The Healey's re-engineered the 3000 to take a Rolls-Royce engine to create the Austin Healy 4000. This kept the Big Healey in production but unfortunately the project didn't last. The 3000's future was looking pretty grim by 1966 and the old C-series engine was nearing the end of production. U.S. safety and emission regulations were coming up and there was much hesitation that the 3000 would not meet them.
Donald and Geoffrey Healey came up with a resolution to this since they had no intention of using the MGC engine so they adapted the 3000 to take the inlet over-exhaust 4-1liter Rolls-Royce engine. These engines were constructed to be used solely in the Vanden Plas 4-liter R, and Roll-Royce set up production lines that were able to produce 5000-6000 engines per year. Unfortunately from 1964 until 1968, BMC only produced 6,555 units. The decision was made to put the extra engines into the Austin-Healey.
Despite a few shortcomings, the FB60 engine had additional power and reduced weight which made it seam like an ideal choice for the Healey. Attempting to put one up on Jaguar, Rolls Royce had even evolved a twin cam head for the engine which gave it around 268bhp in triple-SU form.
In 1966 the Healey team in Warwick took a British Racing Green 3000 shell and split it in two and added a six-inch fillet down the center to give the extra interior width necessary for Americans, and to suit the 6 inch wider 4-Liter R rear axle. The glass fiber lift-out transmission tunnel was replaced by a steel unit that was welded to the front and the rear bulkheads to eliminate the 3000's scuttle shake.
To accommodate the widened body and the 4-liter engine, the chassis was then re-made. The engine may have lost around 15 bhp with the modifications, but the more efficient exhaust system made up for this loss. Austin Healey considered that there was a great market for an automatic Healey in the US, while also using up BMC's stock of transmissions along with Rolls-Royce engines.
The Austin Healey 4000 was given a standard 3000 grille in a narrowed aperture in the enlarged shroud and also a new special aluminum hood with a power bulge. Morris Minor lamps were placed at the rear of the car. Bumpers were BMC 1800's and other details included TR4A parking lights and an MGB scuttle grill which improved co*ckpit ventilation.
On the inside of the 4000 was a black-crackle dash, this feature was added due to concerns that U.S. legislation would outlaw the wooden panels of the 3000. The 4000 featured seats with a unique pattern, much more improved upholstery and more rated backs. The door trims were also much more elaborate with pleated cappings and hockey-stick armrests. The rear child seats received an extra inch of legroom in the rear when a collapsible steering column was fitted with two universal joints, bringing the steering wheel forward.
The 4000 was capable of a top speed of 125mph, about the same as the 3000. The entire creation of the Austin Healey 4000 took little less than six months according to Geoffrey Healey. The car was taken to BMC's ‘Kremlin' headquarters in Longbridge, management was so impressed with the 4000 that they decided to have it produced and ready for a debut in January of 1968.
The prototype was dubbed ADO 24 and Healey was instructed to build six pre-production vehicles, two with automatic transmission, two with the four-speed Jaguar E-Type manual ‘box and two with a Jaguar overdrive ‘box'. Regular chassis supplier John Thompson Motor Pressings put together six modified chassis. They were then dispatched to Jensen who built the 3000 while Rolls-Royce occupied themselves with modifying the engine to meet U.S. emission requirements.
In April of 1967, two cars had been close to completion, one manual, the other manual-plus overdrive, when BMC reduced its requirement for pre-production vehicles to just these two. Unfortunately, the entire Austin Healey 4000 project was cancelled, and the two cars were still left unfinished.
Austin Healey was left with two partly constructed 4000's- both of them left-hand drive and four chassis frames. They both remained at the Warwick works for some time before they were completed at Donald Healey's house in Cornwall. During this process the cars were converted to right-hand drive.
The completed car ended quite differently from the prototype. The use of normal steel bonnets were widened to suit, and the widened boot-lids were made up by welding together two cut-down standard items. The inside was different too with the standard 3000 instrument panel instead of the wood. The center section was new also with eyeball fresh-air vents.
By Jessica Donaldson
