We have always considered and collected these commercial masks and helmets as industries tribal art. Examples can be elegant in their simplicity or bazaar and complex. They are always unique, suprising and filled with personality.

350 V8–Powered 1955 Austin-Healey 100 BN1 Roadster

This 1955 Austin-Healey 100 BN1 roadster is said to be the product of a seven-year, 2,000-hour build in Nevada by The chief engineer at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works aircraft division.  The car is finished in green over black vinyl, with power provided by a 350ci Chevrolet V8 mated to a three-speed automatic transmission. A 2×4″ steel-tube frame supports a removable body with metal modifications that include a lengthened front shroud and cockpit, fender flares, a hood scoop, NACA-style ducts, and a custom aluminum hardtop. Equipment includes rack-and-pinion steering, electronic ignition, a Holley carburetor, an aluminum radiator and an auxiliary radiator, electric fans, disc brakes, sway bars, and racing seats. Titled and currently inspected as a 1955 Austin Healey in New York. The interior was newly refinished in 2024 including seats, headliner, carpet and sound proofing. The body is finished in dark green with white roundels and features a color-keyed removable aluminum hardtop along with all-metal modifications that include a hood scoop, fender flares, fender-top NACA-style ducts, and a front shroud lengthened 4″ to accommodate two additional chrome grilles and a lip spoiler. Other features include quarter-panel, front fender, and hood louvers as well as rear bumper bars and side pipes with boxed and vented heat shields. The previously adjustable windscreen has been fixed at 37 degrees of tilt. Wheel Vintiques Street Rod 15″ wire wheels are fitted with custom Cragar-branded knock-off caps and Goodyear Eagle GT II tires. The braced 2×4″ steel-tube frame features front and rear kick-ups in support of suspension components that include front control arms with coilovers as well as rack-and-pinion steering, disc brakes, and sway bars. The cabin—which has been lengthened by 3″ to accommodate a lower, more reclined seating position. The hardtop is underpinned by a removable roll bar. The three-spoke steering wheel is fitted with a Sweet quick-release assembly and fronts a textured gray dashboard housing AutoMeter instrumentation consisting of a 160-mph speedometer, a 10k-rpm tachometer, and supplementary gauges. The digital odometer shows just under 1,800 miles since completion of the build… true chassis mileage is unknown. The trunk contains a fuel cell protected by tubular bracing. A 12-circuit Painless Performance wiring harness is fitted with additional relays for the Holley Red electric fuel pump and the cooling fans. The 350ci Chevrolet V8 crate engine is equipped with a 650cfm Holley four-barrel carburetor, an HEI ignition, a serpentine-belt system, a Griffin two-row aluminum radiator with a 14″ Perma-Cool electric fan, and an auxiliary radiator with a switch-activated electric fan. Gases exit by way of polished Rams Horn–style manifolds flowing into 2½” side pipes. An oil change was performed in 2021. Power is sent to the rear wheels through B&M-built and Lokar-shifted TH350 automatic transmission. We also have a number of books documenting the entire build.

SKU:

//