Subject: Re: Registry of Healeys...Is there more than one Registry?
> Hi, Patrick -
>
> According to Chatter, April 1983, page 15: "The one and only BN3 has been
> found in the Orkneys, (a group of islands off Scotland)".
> Since we know you have one, and this isn't it, it must be the "two and
> only".
> So there you have it -- you have captured 100% of the cars in your
> registry
> and your work is complete.
> Glad to help!
>
> Steve Byers
Not so fast, boys,
Back in the mid 1980's Rick Regan and I found and retereived BN3/4 out of a
cow pasture in Southern Ontario. Long story short, it now resides in England
and appeared in all it's ugliness in Bill Emerson's book. It apparently was
simply an engineeering exercise the Healeys did at Warwick to try out a few
ideas. It has the following interesting features:
- 21" space between the frame rails instead of the standard 17"
- Morris 6 cylinder engine (as per early 100/Six)
- Hydraulic clutch and brake cylinders suspended from above the pedal box on
a specially fabricated bracket
- Custom built alloy radiator stuffed forward of the engine in the angled
area between bonnet flange and grille
- 140 MPH speedometer
- steel disc wheels
- chassis stopped forward of the rear axle similar to Mk. 1 Sprite with half
eliptic leaf springs to axle.
- fuel tank over rear axle with quick fill cap similar to 100/S
- extra body length in rear fenders let in immediately behind doors
- door length 2" shorter than even a Hundred
I took many pictures of this car as it sat in my driveway for a few weeks
prior to arranging storage.
When Geoff Healey was told of it's existence, he muttered his
"disappointment" that someone had found it. It apparently was never
originally intended to actually be fitted with a body, but once finished
with it, was sold to an aquaintance with the understanding that they were
never to have to see it or work on it again.
The fact that it's fitted with a brass hand stamped Warwick tag with BN3/4,
one wonders if there may have originally been BN3/1, BN3/2, BN3/3, and this
BN3/4!
Rich Chrysler
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