27th Mar 2009, 17:53

Let's not neglect the fun of driving a 100-4 in the rain, even when the windshield wipes decided to work. If the flood through the side curtains didn't get you the wave action coming up through the rotting wood floors would.

I got to drive my friend's 100-4 because I was the only one besides him who could remember the shift pattern, let alone the proper use of the sometimes working overdrive.

8th Jan 2011, 03:02

The previous poster may be thinking of the underpowered and effete MGA (0-60mph in 15.6 seconds, yawn), which had a plywood floor.

The Healey 100/4 or BN1 is a standard H pattern with reverse to one side back and down. The Laycock de Normanville overdrive unit behind the gearbox gave an overdrive on 2nd, 3rd and top gears. Because 1st gear was so low as to be unnecessary, cars were delivered with 1st (top left of H) blanked off, so 2nd became '1st' and so on. This made the Healey unique in having '2nd' the only gear ahead of neutral. Many cars have had the blanking piece removed, restoring 1st gear to use, should the driver wish to go stump pulling, or drag a cow out of a bog.

5th Jun 2020, 06:05

Correction - The MGA does 0-60 in 13.5 seconds. The twin cam in 10 seconds. All variants of the MGA had independent rear suspension and rack and pinion steering. This gave them a very precise and sporty feel on the road. Healeys feel a little lazy and truck like by comparison, although they have a lot of torque.

29th Oct 2020, 19:33

13.6 seconds is quite brisk for an MGA, a 1600 no doubt. I had a 1500, to which the leisurely figure I gave applies. My MGA was a little tired and its performance wasn't even leisurely - it was sclerotic. I recall losing a drag with a friend's A40 Devon.

I think IRS was an after market kit for MGA's. Mine definitely had a beam axle with leaf springs.

MGA's very pretty cars, especially the coupe, and in my opinion more comfortable to drive than the the Austin Healeys, which handle a little like a Ferguson tractor.