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Advice on BJ8 purchase

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TulsaFred

TulsaFred

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Hello gentlemen,

I put a deposit on this car and will be inspecting it soon. I have no direct experience with Big Healeys and this is a significant investment for me.

https://www.vaitx.com/1967austinhealey/

I'd be interested in comments about the car, what I should look for when I inspect, opinions on value, and anything else that may be helpful to a potential purchase.

I'd love to have a professional inspection, but I doubt there is anyone close to Amarillo who could look at it for me. I may be on my own, and I have been burned before.

thanks in advance!

Fred
 
First of all, that's a fairly rare color with only 553 cars being produced in Metallic Golden Beige in 1967. The high water mark for one of these was $143k at auction. That's likely a number not to be seen again for a production Healey. The pics of this car look pretty nice. Obviously it's been repainted, and it's not a concours car, but it looks solid. A completely wild guess is asking price is between $50k-$60k. If you're in that end of the market, you really can't afford to buy a car without a professional inspection. Check with the Austin Healey Club of America or Austin Healey Club USA, there's got to be a member close to Amarillo that can help you with an inspection.
 
I'd love to have a professional inspection, but I doubt there is anyone close to Amarillo who could look at it for me. I may be on my own, and I have been burned before.

Sure there are pros all over google for one and the $$$ spent will be well invested.

However, the car as to extent the pictures show appears to be original and well kept. It is what lies up underneath you worry about.--Fwiw--Keoke
 
I checked my Austin Healey Club USA member book and unfortunately the closes member is in Dallas, maybe a 6 hr drive.
I'll keep looking.
Any leads on inspectors that would travel?

Fred
 
TulsaFred said:
I checked my Austin Healey Club USA member book and unfortunately the closes member is in Dallas, maybe a 6 hr drive.
I'll keep looking
Any leads on inspectors that would travel?

Fred
Click to expand...

I'd be happy to travel, but only if you'd spot me one of those 72 oz. steaks at the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Ummm, sinuses packed with meat!
 
Looks like a pretty clean car. One thing I noticed--in the second and fourth photos--is that that the character lines on the front of both rear wings don't line up well with the rest of the lines. This could be indicative of some panel repair--i.e. dogleg replacement--on the rear wings (fenders). The right (passenger) side (possible) repair looks more pronounced. Of course, could be photographic distortion as well, but I'd check closely here.
 
Just curious, if this is car 2000 of 5500 made & build date is Dec of '67, they either made a heck of alot more cars in that month or something is funny. My '67 is #86174 & I think is fairly late production date, it was delivered new to a Navy personnel in England for export. It came w/octagon knock-offs,reflectors on rear bumper & a black tag on firewall saying BMC 67. I'm the 2nd owner & have had her since '78.Just saying-can never be too careful-IMO. cheers Genos2
 
Amarillo is a long way from Massachusetts...even for Big Texan steaks...

I'll check the panels closely. I keep hearing about the doglegs...can someone define?

Vintage Autohaus misinterpreted the Heritage certificate. 2000/5500 actually refers to the certificate, it was number 2000 of 5500 issued that year. The car itself (42783) is #244 from the end of BJ8 production according to the BJ8 registry.

Hopefully there's a Big Healey guy in Texas or Oklahoma that could help me out...

Fred
 
This is what E-Bay says-?????????

en removed, or this item is not available.

*
o Please check that you've entered the correct item number
o Listings that have ended 90 or more days ago will not be available for viewin
 
Dogleg is the lower part of rear fender in front of wheel opening. Typical catch-all for debris & water( causing rust). Also check rockers(area below doors)& frame for splits or rust. good hunting, Genos2
 
Are there any particular areas to check for rust?

I know on my vintage Corvette there are very specific areas that tend to rust. The frame areas on the vette is a big problem, but can be repaired with a body off restoration. Rust in the "birdcage" (the metal framework around the passenger compartment holding the fiberglass panels) is almost impossible to fix. I know how to inspect those areas.

What about big Healeys? Are there similar known problem areas, or hidden problem areas, and how should I investigate?
 
Go the the AH Club of America web site and check out the OK club. There are names and phone numbers of the officers that can probably give you assistance.
I thought the late model BJ8's had the exhaust coming out the passenger side.
 
Bob
your right, someone else pointed out that this car has a BJ7 exhaust on it
apparently some prefer the sound of this exhaust (while others find it too loud)
 
TulsaFred said:
Are there any particular areas to check for rust? ...
Click to expand...

