aspiring AH newbie: some questions

[doddel]

After being in love with big healeys for years, I've now decided it's time to own one myself. I am a newbie to old British sports cars, but I have had 6 old land rovers (including a series one), so I do have some feeling for British engineering from the 50ies and 60ies.

I've now come across a BJ7, ex USA (east coast), that is not a total wreck, but not a drivable car either. After a thorough inspection, these are the things that should be done to get it to a nice drivable car. I am not interested in having a showroom condition car.

- new floors
- new carpets
- new rear seats (front seats are good)
- chassis looks good, except the rear outriggers
- there are no keys
- engine looks to be stuck, and it lacks a radiator
- new exhaust
- some of the wiring looks worn
- front bumper

I am fairly handy, and I am in no hurry to get the above done (which means I can look for second hand stuff). The only thing I can't do myself is welding.

Would it be possible to do the above for roughly 10.000 pounds? That would leave me around 3000 pounds for unexpected costs

thanks for your help!

 

[blueskies]

What is wrong with the floors and rear outriggers? Rusted through? If so, be sure to thoroughly check for rust elsewhere on the car. If the car has major rust issues and requires a complete restoration, it can get very expensive. Do you have pictures?

 

[Michael Oritt]

Doddel--

Without being able to turn over the engine you have no idea about in what condition are the car's mechanicals.
What Blueskies says about the chassis, etc. is correct and that may wind up being a bigger consideration than engine, transmission repairs.

That said, I have no idea what the Healey market is like in the UK and on the Continent BUT $17K would not buy a lot of Healey over here--but perhaps a sound runner if you shopped carefully.

 

[Keoke]

My advice is to forget this car and look for a driver @ 13000.00LBS

 

[steveg]

My advice is to forget this car and look for a driver @ 13000.00LBS

I entirely agree. If you can't run the engine you have absolutely no idea what you are looking at.

 

[doddel]

thanks for the advice! I have never seen a driver in that price range though. The cheapest drivable cars in continental Europe seem to be in the 35-40000 euro range

working on land rovers is so cheap that I am probably underestimating this...

 

[Michael Oritt]

Doddel--

I'd recommend keeping an eye on the exchange rate and buying a car over here, then shipping it home. There are plenty of sound drivers you can buy for $25K.

 

[doddel]

so I had spotted this car at an auction, and the price was around 7000 euro. I thought it had the potential to be a good deal.
For some reason, just before the end of the auction, people started bidding. Not sure if I missed some gold plated parts, but I think the final price is totally ridiculous: 29000 euro excl costs (or roughty 35000 euro including costs). For a car that, with the above mentioned list of works, would still look like a worn car. I mean, I wasn't planning on respraying, but as you can see in the pics, that wouldn't hurt. And the seats would be fine for me, but ideally, should be done as well. And then the unexpected costs...
Or is this an extremely rare version, justifying the steep price?

here is the link:
https://vavato.com/nl/#!/auctions/57c54b44ccd5e/lots/12

 

[blueskies]

Someone wanted that car badly it seems. That is two or three times what it may be worth here. That said, six cylinder Healey prices do seem to be on the rise.

 

[DTDuck]

After being in love with big healeys for years, I've now decided it's time to own one myself. I am a newbie to old British sports cars, but I have had 6 old land rovers (including a series one), so I do have some feeling for British engineering from the 50ies and 60ies.

I've now come across a BJ7, ex USA (east coast), that is not a total wreck, but not a drivable car either. After a thorough inspection, these are the things that should be done to get it to a nice drivable car. I am not interested in having a showroom condition car.

- new floors
- new carpets
- new rear seats (front seats are good)
- chassis looks good, except the rear outriggers
- there are no keys
- engine looks to be stuck, and it lacks a radiator
- new exhaust
- some of the wiring looks worn
- front bumper

I am fairly handy, and I am in no hurry to get the above done (which means I can look for second hand stuff). The only thing I can't do myself is welding.

Would it be possible to do the above for roughly 10.000 pounds? That would leave me around 3000 pounds for unexpected costs

thanks for your help!

OK, so I am just going to address this car. First, all the parts you listed are all available. This outfit is actually in Belgium I believe https://www.angloparts.com/en/catalogues/show/45
Regarding rust in the chassis & floors, you can get virtually all of the metal replacement items from K.A.S. Kilmartin in Australia https://www.kas-kilmartin.com.au/KAS Austin Healey Parts Description.htm and even get a complete repacement chassis I believe. You can also get a complete chassis and superstructure from Jule Ent. in Canada for about $8,000.00 US https://www.jule-enterprises.com/ from what I understand the Jule chassis is stronger than original but will not look completely original from under the car. If you decide to go the replacement panel route you can take a MIG welding class (it's not all that difficult to learn) and you could save yourself a bunch of money. You can buy a new aluminum radiator for around $500-$600 US. The frozen engine can probably be freed up with some patience and penetrating oil. If not, you may be able to press the pistons out and re-bore or there are core engines still out there. Good luck in your search!

Cheers,
Dan M.

 

[tahoe healey]

Run away! Too many things wrong that will cost too much to repair. Wood dash cars had black gauges. No radiator. Underside of bonnet may indicate there was a fire. It would need a total restoration probably $30,000 or more US.

 

[DerekJ]

For that price the car is a mess. It says its a Mk2 but it has a MarkIII dashboard although as someone mentioned above, it has the wrong dials for a MkIII. You would need to spend far more than £10,000 to put it right.

 

[doddel]

I was willing to pay around 12-13K for this car. It went for 35K. So yes, I did stay far away ;-)

 

[Keoke]

I was willing to pay around 12-13K for this car. It went for 35K. So yes, I did stay far away ;-)

Yo did GOOD--

 

[EV2239]

I does seem that if the chassis is sound on these cars and that is the really expensive bit, they're are worth far more than the prices being touted here. You have to pay between £18-30,000 for a heap.

Therefore meticulous inspection of the chassis is a must and preferably by an expert because they crack and kink round the front suspension anchor points, they rust through from inside and they're damaged by being jacked up around the rear and across the front under the radiator.

Corrosion of the front an rear aprons make them unweldable and rust inwards from the inside of the front of the rear wing, from the inside of the rear of the rear wing does considerable damage and it also does starting back from the rear inside of the front wing, a lot of which never got painted.

SC parts are a leading Specialist with offices in the U.K. and Offices and factories in Germany. Have a look at their website because it is comprehensive and very helpful. AH Spares in the U.K. are really helpful too and Denis Welch. Others will fill you in on American experts.

They're quite a nice old touring car IMO, not really a sports one because they'd rather being in top and stay below 4000. Mine has just 2,400 around Europe and over the Alps and apart from needing some grease, an oil and filter change and a brake overhaul, it's a happy bunny. Engines are good and strong, gearbox is WW2 truck and brakes okay if you remember they aren't.

 

[nevets]

As another poster said...cheaper to buy your Healey state-side and ship it home. Check the ads, there are always a few drivers on the market. If you can find a SoCal / southwest car, it's likely to be less rusty than one from other locations.

 

[PHulst]

They're quite a nice old touring car IMO, not really a sports one because they'd rather being in top and stay below 4000. Mine has just 2,400 around Europe and over the Alps and apart from needing some grease, an oil and filter change and a brake overhaul, it's a happy bunny. Engines are good and strong, gearbox is WW2 truck and brakes okay if you remember they aren't.

I think that this is one of the best, most concise statements describing the big Healey that I've read in a long time.
Listening to the whine from the gearbox just took on a whole new meaning, and I'll probably not forget the apt WW2 truck reference.