• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Hide the Women and Children

Share this page

Michael Oritt said:
Rick--

You said: "A lot of work had to go into this and despite it not being what most of us would do, he must have got a lot of enjoyment from it and isn't this the point of Healeys?"

So if I could afford to buy the Mona Lisa would it be okay if I added a mustache?
Click to expand...

Er, no. There's only one Mona Lisa. They made 10s of thousands of "Mona Lisa" Healeys and a few of them getting modified isn't going to affect the balance of the world much. After the Pepsi Generation passes on, I suspect there won't be room enough in all the museums in the world to put all the Healeys that no one wants to drive anymore.
 
HealeyRick said:
After the Pepsi Generation passes on, I suspect there won't be room enough in all the museums in the world to put all the Healeys that no one wants to drive anymore.
Click to expand...

I've had that same thought myself. And maybe on top of that, no one will even be able to drive them anymore - even if you could find anyone who wanted to - because at some point they won't be allowed on public roads. "Gas" as we know it might not available, or only at astronomical prices. Or cars without self-driving "safety" features won't be permitted.

Enjoy it while we can brothers and sisters.
 
Maybe a Tucker Reverse grind cam. Log intake manifolds on the sides, exhaust straight up and out the top of the bonnet.

Value is in parting it out, right? Major body panels, engine, trans...and a dumpster full of scrap iron.
$5,000-$6,000?
 
As long as we've wandered into 'Predicting the Future' territory ...

- Gasoline will be available for our (remaining) life spans. The oil majors still have too much clout for it to be banned or legislated away.
- Fully autonomous will only be practical with a massive overhaul of our travel infrastructure (universal 5G. sensors, transmitters, etc. embedded in the road and all signs, etc.). Given we can't even repair/upgrade the roads now, I don't see that happening any time soon (note instead of 'coming together' to fight a pandemic, we have further split into two warring factions, with no 'common ground' much less a 'common good' between them).
- The 'nannies' are both blessing and curse; become too dependent on them any you'll pay, one way or another. The man who farms our almonds' wife's Yukon got hit by a Tesla--arguably the most nearly 'self-driving' car--because the driver of the Tesla didn't even bother to look before backing-out of a parking slot and expected the car's warning system to sound, and it didn't. The back-up obstacle system in my Mustang seemed to work OK, before I discovered it can't detect the large plastic trash cans we put our trash in (I was paying attention, but expected the warning system to help me get as close as possible).

Anyway, these predictions are partly why I sold my dad's '55 T-Bird and '65 Mustang at a bit below 'market' value. Both went to good homes, and I was leery of having a bunch of tire-kickers coming around my elderly mom's house (BaT wasn't an option; I have neither the time or interest to properly conduct an online auction).
 
Oh my eyes. Now I can't unsee that.
Well I guess if you're going to slightly modify a car, feel free to color outside the Healey cove line. Just a little more, bingo, Corvette Cove. It's a Healeyvette.

C5128F53-AB30-433A-B25F-E1F5BAF58126_4_5005_c.jpeg
 
I can picture that car coming down the street in Florida, parking, and out steps a spry 80 year old with white sneakers, black socks, plaid shorts held up with a white belt, and a Hawaian shirt. And of course he's wearing dark sunglasses and gold chains.
 
Jack T said:
I can picture that car coming down the street in Florida, parking, and out steps a spry 80 year old with white sneakers, black socks, plaid shorts held up with a white belt, and a Hawaian shirt. And of course he's wearing dark sunglasses and gold chains.
Click to expand...

The ghost of Elvis.
 
As we attorneys like to say in Latin, "De gustibus non est disputandum". In other words, there's no accounting for taste. But for the poor soul who built this car, I would say that he has none.
 
BoyRacer said:
As we attorneys like to say in Latin, "De gustibus non est disputandum". In other words, there's no accounting for taste. But for the poor soul who built this car, I would say that he has none.
Click to expand...
In a similar vein, if it wasn't for bad taste, he would have none.
 
Was that a chopped-up original BJ8? I agree that the modifications didn't improve its looks, and if it is an original car I wonder which original car it was that was sacrificed and no longer exists. The VIN given at craigslist is is a made-up one.
 
BJ8Healeys said:
Was that a chopped-up original BJ8? I agree that the modifications didn't improve its looks, and if it is an original car I wonder which original car it was that was sacrificed and no longer exists. The VIN given at craigslist is is a made-up one.
Click to expand...

Since the car was built in Massachusetts and the new VIN begins with MA, I'm going to guess it was a number assigned by our Registry of Motor Vehicles. Probably the original chassis number was missing. No idea what the original car was.
 
Sometimes BJ8s can be identified if the number stamped on the shock tower is legible enough and if the owner isn't too uninterested to find out. Otherwise, another of the 17,712 BJ8s originally built will disappear without a trace.
 
Back
Top