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Jay Lenos Garage on Austin Healeys

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Randy Harris

Randy Harris

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Well, I'm sorry if this is old news. I don't get here as often as I used to. I just checked into Jay's awesome website and found a marvelous video piece on Austin Healeys. He takes a very pretty So. Cal. '56 100-4 for a test drive. I think he was smitten! Check it out. Great fun as is everything he does...
jaylenosgarage.com
Randy
 
Nice video put together by Jay's folks. Very nice BN2 but the owner has got his tach and speedo positions reversed - tach should be on right and speedo on left. Regardless real nice Healey blue BN2 and neat to see it featured on Jay's latest video segment. Looks like he has a white 56- assume a BN2- under restoration so should be real interesting to see the finished project.
Regards,
Mike
 
:yesnod: :yesnod: Pretty cool video. Is "Jay Leno'w Garage" a regular TV show, or was this a one time thing?
 
It's a website that's available all the time. You can join in by signing up and leave comments, things like that.
 
At Monterey 2011, Jay said that he gave the restoration project white car to an employee.
 
I like the mirror in the window side screen hole..Good idea.. Any one know which brand it is ?

Pete
 
A friend of mine has a BT7 with that same style side mirror which he got at a Harley Davidson dealership. They have many to choose from and they are good quality. Have a good day!

John
 
Hopefully Rich will shed some light on this whole deal. I seem to remember hearing from a friend who has been around these since the late 1950's that some early BN2s had BN1 fenders on them. They did this until the supply of BN1 fenders were used up at the factory. He seemed to indicate that there were even some cars that came with one BN1 and one BN2 fender on them. I don't know (actually I can't remember) if he meant they came into the dealer for service like that or they actually came from England like that or both.

I think at this point all bets are off on this subject. I have looked at no less than 5 BN2s at dealers, auctions and evilbay within the last few months. At least 3 have had ALL FOUR BN1 fenders on them. Two of them had later CE numbers than mine, in other words very late 4 cylinder cars that no way came like that.
 
I recall the one my dad had (and that I inherited - bought new in 1956) had the overdrive and ignition key locations swapped... and I think it came that way! Had the same color on the outside by a fairly bright blue interior (stock).

I recall that when we lowered the windscreen to the racing position that the rubber gasket would chatter like crazy (because it wasn't molded that way very often).
 
AH100M said:
BN2s had their ingition key switch/overdrive switch positions swapped from BN1s.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Thanks. Maybe my father's was on the cusp (since I thought it was a BN2 - 1956 100-4). Had the 4speed with overdrive for 3rd and 4th.
 
The first few months of BN2 production used up the earleir "BN1 style" fenders and most of them went to the larger front wheel arch cutout and the rear lower swage line continuing after the wheel arch pretty much by late October and into November of '55.
George isn't yet registered in the Hundred Registry I maintain so I wouldn't want to be the one to suggest the fenders on this car may not be original because I cannot be sure of the chassis and body numbers of George's car. The chassis numbers I do have for the car (unknown source so not official)suggest it was built in May of '56 in which case the front wheel arches should be the larger cutout and the rear fender swage line should continue.
Also Marks memory of his dad's '56 was accurate in that by spring of '56 the interior leather and vinyl would be the Teal blue colour on a Healey Blue car.
As somebody else mentioned perhaps on another list, there are many things not accurate on this car including the black interior in a Healey Blue car, swapping of o/d and ignition switch, BN1 o/d escutcheon, etc.
Though it's a gorgeous car, it's a bit of a shame that the one opportunity for much of the motoring enthusiasts out there to learn about a BN2 is a bit less than the best or most accurate example.
I'll just slip my flame suit on now!
 
Sure wish I could re-locate the car (or just know who has it). I sold it in about 1974 (for nearly nothing) in Seattle. All original then but starting to show signs of wear (at 98K miles). He used it as a daily driver for about 12 years! Here it is in about 1956 or 57 (in Portland)... with me sitting on the door with my dad standing (and a friend in red).
[my original post had 1960 but I realized that the car was nearly new and I look like I'm about 4 or 5 - my dad loved taking it on these longer runs]
 
Boink said:
Sure wish I could re-locate the car (or just know who has it). I sold it in about 1974 (for nearly nothing) in Seattle. All original then but starting to show signs of wear (at 98K miles). Here it is in about 1960 (in Portland)... with me sitting on the door with my dad standing (and a friend in red).
Click to expand...
The car I have used to be my dad's car. He sold the car after losing storage on it in <span style="font-style: italic">maybe</span> 1988. Long story but I always wanted to have one of my own so in the mid '90s I started calling on BN2s listed in Hemmings. One day I called on one in Iowa and the car he described was nicer than what I was looking for and I told him so. Then he says "Well, I've got this other one...". As he described it I knew it was my Dad's car, now about 6 hours away so I bought it.

Obviously you are talking 38 years vs 8 and with attrition there were a lot fewer around when I was looking...meaning I think a lot of cars "dropped out of existance" in that '74-'88 timeframe because they weren't worth saving then. Do you have any way to find out the CE number? If it was all original w/o any distinguishing marks you'll need to know.

Cool picture BTW.
 
Hey Mark,
You have any info with the car number(vin as used by DMV's) on it you could ask Rich Chrysler, the 100-4 registry guru, to see if he has it listed. He's at:

richchrysler@quickclin.net

Rich also posts on here pretty often so he might see this too.

Good luck, be neat if you could find your Healey.
Regards,
Mike
 
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