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2 Questions About Dad's BN4

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AN5Sprite

AN5Sprite

Jedi Knight
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Here are a couple of pics of my fathers 100/6. He bought the car new in Rhode Island on 2/22/58, the car # is: BN4L-0-37079 (that's the way it's listed on the warranty paper that I have) He kept it for a year then traded it back in at the dealership for a new Bugeye and $250. (weird, I know, but I've got the paper to prove it)

1. My father says the car was light green w/black interior. What was the name of the shade? (or possible shades if more than one)

2. Is this car listed on any of the registries?

I've got more pics I can scan if anyone is interested in seeing them...

dads1006.jpg
dads10062.jpg
 
Hi Steve,
If you go HERE and click on the Healey Catalog, you'll find the different color options for the cars. Florida Green is the lighter of the two green options. Oddly, they don't list an option for a black interior though. ??
 
Greg is correct. The lightest of the two greens was Florida Green, the other was Pacific Green. In both cases the standard interior was 'Grey'. However its not really grey and is more like a neutral, parchment colour. Black was not a standard interior colour for green cars although a customer could order anything he wanted so black is possible. Perhaps it was ordered that way by the dealer. If you obtain a heritage certificate from the UK it will confirm the original factory colours.
 
Steve - That is interesting? Are you certain the car was bought new on 2/22/58? Could it have been 2/22/57? You can see that it is a Longbridge BN4, with the locking driver's door. With the number BN4L-O-37079, it was definitely built before April 1957. I can't believe that the car was sitting at a dealer for more than a year? thanks for checking. Jim:driving:
 
Jim- I wondered the same thing when I saw the Longbridge screen washer button in the first pics. Feb 57 = 357XX and April 57 = 405XX so 37079 must have been in transit/dealership for nearly a year. Andy.
 
Jim, Don't forget that 'Longbridge' cars included cars built at Abingdon until March 1958. They still had the original Longbridge features except they had the six port head. I owned one of these cars, number 56053 built in January 1958.
 
Here are a few points of interest from the records I have:

7-17-57 lube/oil change @ 70 miles. (dealer put this info in the driver's handbook)
2-12-58 Dad put $500 down on the $2,895 total
2-22-58 takes delivery of the car by financing the remaining 2,395.00 @ $80/month 30 months. It looks to me like it was dealer financed at 0% interest. Maybe they really wanted to get rid of this car since it hung around so long...?

2-17-59 He's looking for more power and he gets the following quote from another dealer, Crandall-Hicks in Wellesley, Mass:
"MM-Kit":
brakes $363.00
race cam $82.90
cyl head $249.69
dual exhaust $39.94
special gaskets $12.95

Total $748.48

He didn't go through with any of it.

I'll try to scan some more of the pics later tonight.
 
Last edited:
Steve - Do you still have the driver's handbook? If yes, what is the publication #? for the information of changing oil on 7/17/57. It must have been the color that this did not sell? Derek - I must agree those Abingdon built Longbridge featured cars do present a challenge. Let's hope there is a photo with the hood up to show off the 2porthead!!! jim:driving:
 
AN5Sprite said:
Here are a few points of interest from the records I have:

7-17-57 lube/oil change @ 70 miles. (dealer put this info in the driver's handbook)
2-12-58 Dad put $500 down on the $2,895 total
2-22-58 takes delivery of the car by financing the remaining 2,395.00 @ $80/month 30 months. It looks to me like it was dealer financed at 0% interest. Maybe they really wanted to get rid of this car since it hung around so long...?

2-17-59 He's looking for more power and he gets the following quote from another dealer, Crandall-Hicks in Wellesley, Mass:
"MM-Kit":
brakes $363.00
race cam $82.90
cyl head $249.69
duel exhaust $39.94
special gaskets $12.95

Total $748.48

He didn't go through with any of it.

I'll try to scan some more of the pics later tonight.
Click to expand...

There was a so called "Mille Miglia" kit that's described here: https://www.healeysix.net/100sixmm.htm Crandall-Hicks was probably the premier BMC dealer in the greater Boston area at the time and was likely the go-to place for modifications. I'd be interested in knowing the original Rhode Island dealer, I'm guessing J.S. Inskip?
 
Steve, caws52803@aol.com has been Rudy's address for years and years, and it is still the one that is published in the Healey Marque. I'll check it out for you.
 
HealeyRick said:
There was a so called "Mille Miglia" kit that's described here: https://www.healeysix.net/100sixmm.htm Crandall-Hicks was probably the premier BMC dealer in the greater Boston area at the time and was likely the go-to place for modifications. I'd be interested in knowing the original Rhode Island dealer, I'm guessing J.S. Inskip?
Click to expand...
It was Inskip. I purchased parts from them when I was stationed at Quonset Point(Navy).
 
The dealer was, in fact, J.S. Inskip in Providence. He traded the car in at Picard Motor Sales, Inc. in Woonsocket, RI in May of '59

The owners handbook is dated January 1957, pub # is: 996/F sixth edition.
 
Steve - since you have the owner's handbook with the Jan 57 date, the car was truly a Longbridge 2porthead sitting on the dealer's lot waiting for the right buyer. Jim:driving:
 
healey106 said:
Steve - since you have the owner's handbook with the Jan 57 date, the car was truly a Longbridge 2porthead sitting on the dealer's lot waiting for the right buyer. Jim:driving:
Click to expand...

Evidently the right buyer was a 19 year old kid with money burning holes in his pockets...
 
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