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Austin Healey 100-4 barn find!

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BJ7archaeologist

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I have the opportunity to pick up a 1955 AH 100-4 in Iowa. The car is totally disassembled, good frame, the usual Healey rust, doglegs, fenders, small rust in floors,the rest of the sheet metal is reported to be in good to great shape. There is no drive train and no boot lid. Supposedly all of the other parts are present. The guy wants $8500. Is this a good deal or should I walk away?
 
I guess that all depends on how much you want to spend to get it all back together compared to a complete car in the same condition--Keoke
 
OK, I probably suffer from Healey Old Guy Fartisis as I still remember the solid factory 100M I let slide for $5,500 in the '80s. Still, a standard 100 with no drivetrain can't be worth much over $40k with a spot-on resto. Buy this one for $8,500, source a non-numbers matching motor and do the restoration, and you're going to be north of $40k. I'd find a better 100 for that kind of money.
 
Too much money, in my opinion. You'd probably be buying:
<ul style="list-style-type: disc">[*]A title. [*]A frame that needs extensive preparation and possible straightening. [*]Body panels that need extensive rust repair and straightening and fitting. [*]Boxes and boxes of rusty, crusty, dusty parts, almost all of which need replacement.[/list]
It's an opportunity all right... an opportunity to make a small fortune... by starting with a large fortune.

Run away, run away!

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Like everyone else says, RUN AWAY, don't walk away ! But Have one thought if you want to spend a few bucks, get the VIN and check with BMIHT and see what the certificate brings back. Who knows, could be nothing more than a rusted out BN2 but what if it was a rusted out 100M missing some major parts ? Just because it might not have the louvered hood which I assume it does not, could have come with one. Think you can get a simple check done for less than the cost of the complete certificate. Have heard of this happening so maybe worth it to check?
Regards,
Mike
 
Thanks for all of the advise.
I think that I may be able to get the guy down to $7000 but it is still a ton of work and many parts are needed and many will have to be replaced. Having just finished a frame off restoration on my BJ7 I'm not sure if I have the patience for a THIRD Healey. I also have a 1960 BT7 that I still need to restore that is in the process of going back together. Garage space is short too, but darn, a 100-4 would be cool to have.

$40,000 seems awefully high for a restoration. Here in the Upper Midwest prices for labor are fairly cheap. I calculated what I put into my BJ7. I did it all by myself and had my bodyman, brother-in-law pull the trigger on the paint gun for a case of beer. I probably have $20,000 in the car. Of course, my labor would probably be at $2.00/hour for the 1000s of hours but working on it, but Healey labor shouldn't be treated as a commodity anyway.
 
BJ7archaeologist said:
Thanks for all of the advise.
I think that I may be able to get the guy down to $7000 but it is still a ton of work and many parts are needed and many will have to be replaced. Having just finished a frame off restoration on my BJ7 I'm not sure if I have the patience for a THIRD Healey. I also have a 1960 BT7 that I still need to restore that is in the process of going back together. Garage space is short too, but darn, a 100-4 would be cool to have.

$40,000 seems awefully high for a restoration. Here in the Upper Midwest prices for labor are fairly cheap. I calculated what I put into my BJ7. I did it all by myself and had my bodyman, brother-in-law pull the trigger on the paint gun for a case of beer. I probably have $20,000 in the car. Of course, my labor would probably be at $2.00/hour for the 1000s of hours but working on it, but Healey labor shouldn't be treated as a commodity anyway.
Click to expand...
Trying to do a lot of the work yourself usually results in the car not getting finished or taking 10 or 20 years to get it done. Don't kid yourself. Until you do a Healey, you have no idea the time and expertise required to do one. Even if you got the car "free", it will still cost you a lot to do!
 
Some people are just plain greedy! lol

They do recon that it takes 2000 hours to restore one of them and I am not surprised at that.

Restoration costs are high, at 40K US that's cheap for a professional restoration but if you are doing most of the work yourself you will save a shed load of cash.

:cheers:

Bob
 
If you can get the price down you might be able to part the car out at a profit. I know this is sacrilege--and NOT what I'd like to see happen--but if the seller gets frustrated that he can't get what he thinks the car is worth he might just call the local scrapper. I've seen this happen (but fortunately not to a Healey). Better to at least get some use out of the car.

The shrouds alone, if they're in good shape, might be worth several thousand to someone trying to restore a car with a drivetrain and decent chassis (I think patch panels for the shrouds are a thou or more, and good luck trying to weld them up properly). Wings (fenders) could be worth $500 or more. We paid $400 for a decent, used original gas tank. Even the springs, shocks, steering, instruments, rearend, etc. are worth money to someone.

Again, not what I'd want to see happen, but sort of like donating organs--if you don't need them anymore maybe someone else can get a few miles out of them.
 
I love the term "barn find". I picture a dusty old Healey buried under piles of farm junk and a Jed Clampett type saying ... "this ole thing has been settin here since Granny was in high school...I'll give you 20 bucks to pull it outa here..."
 
Run, don't walk!!!!


Pete
 
Last year a guy I met through our club sold a BN1, rusty but complete and together for $3500 out of neighboring Nebraska, I thought it was a 5-7K car in that condition and he kind of gave it away. But wihout a drivetrain and who knows what else I too think the car you describe is a little high.

Go to local british and other car club shows, I am hearing about more and more cars just talking to folks in just the last couple years, a lot of guys that squirreled them away are realizing that they will never get around to it and baling out, don't get me wrong 100s are still pretty few and far between, but they are out there even in the midwest.
 
Patrick67BJ8 said:
BJ7archaeologist said:
Thanks for all of the advise.
I think that I may be able to get the guy down to $7000 but it is still a ton of work and many parts are needed and many will have to be replaced. Having just finished a frame off restoration on my BJ7 I'm not sure if I have the patience for a THIRD Healey. I also have a 1960 BT7 that I still need to restore that is in the process of going back together. Garage space is short too, but darn, a 100-4 would be cool to have.

$40,000 seems awefully high for a restoration. Here in the Upper Midwest prices for labor are fairly cheap. I calculated what I put into my BJ7. I did it all by myself and had my bodyman, brother-in-law pull the trigger on the paint gun for a case of beer. I probably have $20,000 in the car. Of course, my labor would probably be at $2.00/hour for the 1000s of hours but working on it, but Healey labor shouldn't be treated as a commodity anyway.
Click to expand...
Trying to do a lot of the work yourself usually results in the car not getting finished or taking 10 or 20 years to get it done. Don't kid yourself. Until you do a Healey, you have no idea the time and expertise required to do one. Even if you got the car "free", it will still cost you a lot to do!
Click to expand...

Sounds like he has done a Healey and knows a little bit of what he is talking about if you read what he wrote...what you spend on a resto can vary widely, I have a friend that has a tri-carb that looks like it rolled of the showroom floor six months ago, he started with a solid car, but re-did everything, all himself except the spray, I bet he has less than $20,000 maybe less than $15,000 in it. I spent about 11,000 or so on the running restoration on my 100 which included rebuilt motor, tranny, suspension, steering, tires wheels, new paint, just about everything except the interior, not a show car but nice driver.

There are lots of different ways to do things.
 
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