yet another BMH trust certificate question

[WaltCasten]

Hello all,

Yesterday I received the British Motor Heritage certificate for my BN2 and it raised a couple questions.

One, the build date is shown as 29 September 1956, yet the "restoration guide" book that I have shows the last BN2 was produced in July of '56. Any ideas on the discrepancy?

Two, like most engines (I suspect anyway), the engine number tag is long gone, probably melted away in the hot tank 30+ years ago. Is there any other way to know if the car has the original engine?

Thanks,
Wally

 

[Johnny]

Well Walt I'm afraid you'll just have to trust BMIHT on this one, assuming of course all the other numbers match up it would be safe to say the engine number they provided you most likely would be correct.
I think Moss has the blank engine plates or, Clark Spares may be able to make you a new one.

 

[Editor_Reid]

Hello all,

Yesterday I received the British Motor Heritage certificate for my BN2 and it raised a couple questions.

One, the build date is shown as 29 September 1956, yet the "restoration guide" book that I have shows the last BN2 was produced in July of '56. Any ideas on the discrepancy?

Two, like most engines (I suspect anyway), the engine number tag is long gone, probably melted away in the hot tank 30+ years ago. Is there any other way to know if the car has the original engine?

Thanks,
Wally

Wally,

That's very interesting. You may own the last-completed BN2! (Assuming that the BMIHT didn't make a typo when preparing your certificate.)

There are often questions raised by the records. I know that in the case of my 100M, the records show that it was completed 29 February 1956, but according to its original owner (from whom I bought it), it wasn't shipped from the distributor to a dealer in the USA until the 100-Six was also available; the dealer received it in the same shipment as some 100-Sixes, and his accepting this example of "last year's model" was a condition for getting the "new" 100-Sixes. The distributor was trying to dump the 100M which they probably considered very undesireable now that the new 100-Six was available.

There was lapse of 7+ months between completion (at Longbridge) and sale of the car (in Pennsylvania). What took them so long? Did the Donald Healey Motor Company experience some delay in converting it to 100M specification? Did the car wait a long time for truck transport to the outbound shipping point in England, and/or languish on the docks as it awaited shipment to the USA. Did the USA distributor have to sit on it a long time waiting for an order from a dealer, an order that never arrived? I suppose that we will never know, but since the car was sold in October 1956, it could easily have been titled as a 1957 car (it isn't however; it's titled as a 1956), which would have raised even more questions.

The first thing I would advise you to do is to confirm with the BMIHT that the date is correct. If so, contact John Wheatley for some interesting discussion on it. I can provide his contact info later, after you've had a chance to confirm that the date listed on the certificate is truly what the microfilm of the Job Production Card at the BMIHT shows.

 

[Bob Claffie]

Very interesting, my 100/6 (s/n 1095) , according to the "book" is an early '58. My certificate lists it as a '59 which I consider a REAL stretch. The certificate is probably right but I would love to know the circumstances regarding the discrepancies in timing. Bob

 

[WaltCasten]

Reid,

Thanks for the input, I received an e-mail from them after submitting my info and money. I will contact that person and see if they will verify that date for me and, of course, I will keep you posted.

Thanks again,
Wally

 

[WaltCasten]

Hello,

I have received a response from the BMIHT regarding this. It was in fact an error on their part, the operator incorrectly read 4's as 9's and vice versa off the microfilm.

Therefore, my cars build date is actually 24 April 1956, not the 29 September 1956 as originally submitted. They are going to issue me a new certificate immediately.

Wally