Found a 1963 BJ8, by the serial number, built in October of 63

[Jerry]

I got a call from a lady that lives about 30 minutes south of me about an Austin Healey that had been in her garage since the late 70s. She bought it for her son and husband to work on as a project, parked it in the garage and it has not been touched since. I received the call because our local British Car Club has parts masters listed and my name is under Austin Healey. Not an expert, but I have restored two of the models so far. She thought it was a 1962, but that was wrong by the serial number and pink slip.
She also thought the engine was missing because she remembered it being taken to a shop and thought it was never picked up. I perked up my ears at that, since I have two extra engines!
The good news: Engine and transmission is there, in the floorboards, Engine is dismantled and parts are in various boxes. Transmission is still together.
The body and frame are in the best shape I have ever seen one of these basket cases. No rust on the frame, no rust behind the doors. Floorboards are in good shape too. Small dents in the fenders and hood. Shrouds are in good shape with small dents. Pretty amazing. I can't tell what color it was, grey primer is over everything now, but I will guess at Healey Blue.
Pink slip transfer was never registered with the DMV (California) But it was signed and there is a bill of sale.

Looks like most of the major parts are there, I did not go through all the boxes and never found the dash as an example. But I am helping the women sell the pile/project. Phase 1 BJ8-
My search for valuation on a basket car is finding little. A runner only is about $25K on Haggerty. I am guessing that this might be worth about $10K. Can you add your opinions?
Jerry

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Based on your description--esp. the lack of rust--I'd say this car is worth $15K, possibly more for an eager buyer.

 

[AN6-TX]

Any pictures?

 

[DerekJ]

I agree with Bob, if your description is correct its worth way more than $10,000.

 

[Jerry]

Pictures of the car and piles: I have a picture of the front end somewhere also, it is pretty good, minor dings. Most of the body is just minor stuff. One rear fender with a dent partially removed. The parts are all over the garage and attic. You can see the transmission in the floorboards. The engine block is on the other floorboard. Whoever took apart the engine has parts scattered everywhere. I have not found the Crank, dashboard, cam. They are probably there but the attic pile has to be pulled down first. The car was covered with old sleeping bags, blankets, boxes, etc. It has been kept dry since the late 70s. Cat poop on top of the blankets. The lady sells antiques so the whole garage and house is full of what I call crap. Each to their own.
Jerry
View attachment 49586View attachment 49587View attachment 49588View attachment 49589View attachment 49590

 

[Jerry]

Well, I decided I need another project so I told the lady I would buy it. I am paying $1000 more than I normally would, she needs the money. I pick it up Monday, so I will post some pictures that will show up next time.

Jerry

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Jerry,

So, you ask the forum what it's worth, we agree it's considerably more than the $10K you suggested, and you gave her $11,000? If you knew what you would pay '$1000 more than I normally would,' then you had a pretty good idea what it was worth; why did you ask us? I'm not sure I appreciate being used as a sounding board for value, then you grab it for less (and make it sound like you did her a solid). Did you give her $16K?

Sounds like you started out trying to help the lady out, then realized you could make a profit by flipping it. Tell us it ain't so.

Bob

 

[CLEAH]

Disassembled cars spread all over are a hard sell, and there is no specific value, in my opinion. $10 or $11k sounds perfectly reasonable to me. The lady wanted the pile gone and it is. There is tremendous value to someone trying to get rid of stuff to not have to advertise and deal with all the sketchy people traipsing through, or dealing with shipping.

 

[Jerry]

Negative thoughts Bob. I asked for your opinion, I had mine. As Cleah suggests, a spread out car will be missing something, I have bought 3 of these before and there is always one box missing something.

Jerry

 

[PHulst]

I have bought 3 of these before and there is always one box missing something.

Jerry

I find that usually a whole box of parts is missing, not just one item out of the box.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Negative thoughts Bob. I asked for your opinion, I had mine. As Cleah suggests, a spread out car will be missing something, I have bought 3 of these before and there is always one box missing something.

