From The Classifieds: 1954 Austin Healey 100/4

Withstanding the test of time is not something every car that was admired in its heyday manages to achieve.

Some cars that looked wonderfully evocative when they were new don’t look quite so elegant and well proportioned as they were once seen to be. Maybe we’ll cop a bit of flack for this, but Jaguar’s 2+2 E-Type looks positively awkward from many angles today. Maybe people just didn’t notice when it came to Australia in 1966, but the stretched coupe today looks nowhere near as graceful as the first E-Type.

On the other hand, the Austin Healey sports car, that began as the four-cylinder 100/4 in 1953 and finally bowed out as the six-cylinder 3000 Mk III in 1968, still looks as good today as it did nearly 60 years ago.

And although later six-cylinder models sexed-up the car considerably, it is the early four-cylinder BN1 versions that are considered to have best represented all that was admired in British two-seat sports cars of the era.

With its long-stroke 67kW 2.7-litre engine, lifted directly from the Austin A90 sedan, a four-speed gearbox with first gear blocked out to operate as a three-speeder (with overdrive on second and third) and a mix of independent front suspension and a live-axle, leaf-spring arrangement at the rear, the 100/4 Healey was an altogether punchier sports car than its contemporaries, the 1.6-litre MGA and the 2.1-litre Triumph TR4.

Designated 100/4 in recognition of its ability to top the magical 100mph (160km/h) mark, the car was put together at Austin’s Longbridge plant in the UK using a trimmed and painted chassis supplied by another British sports car specialist, Jensen.

The BN1 was replaced by the four-speed (still with overdrive, on third and fourth gears) BN2 model in 1955 which was supplanted a year later by the 76kW 2.6-litre six-cylinder 100/6. Ironically the 100/6, with a longer 2+2 wheelbase and more weight, was actually slower than its four-cylinder predecessor.

The four-cylinder Healey’s better weight distribution and strong, long-stroke four-pot torque made for a more balanced and agile sports car. The later six-cylinder models, which eventually stretched out to 3.0 litres and were dubbed Austin Healey 3000, were still glorious two-seat sports cars but were better at grand touring than carving through a set of tight, give-and-take curves.

Not surprisingly, Austin Healey 100/4s are less common today than later six-cylinder iterations, and don’t necessarily command higher prices.

But a three-speed BN1 Healey is a treasure to be savoured, not just because of its rarity and the fact it is generally swamped in the used car market by the more glamorous six-cylinder models, but simply because it is the original -- and is true to the principles of sportscar design laid down by its creator, Donald Healey.

This black and silver 1954 BN1 Healey from Melbourne’s bayside suburb of Mount Martha is one of the few 100/4s to crop up for sale and was the subject of a full, ground-up restoration 4,200km ago.

The four-cylinder engine was fully reconditioned at the same time and has been converted to run on unleaded fuel.

Inside, there’s new grey leather and carpets, while the convertible roof, tonneau and side curtains are also new. The pictures speak for themselves

At $52,000 -- with RWC -- the BN1 Austin Healey 100/4 is priced lower than many 100/6 or 3000 versions, yet brings all the honest rawness that only the original can promise.

Early 1960s sports car motoring at its British best.