1955 Austin Healy 100

My dad currently has in his garage a '55 Austin Healy 100, possibly a Le Mans model. However, it's not 4 cylinder powered..... it has a 265 cu.in. V8 from a Corvette and the front end is made to simulate a Cobra. I know as much about Austin Healy's as my dad knows about Nissan Skylines (next to nothing) my point is he thinks it's something special, he doesn't think it was just a simple motor swap and the snout isn't something cobbled up at a cheap fab shop and the 265 wasn't just tossed in, it was proffesionally done. What might it be, just a really good hybrid project, some sort of uber rare Austin Healy model/ option, a prototype..... also, roughly how much would it be worth in pristine condition? I might someday get this car, so i wanna be informed. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

We "hotrodded" a few of these "sports cars" back in the fifties and early sixties by dropping (mostly Chevy)V8s into them. We did a Healey, Jag and the most outrageous a Kaiser Darin. Unfortunately all that torque usually blew out clutches, transmissions and rears, but who cared they were fast albeit for a short time.
Today those cars would be worth a whole lot more in stock condition. I have a 63 3000 appreciating in my garage.
Out of curiosity, did you check to see if your Healey is one of those kit cars that were so popular some years back? Dropping an 8 into a Healey was a bear because of the side clearences. Perhaps that is why yours has the Cobra nose.

My dad currently has in his garage a '55 Austin Healy 100, possibly a Le Mans model. However, it's not 4 cylinder powered..... it has a 265 cu.in. V8 from a Corvette and the front end is made to simulate a Cobra. I know as much about Austin Healy's as my dad knows about Nissan Skylines (next to nothing) my point is he thinks it's something special, he doesn't think it was just a simple motor swap and the snout isn't something cobbled up at a cheap fab shop and the 265 wasn't just tossed in, it was proffesionally done. What might it be, just a really good hybrid project, some sort of uber rare Austin Healy model/ option, a prototype..... also, roughly how much would it be worth in pristine condition? I might someday get this car, so i wanna be informed. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.