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BN6 or is it?

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British_Recovery

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Currently on eBay there's a Healey listed as a 1958 BN6 (BN6L-1688). It's from a dealer in Arvada, Colorado. There are some irregularities that suggest to me that an early 4 seater (BN4 or BT7) has been used to create this car. The interior is all wrong in the area behind the seats and there isn't a BN6 top mounting for the top frame. The boot area is also 4 seater in appearance. I asked the seller about this and the reply was basically that the VIN says it's a BN6, and that's all that counts. Car looks good and will generate a lot of interest, but might not be what it's claimed to be. Fair warning.
Bob
 
No mountings for the top therefore it's shown separately. The dealer can truthfully answer: "Oh yes, it has a top" - lotta good that'll do the new owner.

The knockoffs are dummies, else why the disc wheel spare?

A thoroughly dishonest presentation.
 
Yep, another example of "Caveat Emptor" for anyone buying something off of ebay or anywhere for that fact. I had a BN6 and the rear shelf area - tonneau area in BN6 talk - appears to be carpet over the tractor seats forming the back seats. Looks like it has the metal portion in between the seats as well as they look visible in the picture. Like Bob also said, boot is wrong as BN6's had their kill switch mounted elsewhere and of course batteries were mounted under the rear tonneau shelf and spare slid up under the shroud. For what it's worth, I reported the ad as suspicious to ebay but who knows if they will do anything. Someone obviously put a BN6 shroud on a BN4 to make a BN6.
Regards,
Mike
 
That's not where you'd find the battery on a 2-seater, and it almost looks like the outline of the rear seat pans under the carpet (plus the side panels are wrong).

I'd say you nailed it, that's a BN4. I sure hope the buyer does his homework...
 
And eBay item 221246651913 is for a BJ8: HBJ8L/42505G. Or is it?
It's claimed to be a Kurt Tanner restoration, and maybe it is. But it has the body plate for HBJ8L/34404 and the engine for HBJ8L/38063. The VIN plate possibly is a replacement, too. The original 42505 was a German-spec car and this one has none of the typical features as such.
 
That car has been on E Bay a few times in recent history (at least I think it is the same car). Would it be worth more as a BN6 than a BN4?
 
Hey Irene,
BN6's typically bring more than a BN4 as far less made and many like the two seater versus the four seater !
Regards,
Mike
 
Wow, the VIN says BN6L 1688, which required a quick double-take for me as I currently own BN6L 688. Anyway, aside from the astute observations above, it has WAY too much space behind the seats. Definitely a "franken-healey"
 
I sent a message to the ebay dealer bringing up the questions about this BN6, mentioning all of the above we have discussed. Suggested the "honorable" thing to do was explain what he apparently had on his listing. I know, honorable and ebay seller are mutually exclusive. Actually heard back from him ( assuming it's a him) and said he "didn't know much about these cars". Told him what to look for and how easy it was to figure out what he was selling. Everyone hold your breath now waiting for the ad to be edited ! This kind of stuff really makes me mad as there are many folks who sell a car on ebay that do everything they can to be honest and 'dealers' like this give all a black eye. Plus love Hubosity already owning BN6L 1688, guess he didn't know it had a twin out there !
 
I spoke to the owner of the dealership. They took this car in trade for another car, and didn't know much about Healeys. He added a note to the end of the listing saying that there's a question about the VIN and said those interested should contact them with questions. He's aware of the discrepancies that have been pointed out. This car appears in Healey data.
What's the best way to deal with this car? I suggested researching the engine number as a start. I wonder if the batch/body plates were changed. Car has overdrive now, but with the solid wheels and non-adjusting steering column, it may be the base model. If so, it might have the 3.54 rear. Lots of questions, and probably some legal ones, too.
Bob
 
i was interested in this car recently. and, talked to auto dealer several times. the owner sent me probably 30 pictures of the car including specific areas i asked him to take pictures of! it is definitely not a bn6 and i pointed this out to the sales guy. even so, they continue to advertise in sales ads as well as ebay the bn6 vin number. from underneathe the rear of the car it is easy to see where they cover over the rear seat areas. also the rear bulkhead is wrong and has no provision for insertion of the spare tire. the dealership continues to expect 23 t0 25,000 for a car that needs considerable work and has improper vin.
 
This is a perfect example of "caveat emptor" and anyone looking to buy this Healey needs to do their homework and sounds like a couple of posters here are doing just that. Too bad the dealer can't simply own up to the fact that they have a BN4 that some previous owner converted either because they wanted a BN6 and the higher resale value or maybe simply a case that they had a BN6 shroud and figured that was the cheapest way to replace a non-repairable BN4 shroud. Or somewhere in between of those possible scenarios. Regardless, dealer should state that this is a 4 seater converted into a 2 seater and vin is incorrect. The cockpit surrounds will provide the correct Jensen body number and think Heritage Trust can run with that for vin number ? Not sure on that. I got the dealer to respond back to me from a question sent to them via ebay but beyond putting the note in the listing, looks like they are trying to avoid stating the truth on this one. And anyone who buys it thinking they are getting a BN6 with the higher value, just got fleeced. This would be a good one to go after the dealer via ebay and use the up to $50,000 of damages resulting from a fraudulent listing or however ebay states it. Think someone will have a good case.
Regards,
Mike
 
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