Background
Prior to 1952, drivers with the inclination and means to get behind the wheel of a bona fide UK sports car tended to fall into one of two camps.
They were either retired Spitfire pilots called Lofty and Stinker who carried on driving the decidedly superannuated MGs they’d driven before and during the war.
Or they were cocktail lounge charmers, Brylcreemed bounders and continental types who fancied cutting a dash in their new-fangled Jaguar XK120s.
Surely, there was room for something else, something with a more mainstream - and affordable - appeal?
Step forward Donald Mitchell Healey who, with somewhat unlikely support from Leonard Lord at Austin (later BMC), saw a gap in the market that no-one else had spotted.
A gap that should and would be filled by a car that looked gorgeous, was capable of 100mph and could be mass-produced and rendered affordable through the judicious and pragmatic use of all manner of bits and pieces from the ill-fated Austin Atlantic and BMC’s extensive parts inventory.
The Healey 100 caused a sensation when it debuted at the 1952 London Motor Show.
Fitted with a strong, reliable and torquey 2,660cc four-cylinder engine, the light and streamlined Healey 100 was a genuine 100 mph-plus car. The BN1 came with a three-speed gearbox plus overdrive and the BN2 had a four-speed plus overdrive, which operated on third and fourth gear, providing six forward gear ratios.
The ‘Big Healey’ retained the essence of its curvaceous long bonnet/short wheelbase progenitor, the Austin-Healey 100/4 Roadster of 1953. The enlargement of its C-Series six-cylinder engine to 2,912cc and the adoption of Girling front disc brakes differentiated the new-for-1959 Austin-Healey 3000 from the preceding 100/6.
Austin's rugged six now delivered 124bhp at 4,600rpm, which was good enough for a top speed of 114mph with the optional hardtop in place. Otherwise, the 3000 remained much as the 100/6, though the more-powerful disc brakes were a welcome improvement.
Unveiled in March 1961, the Mk II version with restyled grille and bonnet intake was the last 3000 available as a two-seater, the 2+2 option having been for years the more popular, while engine improvements in the form of triple SU carburettors and a revised camshaft liberated an extra 8bhp.
From November 1961 the 3000 was equipped with a new gearbox, a development which at last moved the gear lever to the centre of the transmission tunnel. In January 1962 the twin-carburettor Mk II Convertible (or Mk IIA) appeared: a 2+2-only model boasting long overdue refinements such as wind-up windows, swivelling quarter-lights and fixed foldaway top.
Mk II production ceased after 5,095 2+2s and 355 two-seaters had been built through 1963; the succeeding 3000 Mk III was introduced that year.
Later in 1964, the Phase II version of the Mk III was introduced, complete with increased ground clearance – addressing a long-term criticism – and revised rear suspension incorporating twin radius arms instead of a Panhard rod. Top speed was now 121mph and the 0-60mph time dipped below 10 seconds. The Phase II version of the Mk III was the final incarnation of the Austin-Healey 3000 and was the model’s apogee, bringing more power, speed, refinement, poise, agility and useability than its forbears. Vitally, though, it retained the car’s distinctively British and decidedly macho personality. This was, and remains, a car that insists you eat all your spinach, roll up your sleeves and do a few squat thrusts before you even think about pressing on a bit down an English country lane.
