Austin-Healey 100 Price Guide

The Austin-Healey 100 is the original ‘Big Healey’, the car Donald Healey showed at Earls Court in 1952, that Leonard Lord of Austin bought on the spot, and that went into production at Longbridge in 1953 with bodies by Jensen of West Bromwich. It is the purest and most visceral of the Austin-Healeys: a four-cylinder car, light and direct, with none of the refinements that the later six-cylinder cars would bring and all the rawness that makes the model special.

BN1 (1953–1955)

Named 100 for 100bhp and over 100mph, the BN1 is powered by a 2,660cc four-cylinder producing 90bhp with a three-speed gearbox with overdrive on second and third. Until July 1954, BN1s were 80kg lighter due to an aluminium boot lid, bonnet, and lighter rear axle. The windscreen can be laid back almost flat to reduce wind resistance. Under the skin is a hefty chassis to which floorpans and the bulkhead are welded in a semi-unitary structure. Suspension uses coil springs and wishbones at the front with a leaf-sprung live axle at the rear located by a Panhard rod. Dampers are lever-arm type. 10,688 BN1s were built.

BN2 (1955–1956)

The BN2 introduced a four-speed gearbox with overdrive and a stronger five-stud rear axle, along with a rear wing swage line as a styling change. Two-tone paintwork became available, though the very first two-tone Healey was actually a Blue and White BN1. 3,924 BN2s were built.

The Performance Variants

The 100M was based on the BN2 with a louvred bonnet design plus leather strap (a Le Mans regulation as seen on the team race cars), heavily revised engine with new pistons, camshaft, distributor, carburettors, and the famous cold air box raising power to 110bhp. Around 640 were made. Donald Healey’s own company offered conversion kits (codenamed P280) so that any BN1 or BN2 could be retrofitted to 100M specification. Around 500 of these were produced.

The 100S is the rarest and most sought-after of the early Austin-Healeys. Approximately 50 were built as full competition versions with major changes to the running gear and chassis producing 132bhp and saving 90kg over the standard car. The majority were painted white over blue and all featured Dunlop disc brakes all round.

What Goes Wrong

Corrosion is common around the sills and chassis, and electrolysis between the shroud and wings is a known issue. The semi-unitary construction means that rust in the floor and sill areas affects structural integrity directly. The aluminium body panels on early BN1s do not rust but suffer electrolytic corrosion where they contact the steel structure. The lever-arm dampers are a regular service item. The three-speed gearbox on the BN1 is unusual to drive but the overdrive ratios are well-chosen; many owners find it no hardship once familiar with it.

Buying

The 100S operates in a different financial world from the standard cars, any genuine example requires exhaustive provenance verification and specialist assessment. There are a number of M and S replicas, so check any car claiming to be a 100M or 100S carefully. The standard BN1 is the purer, lighter car; the BN2 the more usable daily driver. Both are well-served by the Austin-Healey Club and a dedicated specialist network. The 100 preceded the six-cylinder Austin-Healey 100-Six and 3000 that followed, and remains the most focused and driver-centric of the Big Healey family.