Well-built Nasty Boy on Ebay

[Frankenhealey]

Going cheap for the build costs!

Nasty Boy

 

[dougie]

I agree, this car appears well engineered and constructed. It's located just a few hours from me so I'm surprised I've not seen it before at an event. You couldn't come close to building it for the buy-it-now.

 

[Legal Bill]

If I am reading the add and seeing the photos correctly, only the body panels and some parts of the interior are Healey now. Do the body panels give this car much more value than a Sebring kit car? It may cost more to build one than the buy it now, but I have to question the car's true market value. The current high bid seems closer to the right price to me.

 

[Frankenhealey]

Bill,

What some of us Nasty Boys are always asking ourselves is what would Donald have done if he hadn't been bound in chains to Austin. After his Caddy Silverstone experiment it's almost certain he would have used a V8 for the US market. He would then have had to beef up the chassis and thereby improve the suspension and braking and bingo you have something like the car on EBay. It's all supposition but it certainly could have been!

Yours wistfully,

Ian

 

[Legal Bill]

Thanks Ian. I'm pretty sure Donald would have built my BMW 330i, so I'm calling it an Austin Healey 3300. Now to fit the appropriate badges....

 

[elrey]

Looks like a nice ride from here. My only gripe lies with the foolish little luggage rack.

 

[HealeyRick]

No, no, no Bill! You're getting it backwards. Don't you remember it was BMW that was supposed to be building the new Healey, not the other way around:

I really hate hearing the old saw that a certain car is worth what someone is willing to pay. For most cars, one can figure out the true value and determine if it was bought above or below market. If the old saw is true anywhere, it would be for modified cars. Modifieds, like most hot rods, are built for the present owner, not the next one down the line. They reflect the personal taste of the guy turning the wrench or writing the check. Most of the time they'll never sell for the amount deposited (note I didn't say "invested") in them. Nevertheless, this looks like a really nice build and I'd be happy to burn some rubber off the tires.

 

[Big6Mark]

Lest we forget that Donald Healey and Carroll Shelby had a long history together.

Shelby even approched Austin with the idea to buy Healey chassis and put Ford V8s into them to create the first Shelby "Cobras", but Lord Nuffield wouldn't go for it. Shelby then went to AC and bought their chassis instead.

Too true that the value is only what someone will pay for it, not what it cost to build it. Still true for a custom, or hot rod, or restomod just as it is for an original. There just aren't anymore just like it to set a standard value like with a true restoration.

C Ya,
Mark