Jerry

Negative thoughts, indeed. You did say 'I am helping the women sell the pile/project,' not 'what should I pay for this, and how much could I flip it for?' Doesn't sit well with me; it appears you got higher 'appraisals' from a couple of us and realized you could pay $10K--or less--for the car, and flip it for a tidy profit. Maybe you did, maybe you didn't--you haven't said--but it sure smells bad. Did you pay her $10-15K, or at least let her know she could get that if she wanted to go through the hassle of selling (you owed her that, since you were there to help her)? If so, then power to you, if not, well ...

FWIW, if you'd said you were going to flip the car, I would have given the same estimate. But my input was in the spirit of helping a widow/family get the most for her husbands' and sons' treasure, and you were a de facto representative of the Healey community (and I do tend to hold them to a higher standard). I get tired sometimes of hearing about everybody's dad's/brother's/uncle's Healey--and asking a lot of questions about my Healeys--but I listen patiently and nod my head and answer their questions because I don't want to get impatient and have someone walking away thinking 'Man, Austin-Healey owners sure are jerks.'

 

[healeyblue]

Its hard to speculate if Jerry took advantage of the lady or made a wise buy, only Jerry has seen the car. Many have guessed at a value but until you see a car you can not lock in the true value. I do know that if the car needs a full resto, rusty or not, it will cost around 30 to 40 thousand in resto, so I personally would not have paid more that 10 to 15 or you risk being upside down in the end.

 

[Jerry]

My hobby is working on these cars. My purchase will be to have a project to work on for a few years. Will I keep it? Probably not, since I already own a Healey. I do not think I am taking advantage of the lady. I am not a professional appraiser, that is why I ask the question of the list. I have already spent 3 hours at her house looking at the project and another 3 hours searching for a like project to see selling prices. Perhaps my wording of what I am paying for hit you wrong, but I gave her the choice of my offer or 3 different avenues to sell the car. She was please to have it sold. I will know on Monday if the missing crankshaft, cam, and dashboard are in the piles somewhere. Go to one of the suppliers and see what these cost if they are missing!
I don't want to start a flame topic, or have the British Car Forum head in that direction. That type of forum is one I would avoid.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

... I gave her the choice of my offer or 3 different avenues to sell the car ...

Good enough for me, as long as you told her the potential value of the car, which we all seem to agree is $10-15K.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Sounds to me as Jerry has handled the situation fairly. He offered options and let the owner pick. Same as I would do. A disassembled car always has lower value. Theres more of a gamble. Kinda like real estate, instead of location, location, its condition, condition.

Marv

 

[BJ8Healeys]

As the keeper of the BJ8 Registry, I am interested in ALL BJ8s and in documenting some specific details about each car and its ownership history.
What is the VIN of the car? They were not built in strict numerical sequence according to the chassis number. The first BJ8 by chassis number (25315) was the 64th car actually built (build dates of 20 - 23 January 1964). I have all the build dates recorded for the first 67 cars.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Sounds to me as Jerry has handled the situation fairly....

Only if he informed the owner what the car could potentially be worth if they were willing to go through the hassle of selling ($10-15K, possibly more, based on a consensus of those who replied to the original inquiry). That's why we were solicited for our 'appraisals,' or so I though when I gave mine, and Jerry hasn't said if he did that or not. "I am paying $1000 more than I normally would" makes me believe he didn't (note Jerry can clear this up in a second). A collection of original body panels in good shape could be worth $3-5K or more parted out, as would the drivetrain components.

 

[red57]

I certainly didn't get the idea Jerry was taking advantage, and I don't know why you would leap to an unflattering conclusion when none of us besides Jerry knows what the deal was.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

...I don't know why you would leap to an unflattering conclusion...

I've given my reasons (several times, actually). If he informed the seller of the potential value of the car--which he solicited from us, involving us in the 'deal' (in a minuscule way, to be sure)--I'm fine with it; if not, I'm not.

 

[Brinkerhoff]

Nobody likes the idea that somebodies granny was taken advantage of, but sharing with her what the "potential value" is seems quite ridiculous . When a car is presented in this venue and the negotiations can go either way , better to buy at a parts car price. Hope you make a ton.