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BN7 sells for crazy money

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bighealeysource

bighealeysource

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Just read where a 62 BN7 Tri Carb sold for $203,500 at Gooding Pebble Beach auction last weekend. Not even an original color as far as I know, done up in steel gray with red coves. Beautiful car for absolutely crazy money !!!



Just saw Healey100's post about same sale, didn't realize it was about same car - oh well, still crazy sales price !
 
OH Man !!
Them folk at Pebble Beach got some crazy money.
They see a pretty car and they will throw some crazy money at it.
 
There seems to be a real market at the high end for "pretty" Healeys that seems to fly in the face of the conventional wisdom of restoring to factory colors to maximize the price when it comes to sell. The Golden Metallic Beige BJ8s seem to get more than their fair share of different interior colors and then there is the whole California Sage thing. I'd have to say Kurt Tanner probably broke ground with these color combos and high dollars at the big auctions.
 
HealeyRick said:
There seems to be a real market at the high end for "pretty" Healeys that seems to fly in the face of the conventional wisdom of restoring to factory colors to maximize the price when it comes to sell. The Golden Metallic Beige BJ8s seem to get more than their fair share of different interior colors and then there is the whole California Sage thing. I'd have to say Kurt Tanner probably broke ground with these color combos and high dollars at the big auctions.
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Sorry to disagree with you HealeyRick! We Beige cars get our fair share of different Interior colors just like the roadster folks do. IMHO, If all the Healeys had the same interior colors that they came from the factory with it would be a pretty boring "Healey World". We have a guy in our local club that has a beige/red '67 BJ8. Done very nicely by Kurt Tanner and he paid a significant amount of money for it. It also that the Heritage Certificate in the trunk showing that the orginal car was a different color scheme. My wife thought there was too much red in a red interior Healey and when I showed her a Healey sold by RM a few years ago she said "that's it"! She also demanded "leather" and then before it was on the road she insisted on "chrome wire wheels". At my first show I told a guy what my wife insisted and he asked if she had a sister! She is a ASID Designer, now retired.
 

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Rick,

I agree it is difficult to understand this particular market which seems to be confined to US auction houses. Standard model Healeys are not really that collectible, and although a Mk11 BN7 is rare, enthusiasts have not really been prepared to pay much for that rarity. Painting it in random colours would normally reduce a rare car's value. I don't see any GTO's being sold in metallic grey with red flashes.
 
I think if you have a all matching number car and can spend 100 k for a restoration with the purpose of selling it I would keep it original ,but I think something different is very eye catching. I seen a grey over red last year at Encounter and it was hot maybe the same car that sold.
 
Patrick67BJ8 said:
Sorry to disagree with you HealeyRick! We Beige cars get our fair share of different Interior colors just like the roadster folks do.
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Actually, we're in total agreement. Golden Metallic Beige cars seem to me to be very popular in the custom colors trend. As you pointed out, a number of cars not painted that color originally are now being painted GMB and being paired with interior colors not the original red or black. If you take a look at Healey Lane's photo gallery, you'll see a number of cars with a similar color combo to yours as well as some California Sage cars: https://www.healeylane.com/rm_gallery.htm Seems funny as GMB cars weren't that popular when they first were introduced. I talked to a guy who worked as a mechanic in a BMC dealer that told me their GMB car sat on the showroom floor for a year before someone bought it. Personally, I enjoy seeing these different color combinations as long as it's not being done on a historically significant car.
 
HealeyRick said:
Actually, we're in total agreement. Golden Metallic Beige cars seem to me to be very popular in the custom colors trend. As you pointed out, a number of cars not painted that color originally are now being painted GMB and being paired with interior colors not the original red or black. If you take a look at Healey Lane's photo gallery, you'll see a number of cars with a similar color combo to yours as well as some California Sage cars: https://www.healeylane.com/rm_gallery.htm Seems funny as GMB cars weren't that popular when they first were introduced. I talked to a guy who worked as a mechanic in a BMC dealer that told me their GMB car sat on the showroom floor for a year before someone bought it. Personally, I enjoy seeing these different color combinations as long as it's not being done on a historically significant car.
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If you could compare a brand new '67 GMB color car to a 2014 GMB sitting side by side you'll quickly see why they are what they are today and why they're a popular color. They really never shined great new and after 6 moinths old they looked more like 3 years old(time for a paint job). Metallic painted car back then just didn't hold their shine. Thank God for base coat, clear coat paint. My paint alone was over $400 per gallon. The Painter used a European "clear" because he said it works the best.
 
Patrick67BJ8 said:
If you could compare a brand new '67 GMB color car to a 2014 GMB sitting side by side you'll quickly see why they are what they are today and why they're a popular color. They really never shined great new and after 6 moinths old they looked more like 3 years old(time for a paint job). Metallic painted car back then just didn't hold their shine. Thank God for base coat, clear coat paint. My paint alone was over $400 per gallon. The Painter used a European "clear" because he said it works the best.
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IIRC, there were a lot of complaints with the GMB color when new and cars having to be repainted. Healey Blue cars didn't fare so well, either and looked pretty dull after a couple of years.
 
My car is very well-restored but not to the original colors and if I were to commission Kurt Tanner to do a car for me, I'd do the same color scheme, regardless of originality. I'm not a purist in that respect and I like what I like. It's apparent that over-restored cars can command very big prices at auctions and that originality of color isn't important unless the original colors themselves are rare, interesting and special (such as Florida Green, Golden Beige and Pacific Green); ubiquitous colors like Healey Blue are less likely to command the big bucks, IMO, regardless how well restored the car might be.
 
I own a 60 BN7 MKI (this is for sale) that originally came in Red on Red (Colorado Red). It is now Jet Black over Pewter coves with a red interior. This has been its color scheme for over 25 years. See the classified section.
 
bighealeysource said:
Just read where a 62 BN7 Tri Carb sold for $203,500 at Gooding Pebble Beach auction last weekend. Not even an original color as far as I know, done up in steel gray with red coves. Beautiful car for absolutely crazy money !!!

Lots of bling in the engine bay. Maybe a bit too much IMHO, but that's a personal thing. Very nice car, and it looks nicely done. I do like the colour combo. But - 200 large? Wow. The great recession is behind us and irrational exuberance must be returning to car prices at auction.

The McQueen 275 Coupe sold for 10 mil. I think he had changed the paint colour and wheels to non-factory. Didn't hurt the value. Absolutely beautiful car.
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John Wilson of HealeyLane (OR) told us he'd sold a tricarb rally replica he'd just built for $93k - this from a business card-sized for sale sign in the windshield.

Bubble fever seemed to abound. Lots of talk about last year's $100k Porsche now going for $200k.
 
61TR3A said:
My car is very well-restored but not to the original colors and if I were to commission Kurt Tanner to do a car for me, I'd do the same color scheme, regardless of originality. I'm not a purist in that respect and I like what I like. It's apparent that over-restored cars can command very big prices at auctions and that originality of color isn't important unless the original colors themselves are rare, interesting and special (such as Florida Green, Golden Beige and Pacific Green); ubiquitous colors like Healey Blue are less likely to command the big bucks, IMO, regardless how well restored the car might be.
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That is because the cars are not being bought by enthusiasts but by speculators. They will quit the market as they have done previously, many of them getting burnt in the process.
 
It also looks like the rear of the car sits higher than usual, similar to the PII BJ8s. Wonder how that was done (would take a pretty significant chassis mod).
 
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