2025-03-04 12:00:00 | pauls writes:

Car on BaT

bringatrailer.com/listing/1955-austin-healey-100s-5/

Auction description:

Seller: FantasyJunction

Location: Emeryville, California 94608

Chassis: AHS3802

19k Miles Shown, TMU

Overbored 2.7-Liter Inline-Four

Weslake-Designed Alloy Cylinder Head

Four-Speed Manual Transmission

Electric Overdrive Unit

Aluminum Bodywork

White & Blue Paint

Blue Upholstery w/White Piping

White-Finished 15" Wire Wheels

Four-Wheel Dunlop Disc Brakes

Perspex Windscreen

Vented-Back Bucket Seats

Historical Racing Photos

Ownership Chronology

Private Party or Dealer: Dealer

Lot #183138

This 1955 Austin-Healey 100S is one of 50 examples of the production alloy-bodied sports racer built in 1955 and was delivered new to the US through Royston Distributors in Philadelphia. Chassis AHS-3802 was campaigned in 1955 and 1956 by its first owners John and Evelyn Mull, the latter of which published a 1958 account of women in racing entitled Women in Sports Car Competition. The car was sold to its next owner in 1957 before being acquired by a Navy Commander, who brought it with him to New Zealand upon his reassignment in 1958. It remained in the country and was raced until the late 1970s before being relocated in 1981 to Australia, where it is said to have spent time on display in a museum before being entered in various vintage events through the late 1990s. The roadster was returned to the US in 2000 upon the current owner’s acquisition and underwent a multi-year refurbishment by Fourintune Garages of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, in the early 2000s that involved a repaint replicating its factory white and blue paint scheme as well as a later rebuild of the 2.7-liter inline-four, which features an aluminum-alloy cylinder head. The car is further equipped with a four-speed manual transmission, Dunlop four-wheel disc brakes, and 15″ painted wire wheels as well as a Perspex windscreen ahead of vented-back bucket seats trimmed in dark blue upholstery. It received FIVA certification in 2002 prior to being driven in the 2002, 2005, and 2006 runnings of the Mille Miglia Storica in Italy and has since competed in various vintage events in the US including the Colorado Grand, Texas 1000, Copperstate 1000, and California Mille road rallies. This 100S is now offered on dealer consignment with owner’s manual, an ownership chronology, service records, spare parts, and a clean California title.

The 100S was offered in 1955 as a race-ready production model inspired by five Special Test Cars built for Donald Healey’s competition program between 1953 and 1954. A 1954 class win and third overall at Sebring by one of the prototypes inspired the “S” designation in marketing for the production cars, which, like the prototypes, were built at Healey’s Warwick factory. Weight-saving construction featured aluminum-alloy body panels, a Perspex windscreen, a smaller grille opening, and the absence of bumpers or a convertible top.

This example was originally finished in white and blue and was repainted several times over its racing career. It underwent bodywork prior to being returned to its factory white and blue color scheme as part of the aforementioned early 2000s refurbishment. The grille and headlights were also replaced as part of the project. The louvered hood is secured utilizing a leather strap, and further details include a Monza-style fuel filler as well as various racing and road-rally decals. The seller notes various imperfections in the paint.

The white-finished 15″ wire wheels are retained using two-eared knock-offs and mounted with 165-series Pirelli Cinturato tires. The Dunlop four-wheel disc brakes specified for the 100S were a first for a production car. The suspension incorporates a coil-sprung independent front setup with an anti-roll bar, a leaf-sprung solid rear axle with a Panhard rod, and Armstrong lever-arm hydraulic shock absorbers at each corner.

The cockpit features bucket seats with ventilated backs wrapped in dark blue upholstery with white piping. Matching trim covers the dash panel, center tunnel, rear bulkhead, and doors, while the footwells other interior surfaces are painted in royal blue. A lap belt is fitted for the driver, and a spare wheel and tire are secured behind the passenger’s seat using a leather strap. Various racing plaques are affixed to the dash, and further details include a dash-mounted rearview mirror, a chrome grab handle, and door pockets.

The wood-rimmed steering wheel features a Sebring-branded horn button as well as drilled spokes and is paired with an offset shifter. Smiths instrumentation consists of a 140-mph speedometer, a 6k-rpm tachometer, and gauges monitoring oil temperature, oil pressure, coolant temperature, and fuel level. The five-digit odometer shows 19k miles, though the selling dealer states that true mileage is unknown.

The 2.7-liter OHV inline-four in the 100S featured a Harry Weslake-designed aluminum cylinder head as well as a nitride-hardened crankshaft, a high-lift camshaft, and twin SU carburetors breathing through a cold-air intake box. The unit in this example was overbored and fitted with a steel crankshaft, replacement rods, and 88mm dished pistons as part of a rebuilt completed by Denis Welch Motorsport of Yoxall, England, in 2009. Service in 2019 involved replacing the starter motor, spark plugs, and fuel pumps.

Power is sent to the rear wheels via a replacement four-speed manual transmission that was installed in 2002. It is linked with an electrically actuated overdrive unit, the solenoid for which was changed at the time of the transmission installation. The car is further equipped with a stainless-steel exhaust system with twin side-exit outlets positioned ahead of the right-rear wheel.

A collection of accessories and spare parts is included in the sale.

Many additional photos from its racing career in the US, New Zealand, and Australia are included with the sale. A summary of the car’s history compiled by the selling dealer is also included in the sale along with race results between 1955 and 1997, photos and invoices from the early 2000s refurbishment, and an overview of subsequent events entered and awards garnered since completion of the project.