[Healeys] Hundred Body Number Sequence

[Curt/Nancy Arndt]

Chris,

When you refer to Sprites built down under do you mean the Mk I or was it
the later square body cars?

Curt

On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 10:04 AM, Chris Dimmock <austin.healey at gmail.com>wrote:

> Ok.
> Personally I love this detail, & I think I need to add some Australian
> perspective here. ;-)
> Pressed Metal Corporation here in Australia were responsible for part of
> the "local content" when BMC started building Sprites and other BMC cars
> here in Australia.
> The first Sprite they built in Australia was given a body number 501. That
> was in conformance with a BMC policy which was underpinned by a customer
> satisfaction survey which dictated that no one ever wanted to buy anything
> from BMC which wasn't properly tested, and any number under 500 probably
> wasn't...
> Anyway, the first Sprite shell was 501.
> Many years later, we realised that the pressed metal corporation's previous
> job was building 500 pressed steel coffins......
> Legend has it that PMC took the project, because they didn't even have to
> reset the number stamps, and the tooling wasn't much different to a Bugeye
> .....
> Before you flame, this is meant to be funny, and is based on some
> historically bent facts! Ok ???
> So if you have a Bugeye with a body number less than 501 in Australia....
>  Check your boot.
> ;-)
> Chris
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> On 16/07/2011, at 2:15 AM, "Rich Chrysler" <richchrysler at quickclic.net>
> wrote:
>
>  Gentlemen,
>>
>> The first 19 pre production cars were body numbers 1 through 19. Then with
>> the production cars Jensen assembled and painted the body shells and sent
>> the first 5 on a transporter over to the new Longbridge assembly line.
>> Last
>> one on (Body 24) was first off the transporter and therefore first one
>> onto
>> the assembly line. That became Longbridge Chassis number 138031, the
>> "first"
>> car down the Longbridge line, though it was about 3 t 4 weeks before it
>> was
>> actually done, due to constant adjusting and shuffling of the assembly
>> process to make more sense and smoother flow of adding components, etc.
>>
>> As things progressed and the gradual speeding up of the new line, with
>> logistics being constantly adjusted and improved, they eventually ended up
>> with a number of transporters taking 5 body shells at a time over to
>> Longbridge holding area. It is easy to imagine how the exacting body
>> sequence numbers that left Jensen got mixed up coming off the transporters
>> in the Longbridge marshalling area. That is one of the many reasons why
>> the
>> Body numbers fell out of sequence by the time a finished car came off the
>> Longbridge line.
>>
>> For instance in the Hundred Registry, we list Body 133 and Body 140 coming
>> off the Longbridge finishing the same day (18 August 1953). Meanwhile Body
>> 156 came off the next day (19 August, 1953).
>>
>> Rich Chrysler
>> Hundred Registrar
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: healeys-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.**
>> team.net <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net>]
>> On Behalf Of Curt/Nancy Arndt
>> Sent: 2011-07-15 11:36
>> To: David Nock
>> Cc: healey list; Jim Cox; Mr. Finespanner
>> Subject: Re: [Healeys] Kathy Wissig's AH 100
>>
>> David,
>>
>> I believe that's what I said...
>> *
>> "Blair Harbor's car, the first production AH with body no. 24..."*
>>
>> However I never heard about the switching at the loading and unloading.  I
>> assumed that Jensen would not discard the first 19 or 20  pre production
>> car
>> numbers and restart  numbering with the production cars.  Anyone else out
>> there know about this, or have an opinion?
>> Cheers,