BJ8 Production Year

[nitro]

Hello everyone!
I was wondering if it was possible to know what year my 3000MKIII was made based on the Car NO. and/or Body NO.
After so many years, this car no longer has any paperwork attached to it, so we really have no idea when it was made and imported.
The only really good piece of info I got is that the car does not have twin indicators in the front which, I think, narrows it down between 1963 and 1965?

Also another little thing, is the car no. the vin no. or is that something separate? I know in the states cars have VIN's but I dont really know how it was overseas back in the 60's.

Thanks for any help )

 

[Editor_Reid]

For a fee, the Heritage Motor Centre will research your Healey's original production information and mail you a nice certificate with the information listed. There are options on format and cost, but the standard certificate looks like this:

Quite often you will discover surprising things about your car.

They'll need the Car No. (same as the VIN). In the case of your BJ8 it will likely be something like HBJ8L (followed by five digits). If your Healey is RHD, the "L" will not be present; it indicates LHD, but RHD cars did not have an "R" in that position.

It's worthwhile to have this "birth certificate" for your car not only for the general interest, but also for when the time comes to sell, potential buyers like to see it too. Many people frame these certificates and display them at car shows (it may be best to scan and print a copy for display in case of rain, wind, and sun-bleaching).

 

[Overdrive45]

I second Reid's comments. I just received my BJ8's certificate and the turnaround time was just a few days. I found the range of months when it was produced, the date it was shipped to Hamilton, Ontario Canada to the first owner, and the serial numbers of the original parts, which so far match what I have seen. You'll notice that sales ads will often post that the car has a Heritage trust certificate, and I think it adds to the allure.

There are some good looking reproductions out there, so it's nice to have the paper work.

Dave

 

[AN6-TX]

Hello everyone!
I was wondering if it was possible to know what year my 3000MKIII was made based on the Car NO. and/or Body NO.
After so many years, this car no longer has any paperwork attached to it, so we really have no idea when it was made and imported.
The only really good piece of info I got is that the car does not have twin indicators in the front which, I think, narrows it down between 1963 and 1965?

Also another little thing, is the car no. the vin no. or is that something separate? I know in the states cars have VIN's but I dont really know how it was overseas back in the 60's.

Thanks for any help )

what information do you have? its easy to "ballpark" when the car was constructed with some additional details. The exact data, as referenced above, can be obtained via the trust.

Also, @BJ8Healeys may be able to help...

 

[BoyRacer]

You may be in luck. There is a number stamped onto the right front shock tower just forward of the shock. On earlier cars it was a 4 digit number that was a Jensen number that will not show up on any Heritage Certificate. However, with the BJ8s, that number should be the actual VIN number. It will not have the "BJ8L" characters, but should have the VIN numbers that follow BJ8L.

 

[Overdrive45]

I have restoration photos of mine before the restoration, and the VIN as well as body number are visible on the firewall. Body number is upper right. The engine number is located as shown. Hope this helps. Dave

 

[BoyRacer]

Nitro,

I just went back and re-read all the posts. To answer the question in your first post. All cars worldwide have VIN numbers. VIN means "Vehicle Identification Number" and that number is your "car number". With that number you can learn all you need to know about your car. The body number is a number used by Jensen when they were assembling the chassis.