The Austin Healey - or 'Big' Healey - is one of the iconic British sports cars. The first Austin-Healey 100 model was unveiled at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show, and when the last car rolled off the production line in 1967, over 73,000 examples had been built.

For 15 years, from the first four-cylinder 100 of 1953 to the final 3000 MkIII of 1968, these wonderful Austin-Healeys were the British sports cars which thousands of red-blooded enthusiasts aspired to. Today, many have been restored and the restoration of others is being undertaken. But how many of these cars boast the completely original and authentic specification which the most discerning enthusiasts now demand? Here are the answers, with the evidence provided by color photography showing every inch of our ten carefully selected cars.

Graham Robson is the doyen of writers on rallying. His new book, Works Healeys in Detail, joins his respected Works Triumphs and Works Escorts in our list. Here he tells of the story of Donald Healey’s introduction of the cars of his own make into the world of rallying and racing, from the Healey Elliott and Westland of the late 1940s through to the last racing Austin-Healey Sprite in 1967. In between he produced competition versions of the Austin-Healey 100 and 100S, the 100-6 and the gloriously successful 3000, a brutal and wayward machine that won countless international rallies in the 1960s in the hands of great drivers like Pat Moss, Timo Makinen, Rauno Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk, to name but a few. The book covers the career of each of the works cars individually: entries, drivers and results, with nearly all cars illustrated. In addition there is detailed colour photography of important surviving examples.

When Donald Healey displayed a new sports two-seater on his firms stand at the 1952 motor show he could not possibly have envisioned the extraordinary success that it was to enjoy. There are many who would say that the looks of the early 100 were never matched by the later six-cylinder Healeys. Perhaps it is true that the first of the line is the purest expression of its designers intentions. Includes a detailed technical analysis of the 100, covering all aspects of the chassis, running gear, engine and transmission. This sets the scene for subsequent chapters on the BN2, the 100M and the 100S, each of which receives comprehensive treatment. The author also provides information on the cars participation in racing competition, draws comparisons with rival models and gives advice on the practicalities of owning a 100 today. This book opens with an exposition of the background to Donald Healeys creation of the 100 and with an account of his career to that time. This is followed by a description of the successive stages of design and development and of the eventual manufacturing agreement with Austin. Seven outstanding examples of the four-cylinder 100 - including an unrestored Le Mans car - have been specially photographed for this book and are featured in 90 color images. There are also more than 140 black-and-white illustrations drawn from archives and from sales and publicity material.

Donald Healey began building cars in 1946 and at the 1952 Motor Show he exhibited the prototype Healey 100. Because an A90 engine was used BMC decided to incorporate the model and by the spring of 1953 it became the Austin-Healey 100. In the following six years more than 29,000 were build. A four-speed gearbox came in 1955 and a six-cylinder engine in 1956. The 100/6 was a little larger and allowed for 2+2 seating. Production of a pure two-seater returned in 1958. The rarest of the models are the 100S of 1955 and the 100M of 1955-6, both being tuned versions. This book is a collection of road tests, model introductions, specification and technical data, and driving impressions. Also covers the record breaking and buying an Austin-Healey today. Models covered are 100, 100/4, 100/6, 100/S, 100/M, Mille Miglia.

Bring your Big Healey back to life! If youre looking to restore your Austin-Healey - youve come to the right place. This authentic restoration guide discusses the differences between model years, identifies parts numbers, year-to-year changes, correct finishes, and more. Charts and tables cover production figures, paint schemes, wiring codes, and provide thoroughly detailed information on mid-year production changes. Contains a detailed appendix on British fasteners and deciphering the fastener codes in the Austin-Healey service manuals.

The story of the iconic and powerful Big Austin-Healey sports cars.

Written in collaboration with Gerry Coker, the designer responsible for the iconic Austin-Healey 100 and Sprite, this extraordinary volume represents the most accurate and complete account of the sports cars built at Warwick, Longbridge, Abingdon and West Bromwich. The author had unprecedented access to Donald and Geoffrey Healey’s private papers, diaries, scrapbooks and photo albums, corporate and financial records from BMC, Donald Healey Motor Company and Healey Automobile Consultants, the files of Jensen Motors and Nash-Kelvinator, dozens of personal interviews and exhaustive research into previously unavailable primary source material. As a result, Healey: The Men and the Machines offers a compelling examination of the true story behind these incredible automobiles and the individuals who created them. From his early childhood and heroic service as an aviator in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, this book provides a comprehensive account of Donald Healey’s motoring career, including competition outings and his involvement with Invicta, Riley and Triumph. The story of the Healey marque’s birth during the darkest days of the Second World War is told through the words of the men involved, revealing the myriad obstacles that faced the small team during a period of strict rationing, limited resources and government meddling. Fast, elegant and endowed with excellent handling, the early Healey sports cars were among the fastest in the world, acquitting themselves admirably at events such as the Alpine Rally, Mille Miglia and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but Warwick’s survival was constantly in doubt until the landmark agreement that resulted in the Nash-Healey erased many of small firm’s financial struggles. With access to Nash-Kelvinator’s internal correspondence for the first time, the authors are able to set the record straight about this crucial period in the marque’s history, including the controversial machinations behind the development of the Healey Hundred that made a smash debut at the 1952 London Motor Show. Lavishly illustrated with previously unpublished photographs, Austin-Healey competition and record-breaking efforts are covered in exquisite fashion, seen through the eyes of legendary names like Rauno Aaltonen, Clive Baker, Paddy Hopkirk, Count Johnny Lurani, Lance Macklin, Timo Mäkinen, Roger Menadue, Don and Erle Morley, Pat and Stirling Moss, Carroll Shelby, John Sprinzel, and Ann and Tommy Wisdom. Equally fascinating are the stories behind the troubled Jensen-Healey and Donald Healey’s attempts to continue building sports cars well into the 1980s, refusing to enter a sedate retirement that would have been so richly deserved. Destined to become the definitive reference on the subject, Healey: The Men and the Machines includes over 200,000 words, more than 700 detailed footnotes, and eight appendices that cover the competition and record breaking activities of the various models, specifications for every model produced, including the limited production variants, and Donald Healey’s personal musings on racing and sports car design. An instant classic, this is a work certain to inform and entertain enthusiasts of the men and machines that brought the world to its feet at a time when Britain was down on its knees.

The models created by Donald Healey and son Geoffrey played a key role in establishing Britain as the world’s leading producer of sports cars in the 1950s and 1960s. But the cheeky little Austin-Healey Sprite and the rugged ‘Big Healey’ with its muscular good looks are only part of a fascinating story that stretches back to the glory days of pre-war rallying and ends with the ill-fated Jensen-Healey. All this and more is told in the latest title in Haynes’s acclaimed ‘Classic Makes’ series – along with practical guidance in the form of driving impressions and buying hints, based on the author’s personal experience of most of the cars featured.