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Exhibitor News

Classic Motor Show 2022

26 Apr 2024

A H Spares Acquires Roger Moment's Pristine BN1 Healey

AH Spares Ltd Stand: 1-468
A H Spares Acquires Roger Moment's Pristine BN1 Healey
Roger Moment's original BN1 and the A H Spares team
We are beyond excited to announce that we are now the proud custodians of Roger Moment’s concours award winning BN1 as featured on the front cover of his recent book and within the Austin Healey Restoration Guidebook.

FINDING THE RIGHT SUCCESSOR FOR A CHERISHED CLASSIC

Roger has been on the hunt for a suitable individual to take on the ownership and meticulous upkeep of his pride and joy for some years. He wanted to verify that the next custodian would ensure the car be kept in its extremely original state.

The car has been Roger’s lifetime work, and he wanted the car to be viewed and admired by many and not hidden in a private collection.

AN UNFORGETTABLE MEETING WITH THE HEALEY GURU

In October 2023, Jon Hill and John Lee both travelled to visit Roger at his home in Colorado, USA. It was a true delight to have a conversation with the Healey Guru himself and personally have our copies of his book signed.

One of the highlights of the trip was the opportunity to ride in and drive Roger's car through the picturesque Colorado countryside; a breathtaking American landscape to appreciate while cruising in an authentic British classic.

After receiving such warm hospitality from Roger and his wife, Lilly, and experiencing the exhilarating drive of a well-maintained BN1 that has been cherished for 50 years, there is no better place to take care of such an iconic car than A H Spares - the original Austin Healey parts specialist.

"We can’t even begin to express how honoured we are that Roger has entrusted us with the pleasure and responsibility of the custodianship of his BN1 and for the car's next chapter of its history."
John Lee

"I have never seen another Healey 100 with this level of originality. I am in awe of the car every time I look at it and the level of detail that Roger has gone to over the 49 the years of owning the car."
Jon Hill

UNRIVALLED AUTHENTICITY: A TIME-CAPSULE TO 1955 CRAFTSMANSHIP

The car's level of detail is such that it is the same as when it rolled off the production line back on the 15th July 1955!

All the nuts, bolts and washers are originals with correct markings. All components and casting numbers correspond to the date the car was built. The colours and trim materials are spot on with original 1950’s Kar-Vel carpets.

There is no stone unturned, no detail overlooked. In essence the car is a masterpiece in every aspect and a pure joy to behold.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CAR

Austin Healey BN1L 223867 was completed at Longbridge on July 15th, 1955, and was shipped to a dealer (Arthur Bruggemann & Co.) in Dusseldorf, Germany where it was purchased by a US serviceman. About a year later, after returning to the USA, he sold the car to its second owner to raise money for college. As the third owner Roger purchased the car in 1974 with 48,500 miles on the odometer.

The first restoration Roger commenced was between 1975 and 1982 which was mainly cosmetic. The second was a complete strip down between 1990 and 1991. The third and final restoration occurred during 2000 to 2001 which encompassed a great deal of additional research, the locating of many NOS (New Old Stock) parts and the manufacture of many parts which are either not currently available or are incorrect in appearance. Roger did 95% of the work himself.

This level of involvement and dedication has resulted in Roger gaining an extensive knowledge not only about the individual components, but also the design, engineering, and manufacturing at British Motor Company (BMC), Jensen and other English component suppliers of the 1950’s.

A WORD FROM ROGER

"At this point in my life (I’m 86, but still in good health) I started thinking about how I might find a suitable custodian for my car when the time came to part with it. Restoring it to its unusually accurate state of originality, with attention to details that most people would not pay attention to (such as fasteners with their original markings and coding), was a long and tedious process. This involved much research, locating the “right bits”, disassembling to preserve some electrical items that had their correct dates of manufacture, and also accurately reproducing many unique pieces such as rubber gaskets and the paper-over-wire demister hoses. I wanted to find a future owner who would truly appreciate the car, not just for its beauty, but more importantly for what it represents – a true example of the ‘British motoring industry back in the 1950s.

"When Jon Hill saw the photo of the car on the cover of my recent book on Healeys, he contacted me to learn more about it and during our communication exchanges, I felt that he and A-H Spares would be the perfect custodians for it and would treat it as I have. They understand what effort has gone into restoring it and appreciate how exceptional it is. I also hope that others will enjoy seeing it at shows when Jon will have it on display."

Roger Moment

 

SHOWCASING A MASTERPIECE: EXPERIENCE THE UNMATCHED BEAUTY OF ROGER'S BN1

It is not every day that you can view a car that has benefited from the number of dedicated years of research, sourcing of O.E. parts plus the love and care from one of, if not the world’s highest regarded experts in the Austin Healey community. We want to be able to share this with everyone so will be making sure that all can join in the pleasure of experiencing such a unique car.

Roger's BN1 will be on show in our showroom/museum so come pay us a visit. Not only that, but we will also be displaying the car at future shows and events for all to see and enjoy.

Over the coming months we will be running features on some of the details that makes this BN1 so special as it just would not be deserving or possible to try and sum up all of Roger's dedicated years of work in just a couple of newsletters.

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