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austin healy

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mgbmedic

mgbmedic

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i just looked at an AH 3000 approx '64 (badge says MkII)and the guy wants $50.00 for it. The car is complete, but, is a rust bucket. Frame is rusted in half. I don't have a Healy at this time, so my question is, what could i do with this? is it a waste of time? Certainly not a waste of money. could the frame be repaired and if so, would it be worth anything?
 
1. It's Austin Healey

2. The speedo is probably worth more than $50, not to mention a few dozen other things expected to be on a complete car.

3. Impossible to say if the frame should be saved without seeing it -- but anything can be restored. If one was going to undertake a costly restoration then an AH is probably one of the better choices for having a chance at recouping the 'investment'.

4. You're from "Indiana/Kentucky"? I'm from one of those and no one I knew on my side of the Ohio river would ever claim to be from the other one.
 
got your message, i got the car today, paid $100. it;s a complete car except the bumpers. i think i'll put it under a tarp and see what options there are . who knows, i may find a frame for fifty.
 
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I think i'll put it under a tarp and see what options there are

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like a waste of a good tarp.
 
i've got a digital camera, just not computer savvy enough to send a pic. give me a few days and i;ll post some
 
it's a mk 2a, the owner of nationwide auto restoration says it's quite a collectable. i took photos, trying to send you one
 
I'm restoring a 63 Mark II (BJ7). I just paid a small fortune for instruments that still have to be rebuilt. Repros are unobtainium. I also paid a lot for a couple of rust free doors. I'm sure you have a thousand or two in parts value. Where were you when I needed you.
 
how do i show pictures of this car. i have a program called Kodak easy share, i have pic in this program, how do i put them on this forum
 
[ QUOTE ]
i don't know how to take that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just my poor attempt at humor.

BTW a friend of mine recently purchased an old Mercedes which he characterized as "corrosion-stabilized". That means everything that could possibly rust already had.
 
If you really like the car, oops, should of said "Love" the car, then it's worth all the time and money to restore it. I'll attach a few of my rust pictures to this post and we'll compare rusty cars. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 

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SORRY, I STILL HAVEN'T QUITE MASTERED THE PICTURES AS OF YET. TOMORROW, I'M LOOKING AT A AH3000 ROLLING CHASSIS FOR $500. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FREE OF MAJOR RUST AND GOOD BODY PANELS. I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN YOU, JUST NOT COMPUTER SAVVY
 
As a fellow brother of the rusty red road I can feel your pain but as my wife says when she looks at me "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". This is a great place with great folks and if your heart is in it go for it. I did TWICE a little poorer a lot wiser but a heck of a lot of fun. Skip
 
Any Healey can be restored. Join the Austin Healey Club of America AHCA and when you receive their monthly magazine, "Healey Marque" you'll see an ad for a complete frame and chassis for $6500. All you have to do then is add the fenders, doors shrouds etc, rebuild the motor, and transmission, suspension, brakes etc.
Good Luck.
In fact, I know of someone who wants just that kind of car. Send me an email with a picture; jlore26@att.net
 
[ QUOTE ]
SORRY, I STILL HAVEN'T QUITE MASTERED THE PICTURES AS OF YET. TOMORROW, I'M LOOKING AT A AH3000 ROLLING CHASSIS FOR $500. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FREE OF MAJOR RUST AND GOOD BODY PANELS. I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN YOU, JUST NOT COMPUTER SAVVY

[/ QUOTE ]
Is this the car you bought? If not, where is it? I'm interested in buying it. Just send me an email;
jlore26@att.net
Thanks
 
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MOST- I bought a rust bucket Healey. I'ts been a blast and a horror. Invested a ton of time and decent amount of cash but I could recoop most of the expense by selling the parts I suppose. The frame rails were trash and I ended up fabricating new frame rails from box tubing. I was able to find box tubing with 1/8" thickness walls with the same height and width as the Healey's rails. This is really thick! I cut the box tubing down to mirror the Healey dimensions and then welded the front and rear scuttle on. I was able to save the center cross piece but had to purchase the outriggers, the back and front cross pieces, engine mounts and and suspension mounts and new outer and inner sills. The suspension, engine and tranny are in and with a few mechanical tasks, I will have the car running. My dimensions seem fine although my rough hanging of the body revealed the fact that I am going to have some fun getting the panel gaps perfect.

Bottom line was is worth it? Yes and no. I didn't have the money to buy an easy restoration candidate but have been able to parcel out money as I move along. Certainly this process is more expensive in the long run, but if this was a financial transaction, I was wrong from the get go.

Since you bought the car, think long and hard on what you what to do before you start. There were many days when I looked at my check book balance, the welding sun burns on my face and wondered what on earth I was doing.

The smart move is to keep or sell the good parts and buy a better candidate. Smart moves are for business and family. Save the bad moves for hobbies.

Good luck-

Kmeyer
 
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