The temptation to acquire and attach a reproduction little letter “M” to the “100” grille badge of a Healey Hundred remains strong in the culture. Of course we know – or at least we’re reasonably sure – that these were installed at the Donald Healey Motor Company on many (most?) actual, real 100M models, and were not part of the Le Mans Engine Modification Kit and were not sold separately and do not belong on the grille badges on any but those 640 100M models.
The one depicted here is a particularly amateurish – not to mention just plain incorrect – variation on the original design/placement, but even more important than that is the fact that it was attached to the grille badge of the RHD BN2 I’ve blogged about several times, and that car is not a 100M. It’s a fascinating example with some fascinating features, but it’s not one of the 640.
Consequently this fakey-do “M” is headed for the “Box of Shame” where we’re putting all of the odd-ball, incorrect, whatzits that we discover as we return this BN2 to the straight and narrow.
If you have one of these M badges added to the grille badge of your 100, and your 100 is not a 100M – not one of the 640 100M models – I encourage you to remove it and repent … while there’s still time.
Here’s another blast (or spark?) from the past: spark plugs with three electrodes.
Actually, with a little Internet searching I see that these seem to still be available. The ones shown here came out of the RHD BN2 project that I’ve written about several times, and have likely been in the car for at least 30-35 years, and possibly much longer.
They worked fine when we got the engine started, but we’ll go with a modern spark plug and keep these around as a reminder of the unconventional approach the previous, long-term owner took to just about everything.
These are believed to have originally been installed on a BN1 that was parted out. They’re just the standard Burgess brand air filter canisters, although a previous owner apparently painted the perforated outer band red to match his car.
Note the “hammer finish” top covers, believed to be the original paint.
Nothing special here, just a nice pair of evocative relics that provoke a warm feeling in those who appreciate these things. It’s a bit like looking back through time, and that time long ago looking back at you. It’s a connection that keeps the past alive.
$500 would buy it. Pick up in Hood River, Oregon, or you pay crating and shipping. Believed low-mileage (comes from a car parted out in the 1960s).
The stamped digits – 1292/2452 – are not what we’re used to seeing, so if you can decipher this, please contact me.
We also don’t know what the “3410” stands for, so again, if you know, we invite enlightenment.
Another oddity of the RHD BN2 project. A weird thermostat of all things. At least I’d never seen one like it. It’s marked made in USA so it’s not the original, and it likely dates from the 1960s when the car was imported to the USA.
This is the top:
Side view reveals the operating mechanism, kinda:
And the underside reveals that it’s rated at 180 degrees:
It’s tempting to start a rumor that it’s the ultra-rare Le Mans thermostat, installed by Donald Healey myself, at the Bonneville Salt Flats, and it later went on to be in the 1958 Paris show car, and was briefly owned and raced by Stirling Moss.
No, I can’t prove it. Can you disprove it?
It could be for sale, but not for cheap.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t invite your attention to this terrific opportunity to buy a terrific factory 100M. It’s offered by Avant Garde Collection in Portland, Oregon at only $159,000.
Check their website for tons of beautiful photos of this exceptional Healey. I’ve driven it myself, and this is a real driver’s 100M. Opportunities like this don’t come along often.
Buy it and you can thank me later.
Even the pedals were unique on the RHD BN2 project. The previous owner (PO) – of 57 years – modified the brake and accelerator pedals for … well, I guess for maximum performance.
There was a larger metal plate screwed on top of the original gas pedal, and the brake pedal is about three times wider than the original, presumably making it harder to miss.
That’s all well and good, but what’s really strange are the wear patterns. The brake pedal appears to be worn most on the far upper left side, when you’d expect the wear to be more on the right side from heel-and-toe shifting. Or was the PO doing a lot of left-foot braking?
And the clutch pedal; it’s most worn on the right side, and least worn at the top and bottom. I guess you could say that the PO marched to a different drummer.
When you run out of projects to address real challenges to reliability and/or convenience, and you still feel inspired to make more improvements, I guess you just have to get creative and begin solving problems that don’t even exist. Personally I have never found valve stems to be an issue, but maybe I’ve just been lucky.
In any case, dear old PO (that’s “Previous Owner” in collector car talk; sometimes also abbreviated DPO for D**n Previous Owner for POs who did more damage than good in their fiddling with an old car) installed some valve stem stabilizer doohickies on our project car’s wire wheels.
I guess that when you run out of needed repairs and upgrades, you start solving problems you don’t even have.
Continuing with the series of vignettes of the very original RHD BN2 that is currently being brought back to reliable driving condition, the recent removal of the radiator revealed a new one – one I’d never seen before. The long-term (57 years) previous owner installed “screen door” screen in front of the radiator, apparently to keep bugs and debris from damaging and clogging the radiator:
And here’s a close-up:
I can’t comment on its effect on delivery of air to the radiator – did it reduce it? – but in static running the engine with only the original fan, it never came close to running hot, much less overheating.
The overall effect seems to have been quite good as the original radiator is in excellent condition. So there’s an old new one, or a new old one, to put on your list of projects for next winter. Or maybe I should market the ACME Radiator Screen, guaranteed to debug your Healey’s radiator!
And no, I’m not referring to John Bull, a real person who died on March 12, 1628 and is credited with the composition of an early form of the British National anthem, “God Save the King.”
And lastly, no I’m not even referring to John Bull, the imaginary figure created in 1712 by a Scottish cartoonist as a personification of Great Britain as a nation, but is more commonly accepted as a personification of the nation of England.
No, the John Bull I’m referring to is the name of the British company that made the fan belts originally used in the Healey 100. Haven’t heard of that? I suppose that’s not surprising. After all, how many of those cars still have their original fan belt? Well, I know of one:
This is in the RHD BN2 that I’ve written about several times here. The originality of the car is just amazing, and that’s no … well, you fill in the blank.
