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What is a completely original 1954 100-4 worth?

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You really have stumbled on a gem .
Do not refinish those seats . Spring for the best cleaners and restorers and clean them and feed them . That patina can never be reproduced .
 
Great car! But I don't agree about the solving of the engine serial number plate finish matter. The engine block around the plate is also devoid of paint so I think the question is still open.
 
Andrea,

The color is "Spruce Green" which is a dark green with a blue tint. It's a very beautiful color in person. Florida Green is much brighter:

IMG_3236-600x399.jpg
 
The green didn't quite seem this bright to me in person, I think my camera may have brightened it up a bit in the afternoon sunlight. It definitely is not as dark as BRG though.

Thanks for all of the comments. I can't wait to get this car and all of its documentation home to study.
 
I am impressed! What an incredible find, congratulations.
 
britlover said:
The green didn't quite seem this bright to me in person, I think my camera may have brightened it up a bit in the afternoon sunlight. It definitely is not as dark as BRG though.
Click to expand...

The Jackie Cooper 100S AHS 3504 was also Spruce Green and this picture shows how different light levels change its appearance:

JC100S038.jpg
 
Derek J .... do you know something the rest of us don't know? How do you know it is a "great buy" ? I would say a car like that is worth $60,000. Is that in the ballpark of what you paid for it? I would check in all the right places for rust. Because being in the rust belt, oxidation is still always a potential problem even if the car was not driven in the winter. Cars like that are a time capsule for others to use as guidelines for the future.
 
Britlover--

Congratulations on your purchase. No matter what things may reveal themselves as you use the car and examine it more closely you have a fine car.

While much of what has been said is good advice I take a view that may be somewhat different: This is YOUR car. You found it. you paid for it and you are entitled to do with it what you like and use it in the way you want.

The car may indeed be a bit of a time capsule but it is not "the missing link". To be sure there have been plenty of other unrestored cars that have been closely examined, and the knowledge gained has been used to draw up concours or originality guidelines. And it would be a good thing and a service to the Healey community if you made the car available to those folks who are interested in originality as there are many "rules" as to what is correct and also many exceptions to them that have been documented through examinations of cars such as yours.

However, after you share this information into the "originality database" you should feel yourself free to to whatever you want, and although I do not recommend that you make your car into a "Nasty Boy" if you plan to drive your car a lot there are a lot of commonly performed modifications that may interest you. To be sure, some of them may arguably diminish the value of your car but if your intention is to keep it for a number of years and do more with it than take it to shows, etc. you may reap an intangible benefit of having a car that is simply more fun to use.

An example would be the clutch/transmission. When I got my '54 100 (#222333) in 1998 it had only 18K miles on it and aside from a body-off paint job it was very largely original. After owning it for a year or so I became enamored with using it for long-distance driving, and as common issues popped up I often took the path to install a modern component and eliminate it rather than deal with it repeatedly.

In 2002 I decided to drive out to Conclave from the east coast and thence on to visit my kids in LA. As luck would have it 2nd gear decided to break somewhere around Lompoc CA, and I had to decide what I was going to do. A 2nd gear cluster is generally not available and when it is it is usually one that has been broken and repaired. I did not like the three-speed transmission and mechanical clutch very much anyway so I decided to limp down to Smitty's shop in Thousand Oaks and two days later I drove out with a 5-speed and hydraulic clutch. And rather than having to ship a broken car back to MD I drove it home and dealt with the small issues of fabricating a tunnel and installing new carpeting after I arrived. Was this a good decision? Some may say otherwise but it certainly was for me and 12 years and 50K miles later I have no regrets.

So while everyone is happy for you please do not let them--or me--influence what you do with the car. We will all be happy to hear what path you take.
 
Looks good. I'm jealous! I always wanted a 100 to go with my 3000. I know you will enjoy it.

Under the hood shows a few mods that I can see in the photo, but if you have all the original parts that the owner kept you can put it back to stock if you choose. It is so cool to see those original 48 spoke wheels and drum brakes. Please check those wheels for spoke tightness/integrity. They sure look good, but the 48s were notorious for failing under fast driving conditions. Those driving lamps are great. I wonder how they were wired in. Do they have their own switch on the dash? I can't see anything on the dash that jumps out at me.
 
MK31755

Not sure why you have singled me out with that question given that everybody on the thread also seems to agree it's a great buy. Obviously I would never buy a car without inspecting it, but from the photos, the history, and my experience of Healeys I would say the car is a great buy at that price.

Go to the Healeywerks website and in comparison look at the heap of junk they are offering for $24,000.

Wh
 
Derek- I think the point the MK31755 was making is that I never revealed the purchase price of the car. The numbers posted here are only guesses as to the value of the Healey in this original condition.

For what its worth, from what I've seen here and elsewhere, I feel like I stole the car, or at least won some kind of awesome British car lottery.

Still, this purchase doesn't quite equal the '65 Alfa Romeo 2600 Touring Spider that I bought out of a barn 2 years ago for $6000. That's right, $6K. I bought it from an ex-wife, who took it in a divorce (from the car's second owner who owned it since '71), and had no idea what it was worth. These cars are selling for $55-80K in restored condition. Cosmetically, it looked excellent inside and out, and needed only hydraulic work and carbs rebuilt. The interior was completely original, and almost perfect, everything worked including the Blauplunkt radio. I had it in excellent, running and driving condition within a month or two of purchase. Still, it needed more work in the underbody in the form of rust repair that I could not afford to do... so I sold it on bringatrailer.com

The key to finding cars like this is to either stumble upon them (like I did with the Alfa), or find them through word-of-mouth (which is how I found the Healey only 5 miles from my house). As soon as cars like this are advertised, they become much more expensive...
 
Yeah, I confused myself with the second post as I didn't go back and read what I said the first time. I meant it was potentially a great buy at the right price. In fact I disagree with some of the valuations. It is a very nice, very original car but I wouldn't pay $50,000-$60,000 for it. I'm sure you got it for less. Why not put us out of our misery and tell us.
 
Legal Bill said:
Looks good. I'm jealous! I always wanted a 100 to go with my 3000. I know you will enjoy it.

Under the hood shows a few mods that I can see in the photo, but if you have all the original parts that the owner kept you can put it back to stock if you choose. It is so cool to see those original 48 spoke wheels and drum brakes. Please check those wheels for spoke tightness/integrity. They sure look good, but the 48s were notorious for failing under fast driving conditions. Those driving lamps are great. I wonder how they were wired in. Do they have their own switch on the dash? I can't see anything on the dash that jumps out at me.
Click to expand...

Which items are not original underhood besides the valve cover? I was surprised to see "engine turning" detail on the generator -- not an original part I suppose? Anything else I should be aware of/ look for? The original valve cover is wrapped in 1950's newspaper in a box, as are other consumed/ replaced parts. I am new to the Big Healey world, having owned only a MK2 Sprite race car years ago, so I have a lot to learn. I will apply soon for a heritage certificate, and document everything I can.

The driving lights have a very descreet switch mounted to the underside of the dash flange, and I really like them too. The previous owner was a car designer at Studebaker when he purchased the car, and retired from Chrysler Design in 1991. He had an eye for proper details. He removed the bumper overriders when new, and wrapped them in newspaper because he didn't like how they looked...
 
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