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'67 BJ8 Barn Find - need opinions

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Yep....If I get it, I will attempt to get it running first. I would love to just get it running and drive it around a bit as is before taking that deep plunge into it.....stay tuned....I'll post photos as things move forward (or advise if it all ends).

Tim
 
Just agree on a price before you do that. I'd hate to see the price go up from your labor. :madder:
 
johnny, im with you on this one, having bought a healey or two and a couple of parts id go get $1500.00 in small bills show her $1200.00 of it and offer just a bit more etc, once the $1500.00 wasnt enough and she wouldnt bite -- aloha!, remember there is still alot of good usable parts on that car, if you could buy it for your max offer and decide to part it out as others here have said, youd be way ahead of the game.
 
My BN4 is number 34928 and was made in Feb '57, so that engine is from car BN4-L-?-32454 which would probably have been built in late '56. (The "?" would be an "O" if it had overdrive.) In those years the car and engine had the same number, and it would be a 2.6 L engine, not a 3 L.
 
John Turney said:
My BN4 is number 34928 and was made in Feb '57, so that engine is from car BN4-L-?-32454 which would probably have been built in late '56. (The "?" would be an "O" if it had overdrive.) In those years the car and engine had the same number, and it would be a 2.6 L engine, not a 3 L.
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Thanks for the info!! Odds are I will be looking for a buyer for that engine and also looking for a proper engine for the '67 BJ8
 
:yesnod: Tim, to illustrate what I mean, I just received this email;

Here are a couple of photos of my Healey. It doesn't look quite like this right now because, as I said, I've removed the grill, carbs, radiator, and am in the middle of rebuilding the brakes (replacing all pads etc.). Haven't decided what to ask, any reasonable offer will be considered. The car is in Millersburg, OH.

I bought my 1965 baby in 1969. She has six cylinders, four speed and an overdrive unit with 68,000 miles.

Thanks again !
Steve (Miller)
millerlm@embarqmail.com


PS email him and view the photos of the car he has for sale..

Good luck with your decision, and you know the BCF will stand by you.
 
I just want to thank everyone for there great info. I have been following this post and have loved all the great info. I am finishing up a TR3 restore and want to jump to a big healey next. I have been searching for one for some time and this has been great for me to figure out how much to pay for one if I ever do find one to restore. The triumph fell in my lap, but have always loved the healey's. Good luck if you get it, as I am very jealous. If anyone knows of any restorable's in the Northeast, send them my way. Thanks.
Josh
 
There is a 1967 BJ8 about 15 miles down the road from my house in about the same condition as your prospect but with the original engine and all original parts. Having worked on these cars for about 20 years I would not not give more than $1500.00 for it. You can run up BIG bills on these cars during a restoration and can easily have more in your restoration than you would pay for a car in really nice shape, and that is not counting the hundreds of hours spent by you personally on a proper restoration that you will never recover. I would rather spend about $20,000 on one and start with a car that needs much less work on it to bring it up to being a good nice looking driver. Just my 10 cents worth.
 
I saw that car about 5 years ago. It is still there. He thinks that it is worth a lot of money because it is an Austin Healey. I will enquire about it if you are interested. I have not seen it for 5 years, so it might now be worth less than when I saw it.
 
Thanks, let me know. Like I said, I've been looking for one for some time now and appreciate any leads anyone might have. What was the final verdict Sheridan?
 
Hi, Sheridan -

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the BJ8 Registry in their responses, but if you have quoted the VIN correctly, there is a former owner out there who is interested in the whereabouts of this car. Don't worry, it wasn't stolen. A lot of former owners of BJ8s are interested in whatever happened to their cars. Contact me at sbyers@ec.rr.com and we can continue the discussion if you are interested.

The "H" in the chassis number stands for "Healey", and the "L" is for North American specification (i.e., left-hand drive). Original BJ8 engines have serial numbers with format 29K/RU/HXXXX (later ones have five digits after the H).
 
My 64 BJ8 was in about the same condition maybe a step up but I did all my own work and it took me 27 months, 6 hours a day, 7 days a week. I have about $33000 total in the car. It was my fourth restoration and a very rewarding exercise. I would do it again! Have a good day!

John
 
John_Progess said:
My 64 BJ8 was in about the same condition maybe a step up but I did all my own work and it took me 27 months, 6 hours a day, 7 days a week. I have about $33000 total in the car. It was my fourth restoration and a very rewarding exercise. I would do it again! Have a good day!

John
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Thanks John for the input. I plan to take about two times as long as you did and expect to spend at least that much (probably more) so I think my head is in the right place. Most of the work will be done by myself. I will get assistance with bady work on the frame and various panels and will also have the final body and paint done professionally. Other than that I am fully capable of doing the rest similar to what I did on my '46 Chevy truck (took 8 years and about the same $$$).

Tim

p.s.; I hope to pick up the car this weekend and will post photos if I do.
 
Tim,
I did my own paint and body work, Healey blue with O E white coves. Just the materials, primer, color, clear etc was about $2000. Do you know how much a professional paint job would cost in your neck of the woods? I also beefed up the frame outriggers and the rear section to try to avoid frame sag down the road. This was a recommendation of one of our members that has been into Healeys for 30 years and had a bad experience with his 100-4.Have a good day!

John
 
Spoke to the owner to finalize the offer and seems she has since spoken to a "local Healey Expert" and she now feels that the car is worth $15,000-20,000 (based off of her discription to him - and she still sees the car in her mind as new). I told her to sell it as fast as she can for that price and that my offer stands if she finds that she can not get what the "expert" told her it is worth. She also now feels that her car is "more collectable than Jags". As bit irritating considering the "expert" never even looked at the car (or even saw photos of it in its current state).

Unfortunately the car will most likely continue to sit for years to come in the worn out garage exposed to the weather and animals that are living in it.
 
WEll... since I live in Ohio I had to follow up on Mr. Millers non running barn Healey...recieved 3 far photos and a beginning price of $30 G's.

I tried to be nice in my response about the price but....

Pete
 
There are lots of folks who just don't want to sell anything, at any price. That "Healey Expert" may well look and the car and tell her "wow, you didn't tell me blah..blah...blah," and offer her what it's really worth, which is below $5000.00. You can do a lot better.
 
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