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'56 100-4 Racer For Sale

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dougie

dougie

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Hello All -

I just saw that Michael Bartell's 1956 100-4 racer is up for sale on Ebay.
7kAAOSwluxkLEBo&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0DXnN%2B%2Bf2MSNafRFQ%2BGEIsE4VvLu3PokOZ2CbcIOjQadbdlnFwL23EJV4MovuJ8qSJOUai1sFVK%2BC8wRlr3LUCXnEpm7ZSjyyEiBLI%2B2DU4zK0wnCNjecpiPX7DC4rmugJQe3GsD%2B6gXcmmKtyDvPyLC4jUXNfHY7npqWBT4eJF3uhY5lKx5uxwdEzHIGo9yraqWvKnGg7BzxCxGUjScm4zbdtEj4DIR85P2smfptJeqzm6mKuYfxPlTf0bRk6nej%2FU50dYUjSH0O9KVWW5f48A%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4DsjuqLYg" class="no-preview" target="_blank" >https://www.ebay.com/itm/115794296579?hash=item1af5e0bf03:gconfused smiley7kAAOSwluxkLEBo&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0DXnN%2B%2Bf2MSNafRFQ%2BGEIsE4VvLu3PokOZ2CbcIOjQadbdlnFwL23EJV4MovuJ8qSJOUai1sFVK%2BC8wRlr3LUCXnEpm7ZSjyyEiBLI%2B2DU4zK0wnCNjecpiPX7DC4rmugJQe3GsD%2B6gXcmmKtyDvPyLC4jUXNfHY7npqWBT4eJF3uhY5lKx5uxwdEzHIGo9yraqWvKnGg7BzxCxGUjScm4zbdtEj4DIR85P2smfptJeqzm6mKuYfxPlTf0bRk6nej%2FU50dYUjSH0O9KVWW5f48A%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4DsjuqLYg


It would be great to have another big Healey racing with us here on the West Coast. I've heard it's well prepped and well carried for.....
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> Michael Bartell's 1956 Austin Healey 100M Racecar, Number 277 <
 
Big Healeys are both 4 and 6 cylinder cars. Little Healeys are called "Sprites".
 
So I've looked over this car (photos) and the description and I've come to the conclusion that it about as real as a race car as it is a 100M.
 
I did read the full details and also what he put on Ebay. He talks about a "Westlake" engine. What's that all about? He using an antique Lucas distributor. The vacuum advance is not even connected. His trick upgrade is a narrow fan belt conversion. If it was truly a race car wouldn't he say what cam he had, compression ratio, rod, piston or crank description? Horsepower, torque, or something about performance? He talks about "Westlake" cast onto the head and on the block as if that makes it special - or racey.

Did you see how his "uprated" sway bar is connected? The rubber (not poly) sway bar mounts are either worn out or just too big for the bar. The sway bar end link bushes are split and deteriorated and loosey goosey. Disc brake upgrades are approved for vintage racing (like a 100S) but he's using drum brakes. Real race cars have good brakes! What's with the heat shield material around his throttle cable? And there is some kind of additional heat shield mounted horizontally behind the rear exhaust port. That will certainly keep that rear carb nice and warm.

I don't see any info about his suspension other than it has Armstrong front lever shocks and adjustable rear shock links. All Healeys have Armstrong lever shocks and adjustable links on the rear shocks makes no sense. Are the springs uprated? Is the shock valving uprated? Other than the thicker sway bar, and being lowered an inch or so, it has the stock suspension. That's not a race car.

Not to be picky here but roll bar padding is only required on areas that the driver's head or body will come in contact with in the event of a crash or rollover. And I also notice that the orientation of the steering wheel is such that the right side spoke is blocking the sightline to the tach.

Just some of my observations as a Healey Whisperer.
 
Love it,....! I though you might see through all the "fluff". It might be worth 85K if it was a nice restored street car, but after looking at it more closely I see the flaws. I think it's worth something more like this, > No Reserve: 1953 Austin-Healey 100 BN1 Race Car <
 
Every 100 had Weslake cast in the head - there is no ā€˜Tā€™ in Weslake. There is nothing special about that and it does not denote anything out of the ordinary about the engine.
 
My dad took our BN2's head to a friend's engine/speed shop to be rebuilt. He said his friend's mechanic, who's from New Zealand, got real excited when he saw 'Weslake' on the head, too. Anybody know how much, if anything, Harry Weslake had to do with these heads?
 
Weslake designed the head. To be fair, not connecting the vacumn advance is common with race cars. Most just remove it altogether as it is only there as a fuel saving device.
 
Harry Weslake has long been an automotive hero of mine. Post WW II he was a consulting engineer both for Jaguar on the XK engine and for Austin. He was also involved - very successfully - in the motorcycle world for decades. After working on the A90 engine he famously designed the crossflow cylinder head for the Austin Healey 100S, upping power from 90 hp to 132 hp. The best source of information may be his autobiography ā€˜Lucky all my lifeā€™ - my copy is buried in storage so I am unable to reference it on the Austin and Healey work. I have owned several different Weslake designed engines - big block Weslake Chevy - marked Surtees in the Lola T160 Can Am car, 32 valve Small Block Chevy, Gurney Weslake and de Tomaso all aluminium Sport 5000. He was also a consulting engineer with Chrysler on the hemi engines and many many othersā€¦.

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