100M racer going up for auction in TX

[sjuengst]

Just FYI, the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History is closing and auctioning off some of their cars. Among them is BN2L230235, a '55 100M that has been set up for racing. The auction is March 3, 2012 in Rosansky, TX. More info at Kruse Classics.

 

[bighealeysource]

Should be interesting to see what it goes for. Not a lot of info about it.

 

[dougie]

Should be interesting to see what it goes for. Not a lot of info about it.

I would be interested to know if it ever really competed on the race track. A plexiglas windscreen doesn't make a race car, with no visual roller bar I doubt it's spent much time trading paint. This might be a good thing for any future owner, a log book would be helpful to clarify it's history.

 

[dougie]

Here's a good "comp" for this Texas car. There was full documented history on this model that was a no sell at Bonhams Scottsdale auction, but it was bid up to 80K.
https://www.bonhams.com/usa/auction/19680/lot/310/#

 

[BertVanBrande]

The Texas 100 is most probably not a real "100M" . Carb float bowl position is identical to Triumph TR3A H6, on the right hand side of each throttle body. They also don't make that statement but do make some vague references to 100m or Le mans version.

Can anyone ID the valve cover in the Bonham 100 from Dougie's post. I bought one just like that on ebay years ago and there are no markings on it. It's well made though, a nice casting.

thanks,

Bert

 

[sjuengst]

Jim Richmond of the South Texas AHC went to take a look at the car, and reports that it's unlikely to be a real "M". From the pictures he took (below), I think it's unlikely to even be a real racer. I think it's more like a "tribute" to 100Ms with lots of incorrect parts.

Here's Jim's report, as published in the STAHC newsletter (reprinted with permission):

AUCTION OF A HEALEY 100
At least one hundred classic and collectable automobiles will be sold at auction on Saturday, March 3rd at the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History in Rosanky. Most of these cars, includ-ing a 1955 Austin-Healey 100, are being offered at no reserve.

The museum, owned by Richard Bur-dick is closing. Although some cars are being moved to Burdick’s new museum, Dick’s Classic Garage in San Marcos, most are being sold at this sale operated by the Dan Kruse Classics auc-tion company.

Karen and I drove out to Rosanky last Wednesday to see the cars, especially the Healey. Most of the cars are American with a dozen or so foreign makes, in-cluding the Healey. The cars cover a hundred years of automotive history starting with a 1901 Holsman “High Wheeler” Rear Entrance Touring Car and ending with a 2000 Bentley Arnage Four Door Sedan.

The Healey is listed in the auction catalog as “LOT NO. 67, 1955 Austin-Healey 100M, Two-Door Roadster”. In an effort to determine if this car is a “factory M”, I sent an enquiry with the car number (BN2L230235) to the Healey list and, specifically, to Rich Chrysler the 100 BN1 & BN2 registrar. Unfortunately, this car has not been registered and without more information and/or a British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate, there is no definitive answer.

So I went to Rosanky to see what I could see and this is what I saw. No numbers, such as the Body or Batch numbers were present. No one seemed to know much about the car.

The car, whether it was originally a plain 100 BN2 or an M, has many modifications, many of which are shown in the pictures on page 10. It is in relatively good shape but will take a lot of work and money to restore to original 100 or 100M condition. So if you are thinking of going to Rosanky on Saturday, you are on your own. (If you put a gun to my head, I would say it is not an M - just my opinion.)

 

[sjuengst]

 

[Bob_Spidell]

...
The Healey is listed in the auction catalog as “LOT NO. 67, 1955 Austin-Healey 100M, Two-Door Roadster”. In an effort to determine if this car is a “factory M”, I sent an enquiry with the car number (BN2L230235) to the Healey list and, specifically, to Rich Chrysler the 100 BN1 & BN2 registrar. Unfortunately, this car has not been registered and without more information and/or a British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate, there is no definitive answer....

I was informed by someone in the know that this is not a 'factory' 100M (I'm only mentioning this in case someone on this forum is interested in buying this car).

Caveat emptor.

 

[Healeysince59]

Not factory louvers, BN1 dash, BJ8 seats, wrong float bowl configuration. The valve cover could be original but more likely one of Ray Juncals very nice reproductions of an original. Seriously doubt it's a factory "M".

Marv J

 

[WaltCasten]

Does anyone know what happened here? The website doesn't seem to have any results posted.

 

[WaltCasten]

Looks like $28,500 sale price not including the premium.