car, etc. etc.
 
John Wheatley was an original owner that later discovered he had one of each.

The real dilemma only started decades later when he restored the car, what to do; correct the mismatch, but which type would be wrong?

In the end, the car was restored back to its original configuration, mismatched fenders and all!

You've got to love Healeys and their owners :cheers:
 
I can understand John's decision and feel that having matching fenders is overrated--kind of like obsessing on having one's sideburns the same length when in fact you can usually only see one at a time.
 
My July '54 built 100 had one of each with the recess filled so they matched. I assumed that at some time one of the panels had been replaced. I also had a dilemna to deal with at the time of restoration, in the end the swage was deleted.
My understanding is that early BN2s did not have the swage and that it was introduced at some time during that model's production run. The 100S has a swage but it is different from the BN2 and later models.
 
Thanks for the info all, looks like I need to dig a bit and get the numbers and see where she falls... Or just decide which set is worth saving as both have their issues!!!!
 
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