Restoration Story - BN1/225574

[catfood]

After nearly twenty years of ownership I finally decided to give the old girl the makeover she deserved as I was finding I was spending more time trying to keep her roadworthy than I was actually driving her. So at the beginning of the summer I bit the bullet and decided to strip her down and find out what nightmares were hidden underneath. The wife and I have also been spending a lot of time discussing colour schemes. The car was originally red when sold though the Donald Healey Motors showroom in Warwick but we both like Healey Blue over white. However in the end we decided to stay with red simply because a red interior looked a bit more 'blingy'.

So she went from this

to finally this afternoon I pulled the last bits off.

She now looks like this...

On the way I found this novel three part sill construction...

and most of the front valance mounting points not physically connected...

So next step is to get it booked into a bodyshop so that I have a nice clean, rust free, hole free (unfortunately not cost free) inner bodyshell to work on as the weather warms up in the spring.

For those of you interested I have some 'before' photos here https://www.flickr.com/photos/100932128@N02/sets/72157635286483268/

An some of the photos taken during the dismantling process here https://www.flickr.com/photos/100932128@N02/sets/72157635286493234/

 

[bighealeysource]

Hey Steve,
Looks like the infamous "tin worm" has done in your inner and outer sills and parts of the lower wings. At least you can get good replacement sheet metal bits from AH Spares as believe they make good stuff. Good luck on your restoration and agree with you keeping it the original color - I'm kinda partial to red cars too. Keep posting pictures of your progress.
Regards
Mike

 

[BigGreen]

... Keep posting pictures of your progress. ...

Totaly agree. Succes !!

 

[CLEAH]

Steve, you call that rust? Seriously, you have a great starting point. Even the flanges on your shrouds look perfect. Keep us posted on this great project!

 

[HealeyRick]

Very nice. Was your car delivered from "The Cinema"

 

[catfood]

It said it was delivered to Donald Healey Motors on the Heritage Certificate so I assume that means 'The Cinema' unless anyone can knows any different. The car has a Warwickshire registration number. All UK numberplates give an indication as to where the car was first registered. The 'AC' in 'SAC 410' indicates it was first registered in Warwickshire.

 

[pan]

I believe the 'Cinema' became the DHMC showroom in the sixties so a 100 would pre-date that. I have been investigating the origin of my own 100. The Heritage Certificate states that my car was sold though the Longbridge Overseas Delivery Service but I have discovered that such private exports might have been handled by the DHMC. I'm curious because the car was eight months old when finally registered in Victoria (Australia) and many BN1s in Victoria have an earlier registration number but later chassis number. This led me to believe the car may have been registerd & used in England prior to export. Any thoughts?
Alwyn.

 

[catfood]

Reading through some of the literature it would seem that even though the Healeys didn't have a showroom they did have an exclusive concession to sell Austin Healeys to the US forces in the UK. So its possible my cars first owner was a US airman. Unfortunately I know nothing of the cars history pre 1971. This is of course pure speculation!

 

[catfood]

Had Chris from JME around yesterday to look at the chassis and give me a quote for the bodywork. His quote was in the region of what I expected so its time to take a deep breath and sign on the dotted line. They will do the chassis and tidy up the outer panels and do an initial fit to check all is OK. Then they'll return it to me with the inner all done for me to bolt everything back on (just like that)! Then whenever I'm ready it goes back for the final fit and paint. This way at least the cost is split into two chunks separated by a year or two (or three or four).

I just need to drop in and see them to decide the final shade of red. It should be Carmine Red but I want to see it in the flesh (hopefully on another car) before I commit. I doubt the current colour on my car is very close to the original. Good thing is they are close enough for me to drop in and see progress. He reckoned on about a six week turn around.

I've never worked on a clean car before! Better buy a car cover to keep that pesky dust off.

I'm like a kid at Christmas.... Wait! It is Christmas. Yippee

I'll get it in first - Merry Christmas one and all.

 

[John Turney]

And a Merry Christmas back at ya!

 

[HealeyRick]

Reading through some of the literature it would seem that even though the Healeys didn't have a showroom they did have an exclusive concession to sell Austin Healeys to the US forces in the UK. So its possible my cars first owner was a US airman. Unfortunately I know nothing of the cars history pre 1971. This is of course pure speculation!

