[Healeys] 100M on BAT

Thu Sep 7 13:37:53 MDT 2023

What I actually wanted to say was that vintage cars from the 50s and 60s no 
longer fit today's traffic. It's almost like a horse-drawn cart. You can 
enjoy it in your free time if you enjoy it. But they no longer do justice 
to the actual purpose for which they were built back then. I don't think it 
matters anymore what kind of Austin-Healey you have. A Sprite or big Healey 
is all equivalent. Most formerly original 100Ms have been modified and have 
actually lost their original 100M status. They are nothing more than a 
normal 100 that has also been modified. In my opinion, much rarer and 
therefore more valuable are those that have been kept as close to their 
original condition as possible or have been restored close to their 
original condition with original parts. A car that is not built to the 
original is nothing special and just an old car that has been repaired so 
that it can be driven.

I don't want to diminish the value and significance of Bill Mead's 100M, 
but at least in the pictures the car no longer looks original enough to 
still find its fans as a genuine factory 100M. In order to restore the 
original condition, if it is still possible, a lot of effort is required.

I've never seen my classic cars as an investment, but a lot of money went 
into restoring each one, even though I do most of it myself, as I 
personally enjoy that more than driving the cars. I'm only handing over 
painting, major welding and gearbox overhaul as to say I'm just not good 
enough at it. Only when a car is finished I actually want to keep it in 
immaculate condition for as long as possible and am very careful about 
driving it and also about any treatment. The value of the car itself is not 
really important to me. In addition to my Austin-Healeys, I also have a 
Morris Minor Lowlight Tourer, two Daimler SP250s (under complete 
restoration) and a Mercedes Diesel (inherited from my father). The SP250 
really appeals to me because the technology is completely different to the 
Healeys, much more special and complex. It is a challenge to bring these 
cars back to their almost original condition, as there are no sources for 
technical spare parts other than in our own network. The SP250s are also 
very different from each other, even though they are only about 2 years 
apart in age. The first is the 18th ever built and has a lot of factory 
improvisation with pre-production parts.

Josef Eckert
Germany

-----Original-Nachricht-----
Betreff: Re: [Healeys] 100M on BAT
Datum: 2023-09-06T23:54:06+0200
Von: "Kees Oudesluijs via Healeys" <healeys at autox.team.net>
An: "healeys at autox.team.net" <healeys at autox.team.net>

Because many owners of classic cars regard their cars as an investment 
(more or less) they tend to barely drive the car. Such a pity. I two months 
ago I drove my Jensen-Healey to an event around the Loire in France, 
organised by the British JOC. Participants came from Italy, Monaco, France, 
UK,  Germany, Netherlands. We did around 2000km of driving, mainly 
secondary roads but I also ended up on the Boulevard Périférique around 
Paris in peak hour and at 35C. Two hours in very slow/blocked and dense 
traffic with motor bikes flying around left and right in between the lanes 
at 80km/h. Still I loved the trip. These cars are made for driving and 
enjoying yourself, ok slightly masochistic perhaps, but still. They need 
some mods to do so safely and reliably. Much better than have them 100% 
original but not fit for modern traffic and sitting in the garage. 
If we do not drive them our (grand)children would not either and are not 
getting used to keep these cars on the road. They would not learn the 
skills to repair and maintain them. They loose interest.
Mazda MX-5, the best British sports car ever, however a bit boring because 
nothing goes wrong with them and modern engine management means that you 
cannot do yourself an awful lot when things do go wrong.
Kees Oudesluijs

Op 4-9-2023 om 09:11 schreef josef-eckert--- via Healeys:

    My personal view is, cars of the 50/60s are becomming more and more
    collectors cars and no more drivers cars. Pricewise its getting
    important to have the car in unmodified order, original spec, original
    colour, etc. In todays traffic its not nice to drive an Austin-Healey
    on motorways or long distances with heavy traffic inbetween. The
    collectors, I do not say drivers anymore, are in pensioners age. Most
    younger people have no emotional relation to cars. A car is just a way
    of commuting, but better to use public transport. I see it with my
    daughter. She has no relation whatsoever with cars. She drives when she
    must, but uses alternartives when they are given.
    I see it with me. When I go to an Austin-Healey event or weekend, I
    load the Healey on the trailer and bring it to the event. Its fun to
    drive it there, but I really don`t like at all to drive my
    Austin-Healeys over long distances. So I can keep it/them in good
    original shape. here its really a nightmare to go with a classic car on
    roads through central Europe from one congestion to the next.
    For holidays meanwhile we have a Mazda MX-5, which gives same or even
    more fun to drive on todays traffic. And it hase all the safety gadgets
    like airbags, ertc. and the engine is a dream. It revs up from 2000 to
    7000 rpm, just pulling.
    So my personal view is, original classic cars may keep their value (not
    sure if I am right), but modified ones will loose a lot. They lost
    their classic appearance and even cannot cope with today`s traffic. The
    original parts are gone, and replaced by Chinese tableware.
    I think most important is to keep the original look with all the
    chromeware, right colours for paint and trim and keep the car as they
    were sold in the 50/60s. Time will tell, if I am right.

    Josef Eckert
    Germany

    -----Original-Nachricht-----
    Betreff: Re: [Healeys] 100M on BAT
    Datum: 2023-09-04T05:51:34+0200
    Von: "Perry Small via Healeys" <healeys at autox.team.net>
    <mailto:healeys at autox.team.net>
    An: "HealeyRick" <healeyrik at gmail.com> <mailto:healeyrik at gmail.com>

    Listers 
    As someone wrote in a song several decades ago there is a time. 

    A time to buy and a time sell. A time gather parts and a time to give
    them away. I time to gift a grandson, with your 53 Chevy truck. 

    A time to part with a BN2, that you have cherished for 58 years , a
    time to wonder what to do, with the yellow modified, 
    Time , time, time……
    Perry- who is getting old

    Sent from my iPhone

        On Sep 3, 2023, at 6:08 PM, HealeyRick <healeyrik at gmail.com>
        <mailto:healeyrik at gmail.com> wrote:

        Strange, I made a comment on BaT earlier today stating that it was
        Bill's car, Registrar of the Worldwide 100M LeMans Registry with
        nothing further and it was removed from the comments. There's also
        no other reference in the description of the car referencing it as
        Bill's.although there are some pictures of him.

        Rick Neville, aka "HealeyRick"

        On Sun, Sep 3, 2023 at 9:27 AM Bob Haskell via Healeys <
        healeys at autox.team.net <mailto:healeys at autox.team.net> > wrote:
          Looks like Bill Meade's 100M is on BAT now.

          <https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1956-austin-healey-100m-bn2-roadster-25/>

          --
          Bob Haskell
          Austin-Healey 3000 roadster registrar

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