As mentioned, the dogleg of the rear fenders and the door sills. The wheel cutouts on Big Healey fenders have a nifty bead around the edge which is actually the fender sheetmetal wrapped around a stiff wire. If a repair has been done on the fenders that bead may no longer be intact or contiguous. You can tell by running your fingers along the inner edge of the wheel cutouts.

Anywhere along the lower part of the car is a potential rust area; e.g. lower doors, lower front fenders, etc. Check closely for rust on the boot (trunk) floor--even my original CA car needed a boot pan replacement recently (I did it myself). You'll have to check from underneath as the gas tank covers most of the boot floor. The ad states it has 'rust free floor pans'--what about the rest of the car?

The front and rear shrouds are aluminum. The front often cracks near where it's fitted to the front of the chassis rails. The rear can crack on the 'shoulder,' which would be approximately above the center of the rear wheels. Since the side panels are made of steel there is potential (pun intended) for electrolytic corrosion along the panel flanges. Unfortunately, it's hard/impossible to detect unless you take the wings (fenders; might as well learn the lingo) off.

Check the front shock mounts--if driven hard they can crack around the base of the shock (ask me how I know). Also check the lower A-arm mounts--if the front has been clobbered they might be bent.

Just noticed the excessively long U-bolts on the driver's side rear spring. Also, one of the flatwashers is cocked--someone has mucked with this.
 
Bob,
what do you mean by "shrouds", is it the same as a lower valence?
Fred
 
The shrouds are the front and rear upper panels of the body. The front shroud goes from the fascia (dash), around the bonnet (hood) and wraps around and under the grill. The rear shroud starts behind the doors, wraps around the hood (convertible top) and boot (trunk) lid and curls under the rear bumper, where it's riveted to the steel boot pan. Note the stainless beads running along the top of the front and rear wings--they separate the aluminum shrouds and the steel wings (fenders).

The aluminum is soft--often, there are small dents around the engine bay where someone has propped an elbow or set a wrench.
 
How to speak British, 101

Nice job Bob, explaining what's what and what it's called.

And now for a visual:
 
<span style="color: #FF0000">Are there any particular areas to check for rust?</span>

Where do you want to start?

Get the car up on a ramp if possible and look at the underside.

Trunk floor, cockpit floor - both these areas should have metal that has been stiffened by forming depressions in the form of squares and ovals - if they are just flat then they have been replaced with plain sheet metal - not a major problem as restorers used that in the years when panels were not available. The bottom of the sills ( rockers)- is the edge of the metal where the three sill sections come together straight, nice and tight or is it wavy with open joints - sills are then shot. Are the chassis rails straight without major dents - there could be some due to the ride height, also see if any of the sections are rusting out. You may not be able to see the top of the chassis unless you can remove the carpets and then you may not be able to view all the top as it will be covered partially by the floor. Check around the engine compartment, and look at the door shut gaps - they should be nice and even all round, if the gap at the top rear of the doors is tight with the top of the rear fender then the car has sagged a little - again not a major problem unless the chassis is totally wrecked, but just something to look out for if you are paying big bucks. You will not be able to fully assess the integrity of the outer panels untill you take them off, but you can run your hands around inside the rear fenders to see if there is any rough patches - possibly Bondo. My front and rear fenders looked great untill I took them off - fibre glass and Bondo aplenty.

:cheers:

Bob
 
Thanks guys,
Having bought and been burned by a few old cars, I am wary, but also realistic. I would not expect a car of this age not to have any defects, or imperfect mechanical repairs, or some bondo or even panel replacments, etc.

A pristine BJ8 with none of those issues would be rare and astronomically valuable.

If the car looks good and starts, runs, turns and stops well then that is a good start.

Beyond that, my major concerns would not be that someone has worked on the suspension, engine, interior, with less than concours detail. These things can be corrected over time, and is part of the "fun" of the classic car hobby.

My concern would be a hidden disaster that makes the car impossible or exorbinantly expensive to repair. I would be most worried about frame and structural rust.

I plan to put the car on a lift and probe the frame with a screwdriver or hammer and punch. I'll check the body panels as best I can by sighting down the sides and feeling the inner surfaces.

Unfortunately, there are some out there who are very good at hiding things. I just don't want to miss something BIG.

Fred
 
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