RLDesign@aol.com writes:
> Being new to this list, I was looking through the images at the
> triumph.cs.utah.edu site, and found the picture labeled "Mysterycar.jpg,"
> dated two years or so ago.
A chap near here bought the car without even knowing what it really
was. He wasn't sure if he had a Healey, a steel-bodied AC Ace, or a
Bristol; the seller said it was a '56 Bristol. To help solve the
mystery, I scanned in those pictures and posted them. There was quite
a discussion on this list. After seeing the pictures, most people
agreed that it is an AH 100-4, made over to look like a Cobra-wannabe.
> I assume it has long been figured out that that poor car was at one point an
> Austin Healey 100, and an early one at that, judging from the rear fenders,
> or what was left of them. Also of interest was the 100/M-style bonnent,
> louvered and with provisions for a strap. Also looks like whatever motive
> power was in the car was not of the proper origin.
The engine has "Biltmore A130" on it somewhere, so we assume, but are
not certain, that it is an Austin A130 sedan engine, which is in the
ballpark for an AH 100-4.
> Did anyone find out why someone would take a 100, to my eye one of the
> prettiest of the fifties sportscars, and make it into the "brake vent"
> special ,a poor late Ace/Cobra lookalike at the front and essentially stock
> healey elsewhere?
No, we don't know who modified the car or why.
> I assume the poor thing was beyond restoration, and that it
> was properly stripped and then crushed. Not that I feel strongly about it.
Actually, the new owner plans on restoring it. It had been in the
PO's mother-in-law's driveway in Scottsboro, Alabama for 7 years. He
spotted it driving down the street one day, and got it for a song.
BTW, you are the first person I can recall who has mentioned the
100/M. I'll pass your message on to the owner. Thanks for writing!
For some unknown reason I've recently lost ftp access to triumph.
Will some kind soul please post this message into pub/sol/Images as
mysterycar.txt? Thanks............
--
T.J. Higgins | tjhiggin@ingr.com | (205) 730-7922
Intergraph Corp. | Mapping Sciences Division | Huntsville, AL, USA
|