Metallic Golden Beige BJ8s

Steve, that's a great excerpt of what you've learned while working with the BJ8 registry/database. I think that a lot of Healey owners would also be interested in such vignettes. Coincidentally, I know of a magazine that would be happy to publish a series of "Healey Production Vignettes" such as the above. I have scads of illustrations to complement them.

As the saying goes, "Inquire within."

Hi Steve,

I agree with Reid in that many of us who have lived through Healey times remember … but sometimes not as accurately as we think and it would be great to hear more of your findings.

I remember seeing my first Metallic Golden Beige Healey at the NYC car show parked in its underground lot. I remember that the paint showed little, if any, flakes of metallic and I was not impressed and did not see the new color as desirable. Today's version of Metallic Golden Beige is much more vibrant and, as with Healey Blue, is both attractive in presentation, metallic component, and color longevity.

When choosing my new Healey color, I remembered evaluating the major selections and how they would age over a relatively short period. The Healey Blue metallic would blotch into blue-washed silver and the red would turn more orange. The BRG was more of a Crab Apple Green (in my view) and was well off of the more desired Jaguar BRG. So, when I ordered my Healey in Old English White with black interior, I perceived my selection's ageing as just gaining an Older hue on the original English White.

Todays paints and their processes present the original colors with vibrance an depth missing from the older paints so it is not difficult that many original colors are receiving a greater appreciation today. Although I am still not a fan of Metallic Golden Beige today, I can admit that I have seen examples that have blown me away and were more desirable then I would have every thought possible.

As the woman who kissed the cow said "Each to his own taste". and so to these are my thoughts,
Ray(64BJ8P1)

Ray, just a comment on the MGB and HBM. Have you ever seen the color done the right way? True Healey metallic colors and Jaguar opalescent colors should be very (shimmery) and hardly see any of the fine metallic flakes . Opalescence is to me by far a cool factor then seeing a metallic sparkle . It is also very close to what the wire wheel aluminum color is supposed to be, a silvery shimmer. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but you just never see the correct paint any more on the metallic Healey cars, same goes for E types. There is a very fine alum used in the PPG line and does the job to perfection. I just did an original 25k BJ8 that was repainted in 1968 because the owner complained of the enamel paint being too flat, could have been a paint issue,regardless did a bare metal respray on an otherwise perfect car,all original interior ,top,carpets,ect. The original colors were preserved behind the headlamp gasket and behind the upper chrome bits , to get a match of that shade of Healey Blue Met. No metallic sparkle at all, just a beautiful shimmer or opalescence as the Jag term used.

Carroll Phillips TopDown Restorations

Great info Steve! I was under the impression the MGB color was only in 67. I have seen cars advertised that were MGB but 65 or 66 years and thought someone had just painted them that color. I have been lucky enough to have owned both a MGB BJ8 and a 62 flat floor Golden Sand XKE. Loved the color on both. Will be starting a grd up on a BJ7 in a few weeks but its Colorado Red.
Marv

FWIW, the latest (Feb.) edition of Hemming Motors News notes a 'Sand Beige' '66 BJ8 graveled at Sotheby's in Monterey in August for $95,200. The car was described as a '#2+,' meaning, I guess, just a little below an excellent condition 'survivor' or top-notch resto (this one had been restored, and it was noted that one of the door's panel fit was less-than-perfect). The car was originally BRG with a black interior, and had been painted MGB--aka Sand Beige--and given a red interior. Based on what I've seen, if the car had been restored in the original BRG/black it likely would have sold for no more than $60-65K*; that's a 50% premium for a paint job and upholstery!

Also noted was 'Big Healeys remain solid collectibles.'

* The BRG BJ8 'Wheeler Dealers' featured a couple years ago went for around $75K IIRC at B-J. It too got a red--IMO poorly done--interior in addition to triple Webers and headers (the headers were nicely done).

Marvin Gruber said:

I was under the impression the MGB color was only in 67.

Click to expand...

I believe what Steve indicates is 551 (of a total 553) MGB BJ8s were built in 1967. There were only two (2) built before '67 both of which still reside in the UK.

BJ8Healeys said:

... The official name for the gold color (as it is given on BMIHT certificates) is Metallic Golden Beige (not Golden Beige Metallic). ....

Click to expand...

The problem with Metallic Golden Beige, abbreviated MGB, is that is also the name of another make British auto, which can be confusing.

Marvin Gruber said:

Great info Steve! I was under the impression the MGB color was only in 67. I have seen cars advertised that were MGB but 65 or 66 years and thought someone had just painted them that color.
Marv

Click to expand...

Marv, if you see MGB cars advertised as 65s or 66s, then someone HAS just painted them that color. There was only one gold car that left the factory in 1965, and one in 1966 and both are still in England. Some of the high-dollar restorers seem to consider MGB as the new "re-sale red".

Hi Carroll,

Yes, I have seen MGB and HBM done with the smooth shimmer you described and yes, the fine flake used in these paints was not intended to dramatically shown but to provide a soft deep reflection as though a soft light was emanating from below its surface. The problem was that the manufacturer-applied paint technology of the 60s was that it was not up to the task and deteriorated in short order. Even when meticulously maintained by its owner, many of these colors changed and lost their original look and, in some cases, changed color as a result of UV and general road toxins.

