Basket case BJ8 values

[TFR1]

Friend in MN called tonight asking if I was interested in a disassembled 1967 BJ8.
Have asked for pics. Frame finished, engine and gearbox rebuilt, matching numbers but needs everything.
Many years ago I would have bought one like this in a moment but today it is not that tempting.
Does anyone have experience with current value of similar Healey projects?

TFR1

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[Brinkerhoff]

Yes, I am pretty sure the bottom for a complete BJ8 parts car is 5-7000. I wouldn't attach any value to the frame being finished . What does that mean ? As far as being practical to restore , it would depend on the condition of the chassis and the panels. If its a typical midwestern Healey it probably just needs 40 or 50 thou in body work !

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Friend in MN called tonight asking if I was interested in a disassembled 1967 BJ8.
Have asked for pics. Frame finished, engine and gearbox rebuilt, matching numbers but needs everything.
Many years ago I would have bought one like this in a moment but today it is not that tempting.
Does anyone have experience with current value of similar Healey projects?

TFR1

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I had an inquiry a couple of days ago to the value of a similar '67 BJ8 and that has no fenders, no shrouds, rebuilt engine and trans and frame redone. Too many expensive parts missing to place a value on it IMHO. Plus "no pictures"!! Someone with the parts(fender and shrouds) might be able to cut a deal. (The car I was asked to value is a German import). Then there's the interior which is very expensive to do on a BJ8 compared to other Healeys. What's your time worth to put it all back together?? I wouldn't even care to guess what I'd pay for it if it was all there and I asked friends of mine in our local club and they didn't want to even guess at a value with no pictures available. When a cars in pieces you never know what's missing. The little stuff will drive you crazy trying to find all of it.

 

[TFR1]

Thanks for the thoughts.
I had a local Healey owner tell me if it was free, and I could do most of the work myself, it would still be to expensive.

TFR1

 

[DerekJ]

TFR1 Great comment...and true.

 

[Jeepster]

It seems that buyers will pay a lot more for a basket case over here in the uk than the US?
There are a couple of rotten frames currently on eBay for £2-2.5 K just for the vin numbers?

It also seems there is a market for re patriating Healeys from the US to the UK as the are a few models on as total restorations for £12 K plus.

 

[glemon]

Thanks for the thoughts.
I had a local Healey owner tell me if it was free, and I could do most of the work myself, it would still be to expensive.

TFR1

While that may very well be true from an economic sense, if it were true from a personal sense people would never buy project cars, at least not ones that end up having a value less than the restoration costs. But for many the cost of admission for even a driver quality Healey doesn't work, either because there just isn't the money in the bank, or because the spouse or other spending priorities make such a purchase "difficult" So a basket case purchase is the only way you are going to get into a car you have always wanted. The pay as you go plan. Will many of such purchases end up like the current sale of the car we are discussing? (an unfinished project for sale to the next guy), sure, but some will get done and somebody will have the car they have always wanted. Such projects also give people, I won't go so far as to say "a purpose in life", but certainly a reason to look forward to waking up Saturday morning so they can go out and work on the car.

I recently turned down an E-type basket case I was looking at, for me the purchase would have made economic sense, because I am sure I could have gotten it to a state where it was worth more than I put in it (not counting my labor of course). But I ultimately decided I didn't want to spend the vast majority of my spare time for the next five years out in the garage getting the thing done. I like to work on cars in my spare time A LOT, but there is a point for my where it sort of crosses over from a hobby to some sort of cross between a second career and an obsession.

I guess what I am saying is such decisions are probably as much about a realistic assessment of your time, priorities, and DIY skills as they are about money.

 

[TFR1]

glemon,

Your response is superbly stated and reflects my sentiments and likely those of many of the readers of this forum.
i have purchased many basket case projects in my life. Almost always for the financial reasons you have cited.
I too am usually found in my workshop doing what I enjoy most, working on my British cars.
But the low cost of a project is not as easily justified as it once was. As I have gotten older, projects take longer to complete. At the same time I have fewer available hours to devote to a restoration. I also have a little more disposable
income than when the children were in college.

So the dilemma remains. Should I resist my most basic urge to "save another neglected Healey" or leave it for a 'wild eyed' young enthusiast as I once was?

 

[Editor_Reid]

It seems that buyers will pay a lot more for a basket case over here in the uk than the US?
There are a couple of rotten frames currently on eBay for £2-2.5 K just for the vin numbers?

It also seems there is a market for re patriating Healeys from the US to the UK as the are a few models on as total restorations for £12 K plus.

I have long noted that in the UK the cars are more expensive but the parts are less expensive. The price of parts may have equalized somewhat, but many years ago I can recall that it was actually less expensive to buy the parts from the UK even when you added the considerable transport costs.

I also understand that the UK is very nearly out of unrestored Healeys, while we here in the USA still seem to turn them up regularly. I know where several projects are at any given time and there are even a few dealers here who specialize in selling project cars.

 

[pkmh]

Good question and good response. I purchased two Healeys thus far. My first one, which I still miss, was destroyed from hurricane Sandy. I miss her because she was a step above a basket case, but I was advancing along, improving her and having fun driving her. Had it for two years and got it cheap by todays' standards ($23,000) and was very much complete and ran (well, more so later on)! For the two years I had her, I was fixing and detailing as I went. It was definitely a hobby and a learning process, a sense of accomplishment. Well, after Sandy claimed her, I started again. But almost paid double BUT, she was a much better specimen. It helps to have a current working knowledge of the car but still, I am treating it as a hobby by detailing and maintaining her as I go, again. In terms of whether to buy one and in what shape, I have to say it also depends how much energy you have plus money and time that goes without saying. Having a space to work in helps and accessibility to parts still okay but not as easy as it once was, even with DIY skills. The final decision will have to be weighed by how bored you are, then your available funds, then how much time you have. I live in the northeast and because of all the snow and being homebound and all, I am glad to have the Healey. Example, I am refurbishing the dash and all its related parts which I am doing in my apartment, never getting bored, never feeling any cabin fever. The plus side(s), I am also helping my investment and getting some exercise, depending on the task. Also, if you get tired of it, you can always sell it and not make it a total loss. But I still feel you are still going to have to make the final decision yourself.

Paul

 

[Brinkerhoff]

Why a choice between : saving it or leaving it for someone else? Why not buy it and flip it and make a few bucks? Use the money to invest in your other needy cars. Let somebody with poor calculator batteries restore it.