Austin Healey 100/6 Restoration That Started With Fire

For Tobias Olschewski, owning an Austin Healey 100/6 was a long-held ambition. He had dreamed of one since he was 20 years old, and in October 2022 he was finally able to make that dream real.

The car he bought was a 1957 Austin Healey 100/6 BN4. It presented very well overall and had already been restored to a high standard, although the interior trim and electrical system clearly showed their age. In practice, however, it was not yet ready to be driven properly, with many oil leaks and an electrical fire on the first test engine start. It looked promising, but it still demanded serious work before he could properly enjoy it.

Even the journey home showed that the Healey was not going to be straightforward. On the drive back from the previous owner in Konstanz, the car suffered an alternator failure and had to be taken home on the recovery truck of a friend. The long-awaited first drive was delayed before it had even begun.

That is one of the most appealing parts of Tobias’s story. The work was practical and necessary, but it was also deeply personal. By the end of that first winter, the Healey had gained far more than just a safer electrical system. It had gained a new cabin, built with Tobias’s own effort and attention. Now, when the Healey starts, there is the feeling that it wants to get back on the road.

Second winter, fixing the leaks and transforming the engine bay

The first winter dealt with the immediate crisis and renewed the interior. The second winter moved under the bonnet. The engine bay became the focus in year two, and the list of work was substantial.

The mechanical work began with repainting the engine and fitting new gaskets. From there, all the leaks on the engine were sealed, the engine block was repainted, the rocker cover and oil sump were replaced with aluminium versions, the firewall was repainted, the heat shields were renewed, and the carburettor system was overhauled and adjusted.

That work changed both the appearance of the engine bay and its mechanical condition. The result improved the Healey mechanically as well as visually.

The most difficult part of the whole restoration was repainting the engine without removing it from the car.

That line captures the reality of restoration work perfectly. The finished pictures never quite show the awkward positions, the compromise decisions, or the physical toll. In Tobias’s case, leaving the engine in place made the job harder on him, but he saw it through.

Even after all that work, the Healey still had one more lesson to teach. After the first oil change, there was suddenly no oil pressure. The cause turned out to be the need to prime the oil pump with the oil filter removed. It was an alarming moment, but it was solved and the project moved on.