Todays paints can better reflect the color and image that was (as I suspect) in the mind of its original creator, and maintain them with little work over a far greater period. Today, there would be no need for the considerations I used to select the color for my Healey and my choice of OEW, although probably not different, would have been extended to the Healey's full available color pallid.

All the best,
Ray(64BJ8P1)

I wonder if there is any factory literature identifying the "official" name of the color? Here are two contemporary paint charts of interest. One refers to the color as "Golden Beige Meatallic". The other that refers to "Sandy Beige" has a different color code. When I was visiting my local BMC dealer, Globe Motors in E. Bridgewater, MA with my high school bugeye, a Golden Beige car with red interior (the combo that gets big money at auctions now) graced the showroom floor. Interestingly, years later I met a mechanic from the dealer that told me that car sat on the floor for a year before they could finally sell it.

Rick, BG-15 Sandy Beige is a Mini color (Morris, BMC ) and also an MGB-GT color '65-'69

Carroll

Along those lines, Metallic Golden Beige (MGB) was available on MGC roadsters and GTs in '67-'69. Also noteder as an option on MGB-GTs in '68 only. The source (Clausager) has it written as MGB not GBM.

I think I mentioned this before: I have certificates for 91 of the 553 original Metallic Golden Beige cars, and all of them but one use that name for the color. One says simply "Beige" and the staff person who produced the certificate included the aside "(probably Golden Beige)". The certificates are produced using microfilm/microfiche copies of the original build cards that followed each car down the assembly line. That's about as official as we're likely to get.

John Turney said:

The problem with Metallic Golden Beige, abbreviated MGB, is that is also the name of another make British auto, which can be confusing.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is an unfortunate coincidence. When discussing Healeys with other Healey people and talking about the gold cars, I think "MGB" is an acceptable acronym.

HealeyRick said:

When I was visiting my local BMC dealer, Globe Motors in E. Bridgewater, MA with my high school bugeye, a Golden Beige car with red interior (the combo that gets big money at auctions now) graced the showroom floor. Interestingly, years later I met a mechanic from the dealer that told me that car sat on the floor for a year before they could finally sell it.

Click to expand...

That was a rare car you were looking at, Rick. Of the 553, only 86 MGBs had Red trim. Of those, only 71 were left-hand drive. I just read an article in a recent AHCUSA magazine that referred to an MGB back in the day that was at a dealer in Sodus, NY with only 800 miles on the odometer. It was one with Red trim. A photo of it was included:

BJ8Healeys said:

That was a rare car you were looking at, Rick. Of the 553, only 86 MGBs had Red trim. Of those, only 71 were left-hand drive. I just read an article in a recent AHCUSA magazine that referred to an MGB back in the day that was at a dealer in Sodus, NY with only 800 miles on the odometer. It was one with Red trim. A photo of it was included:

Click to expand...

That'll buff out.

OK, somebody HAD to say it. Might as well be me.

BJ8Healeys said:

That was a rare car you were looking at, Rick. Of the 553, only 86 MGBs had Red trim. Of those, only 71 were left-hand drive. I just read an article in a recent AHCUSA magazine that referred to an MGB back in the day that was at a dealer in Sodus, NY with only 800 miles on the odometer. It was one with Red trim. A photo of it was included:

Click to expand...

The rest of that story. The car was bought by the owner of the building where my Dad's real estate office was. I was thrilled because I'd park my rusty old bugeye next to it as we were "Healey guys." The car passed through a couple of owners in my little town, finally ending up in the hands of one of my best friends. It was his sole means of transportation when he attended Boston University in the late '60s and early '70s and suffered all the indignities Boston parking and New England road salt could heap on it. Finally, it was taken off the road and stored in a barn at his grandfather's farm. Sometime in the '80s he wanted to sell it and I posted a classified ad in Chatter for him. It was sold for a modest sum as it was in pretty rough shape. Several years later I was watching the Barrett-Jackson auction where the Kurt Tanner MGB with red interior went for over $100k. Sent the results to my friend, which was probably kind of mean. A couple of years ago I met the son of the original owner at a regional meeting of the Austin-Healey Club of New England and we had a good talk about his Dad's car. I'll have to forward this info to him. I wonder where that car is today?

HealeyRick said:

The rest of that story. The car was bought by the owner of the building where my Dad's real estate office was. I was thrilled because I'd park my rusty old bugeye next to it as we were "Healey guys." The car passed through a couple of owners in my little town, finally ending up in the hands of one of my best friends. It was his sole means of transportation when he attended Boston University in the late '60s and early '70s and suffered all the indignities Boston parking and New England road salt could heap on it. Finally, it was taken off the road and stored in a barn at his grandfather's farm. Sometime in the '80s he wanted to sell it and I posted a classified ad in Chatter for him. It was sold for a modest sum as it was in pretty rough shape. Several years later I was watching the Barrett-Jackson auction where the Kurt Tanner MGB with red interior went for over $100k. Sent the results to my friend, which was probably kind of mean. A couple of years ago I met the son of the original owner at a regional meeting of the Austin-Healey Club of New England and we had a good talk about his Dad's car. I'll have to forward this info to him. I wonder where that car is today?

Click to expand...

Rick, I have that car in the BJ8 Registry, because I have all 553 of them entered. If you can provide some names, I might be able to relate them to a VIN and tell you where the car is today. A lot of Kurt Tanner's restorations are painted MGB by him, but most started life as some other color.

Steve.

PM sent.