OK "M" Experts - Real or No?

[HealeyRick]

https://www.wholesalecalifornia.com/html14/56_austin.html

 

[simon1966]

Must be, it says so on the number plate! To my utterly untrained eye I observe just 2 things. No engine number plate and no reflector pods, which a BN2 should have,

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I don't see anything that definitely disqualifies it. The aftermarket louvered bonnets are supposedly different than the originals, though I couldn't tell you how (this one looks like ours, but I'm working from suspect memory). The photos don't show the bent shroud brace behind the cold air box, which I think would be fairly difficult to fake (presumably, the CAB wouldn't fit without it). It looks to have had some body work--'nefarious dogleg repair spur'--and the reflector plinths (love that word) could have been removed at the time. Only way to know for sure is to get the BMIHT cert and cross-check the body, distributor, carb numbers etc. with the Registry.

The only suspect thing is the asking price: $64,900 would be a steal unless the market has collapsed in the last couple months. You should be able to get twice that in the proper setting; e.g. at an auction with a bunch of rich old guys with trophy wives and too much ethanol in the gas.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I fired off an email to the dealer and he said the car just sold. Someone got a deal if it's legit.

 

[mk31755]

something is screwy here. The batch number plate and the ID plate do not match up. I do not have all the data but it seems to me the batch plate is from a BN1 and the body number plate is from a BN2. The 232819 number is from a late model BN2. The batch number 5441 and 9892 seems to be from a BN1. You would need a BMHC to tell for sure but it's anybodies guess as to the complete history of the car. The mismatched plates would scare me away. My guess is it is a car that was pieced together as a modified bn1 or bn2 and not a factory 100M.

 

[RA_Healey]

It appears to have all the bits and bobs. Deflector pods could have been covered over, not everyone liked them at the time, said to have ruined the lines.

Cross checking numbers on the bonnet, boot lid and cockpit surround pieces would go a long way.

I agree on the price, at that number they are signaling that they know it is not a real. If it is, someone should jump on that because even a condition # 4 per Hagerty is over $ 90,000. Values have doubled in the last 4 years.

 

[simon1966]

You are right the batch/body number looks to be from about July/Aug 55 whereas the Vin number is from May/June 56.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

You are right the batch/body number looks to be from about July/Aug 55 whereas the Vin number is from May/June 56.

Someone transplanted some BN2/M components into a BN1 body?

 

[Healey Nut]

Theres not a snowballs chance in **** that its a real M for that price in that condition .

 

[CLEAH]

something is screwy here. The batch number plate and the ID plate do not match up. I do not have all the data but it seems to me the batch plate is from a BN1 and the body number plate is from a BN2. The 232819 number is from a late model BN2. The batch number 5441 and 9892 seems to be from a BN1. You would need a BMHC to tell for sure but it's anybodies guess as to the complete history of the car. The mismatched plates would scare me away. My guess is it is a car that was pieced together as a modified bn1 or bn2 and not a factory 100M.

Great catch on the body number discrepancy.

 

[HealeyRick]

And this is why I'm taking you all with me when I go 100M shopping! (And if I thought there was a ghost of a chance of this being real, I wouldn't have been sharing it with you guys until after I put down a deposit )

 

[GregW]

Wouldn't the badge on the dash that says "This car has been fitted with a Le Mans Modification Kit" say it isn't an M?

 

[Editor_Reid]

Wouldn't the badge on the dash that says "This car has been fitted with a Le Mans Modification Kit" say it isn't an M?

The 100M had no such dash plaque. That plaque is from a cold air box, a part of the Le Mans Engine Modification Kit. It looks like a worn original, while the plaque now on the cold air box looks like a repop.

This one smells real funny. Notice the dealer states "100M package." That sounds like a way of saying "Le Mans Kit" when they're trying to mislead you into thinking it's one of the 640.

Note also the bonnet strap anchors - what do they call those? - "footmen loops" or something like that. They're completely different from the correct anchors.

The license plate rings a bell. It was on the car of a prominent Healey enthusiast from the 1970s. Can't recall the name right now. Donald Healey knew him and stayed with him sometime(s) when visiting SoCal.

I say not a 100M. Needs a close inspection which I would expect it to fail. Nice looking Healey, though!

 

[Michael Oritt]

The fact that the license plate is from 2011 on a vehicle supposedly currently for sale makes me wonder whether the seller is simply trying to fluff up his brochure with what seems like a great deal on a car that just sold.

This car does have one feature I wish I had on my 100: The perpetually full gas tank. Notice in the close-up photo of the dash that the fuel gauge needle is on "F" while the ignition is off (no key). How do they do that?

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Dunno about the plates; ours is from a few years ago ('1956M'). Don't recall what was on the car when Dad bought it, but for some reason they got new vanity plates (think the car might have been 'non-op' for a while). The car is definitely one of the 640, as verified by the BMIHT cert and the Registry ('Registry verified,' which requires a higher level of proof, including correct carburettors, distributor, and correct and matching VIN and body, shroud, prop rod bracket and moldings numbers). Plus, the car was previously owned for many years by a local collector whose granddaughter drove it (sounds like she was a fun person!). IIRC, the CA DMV registration says '100M' on the model description.

 

[bighealeysource]

Agree this is not a factory 100M. Cannot believe any dealer would sell the real deal for the price advertised. Believe where he states "100M package" is his off hand way of avoiding calling it a 100M and he really does not say anywhere in his brief ad that it is a factory car. Without seeing more pictures appears to be a nice BN2. Just another case of "caveat emptor" !!!

 

[magman]

I see that the carbs are not vented to the air box..........

 

[RandyHicks]

BN2L234819 is not a factory 100M. Body number should be 13350.

Randy

 

[RandyHicks]

BN2L234819 is not a factory 100M. Body number should be 13350.

Randy

Sorry, that should be BN2L232819 is not a factory 100M. Body number should be 13350.