This was Bic Healey's job, to visit the U.S. bases in England and Europe and take orders for the cars.

 

[catfood]

Things are moving along a little. Just got back from JME where they have had my inner bodyshell sand blasted to see just how bad she really was. Apart from some of the crude repairs (Three layers of patches in some places, lots of pop rivets and braised joints) only one extra job popped up. The central cross member had rotted from the bottom so needs adding to the list. Outer panels are being soda blasted and are due back in a few days. Luckily everything was straight. I know from some of the paperwork I have the car was involved in some sort of accident in the 70s/80s but it hasn't bent anything. Car aligns on their jig OK.

 

[catfood]

Got the tub back from JME today. Now just got to work out how it all goes back together.

Hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. Feeling a bit daunted. Don't really know where to start!

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[pan]

Hi Steve, try to imagine you are involved in the assembly in the factory. First install the brake piping and wiring. Then focus on the running gear, suspension & brakes. In the factory the power train was installed almost last but most people now do this before fitting the outer panels. Finally fit the trim. Sounds easy, eh?

 

[bighealeysource]

Hey Steve,
Body tub looks beautiful ! I use carpet tiles in my garage also- kinda handy when the old gal leaks a bit and finally ruins one of the tiles - just pull it up and replace. Good luck and try not to get overwhelmed as I did on an MG TC years ago that took me 20 years to complete !!!!
Regards
Mike

 

[bdcvg]

Hi Steve, try to imagine you are involved in the assembly in the factory. First install the brake piping and wiring. Then focus on the running gear, suspension & brakes. In the factory the power train was installed almost last but most people now do this before fitting the outer panels. Finally fit the trim. Sounds easy, eh?

This is the order that Four in Tune is executing on My car. Access is easier with the outer panels off the car and apparently the panel fitting is better with the weight of the engine/drivetrain in the car.

 

[HealeyRick]

One excellent source for restoration guidance is the 37 part series done by Roger Moment with Gary Anderson. It's available for Austin-Healey Club USA members online at the club website www.healey.org. Well worth the club membership fee if you need a guide.

 

[catfood]

Despite the best intentions my plans to update this thread on regular occasions came to naught.

So below is some of the very slow progress I have been making over the last couple of years (funny how there's always somthing more important to do....)

First is a general view (and slightly out of focus and taken as a panarama on my phone hence the distorted perspective)

Second is the cockpit looking forward. Still with original (broken) steering wheel and steering column. Plan is to get the steering column reconditioned and made collapsible. JME are working on a design that allows it to be collapsible while still using the original trafficator.

Next up is the front disc conversion. This caused me all sorts of issues due to the my car having been repaired at some point in its history with a mix of early and late BN1 parts.

Next is the rear axle. Another area where something is not quite original. I wanted to replace the hub nuts but one side seemed to have an odd thread because neither early or late nuts fitted. Ended up having to put the original, rather battered nut back on.

Below is another general view

Last is my music mod. I can't drive without music! The whole thing will be driven by my ipod which plugs into the panel you can just see top left. This also has a pair of USB sockets to power the ipod and a cigarette socket for my SatNav if I need it. The amp is visible hanging from the top of the footwell. The speaker brackets and control panel hosing use existing holes. I only had to drill four small holes for the amp and the whole setup will be out of sight. Still need to tidy the wiring a little though.

All thats left on the list is

Bleed the breaks
Finish rebuilding the carbs (one done one to go)
Rebuild the cooling system.
Fit the exahuust.
Wire up and fit the dashboard

Then hopefully I can fire her up.

Then its just a case of saving the money required to get the rest of the external bodywork done.

Edit [Not sure where the thumbnail below came from. I can't get rid of it!]

 

[simon1966]

Steve, it looks like you have made a lot of progress in the intervening time period. My car, built a few months before yours sat forever. Eventually I realized that I did not have the skill set to undertake what you are doing.

 

[BBH]

Steve, looking very nice. One thought - doesn't the JME collapsible column need some welding to the bulkhead. I was looking at this option but as every-thing has just been painted I am trying to find another option.