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mgb vs austin healey???

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tri_carb_healey

tri_carb_healey

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while searching the web, i stmbled upon a similar thread on the mgexperience forum where (no surprise) these guys were just trashing the 3000. i know as time went on bmc made many changes to donald's original idea. but these guys are calling our cars overpriced, compilations of austin bin parts. i mean come on!!
there's a reason healey's hold such a high dollar value other than rarity, right? i mean the body is iconic, the sound amazing. i mean are they just upset they sold their's in the seventies or do they have a point? i've never driven an mg (or rather been left on the side of the road by one) anybody out there experienced both? what's your preference as far as driving on a windy road?
 
I had a 1966 MGB in grad school and turned it into an SCCA EP race car. I loved the car. When I got older I wanted to step up to a Healey 3000. This was a project car that I have been working on and driving for 30 years. Both are nice cars. The Healey has better looks and sounds. The MGB was fun to drive and race. It is a lot harder to race a Healey well. I would never put down an MGB and nobody should put down a Healey. They are both great LBCs
 
I've had about sixteen (16) MGB & MGBGTs, and was driving three (3) of them as daily drivers as recent as 2000 (immediately prior to moving to Ohio.

I like them just fine, think of them as two-thirds (2/3) of a Healey. The MGB is a little newer (1962 versus 1952) so some features are more modern.

But don't let the MGB lovers/Healey haters fool you, the MGB is NO LESS of a parts-bin car than the Healey is. Worse still, it shared more parts with the Spridgets :wink:

At age eighteen (18) and while still living at home, I bought a new 1973 MGB; $3949.00 out the door, putting $950 down, payments were #97.33/mo.
 
I owned am MG through my college years. A 1969 to be exact and my college sweetheart/wife still gives me grief as how it was always broken down. I like to say it took 5 working days to fix it enough to run it for full a 2 day weekend. It was much more nimble then either of my Healeys, but I would never go back and neither would my wife........and she's still my sweetheart.
 
A typical case of envy! If they could afford a big healey they would own one! Let's face it, Most people can't afford a big healey, So in fustration they trash what they can't have. A sad trait of some people. Personaly, I have owned, restored and driven most british marks and i love them all. They seem to have there own soul and personality. No two seem alike. What i love about the big healey is power and speed! My 1959 mga coupe was so slow it could not get out of it's own way! All mg's are grossly under powered, However i loved driving my 59 mga coupe and enjoyed ownership while i had it. My favorite was my 1973 TR6, I loved that car the most, It handled great with very quick steering response and could be made to go fast with a S2 conversion. As far as investment grade, Power and great looks, I will take my 67 bj8 any day! When you own a healey it is the key to a special club! Go to any British car show and you will see most people attracted to the healey section. The E-types and healeys get most of the crowds attention, Then comes the Triumphs, And the last to be looked at are the MG's. and that is a fact of life! Personaly, I love them all.
 
Now.......its good to see we don't have the Healey guys slam Jags?????


Although you can get a nice series 2 OTS for less than a comparable 3000!


Pete
 
I, too, had a 1959 MGA, which was my first exposure to Sports Cars, and I loved it. However, when I went to buy parts for it I was 'forced' to go through the BMC dealer's showroom, which of course had a Brand New Healey 3000, BRG, sitting right up front. I went into the Army, and when I got out in 1968 bought my current Healey. December 13, 1968, and it is still my love, other than my wife and kids. I am not immune to admiring all the British cars, and would own most any of them given unlimited expendable income. My wife's favorite is the XKE, late '60s variety, and I have to admit, that would be a good one to have, as well. Ahhh, if I only had time:eek:)
 
tri_carb_healey said:
are they just upset they sold their's in the seventies or do they have a point? i've never driven an mg (or rather been left on the side of the road by one) anybody out there experienced both? what's your preference as far as driving on a windy road?
Click to expand...

Yeah, they have a point... on top of their heads!

I own two MGB's - a roadster and a GT. Had a TR3 and a TR8. Got to drive a friend's BJ8 a while back, and loved it. Completely different experience, and there's no argument that the body lines are sexy as all get-out. Love the sound of the six as well. Have always wanted one, but never pursued it.

As for a windy road, the B is a delight to drive, and can be very forgiving. I didn't have much opportunity to run the 3000 through the corners, but my sense was that it would be a bit heavier.

Once more, it's all a matter of perspective, and entirely subjective.
 
With respect to the cars, the B has better steering (rack and pinion as opposed to the gear and cam or whatever we have), the B has a better chassis (which is a monocoque as compared to a chassis on frame) and the later Bs had an all synchro gear box that was pretty much the best shifting box in the business at the time. That is it. All other scores such as power, ride quality, parts quality appearance, etc go to the 3000.

As to the Marque value, the MG had good racing chops and a good history for sports cars. But the Healey is more distinguished in that it raced in the higher classes and had some nice outright wins. Plus the Donald Healey story is the stuff of legends. You can't over-rate what he accomplished.

As for maintenance, the B is much easier to maintain and parts are less expensive and more likely to fit right out of the box. The 3000 is more robust and less likely to break down.

As for rarity and resale value.... Nothing to discuss.
 
Real car guys can appreciate all the marques. Those that have to put another make down, to make them feel better, has other issues going on.
 
Back in high school I had one friend with a Healey and another with an MGB. Both cars were BRG. The friend with the Healey was an amateur boxer and the one with the MGB was into equestrian jumping. What does that tell you?
 
Nothing.
 
Legal Bill said:
HEALEYJAG said:
...


Although you can get a nice series 2 OTS for less than a comparable 3000!


Pete
Click to expand...

True, but the series 1 is the E-type to own.
Click to expand...
Series 1 = YES, but with a series 2 dash.IMHO
Patrick
 
I've owned them both and like most today have said, good things to say about both. Also had two MG TC's and every one needs to at least drive one of them to appreciate your B or Healey. If you think the Healey's 1952 technology is primitive, try 1930's on the early Midgets. Anyway, loved the MGB's but always yearned for a big Healey ever since a frat brother bought a brand new BJ8 in 1967 with dealer installed air. That was too rich for my blood back then but knew someday I would get me one of them as IMHO the 100-4's and big 6 two seater roadsters are the best looking LBC's ever designed/produced. There is nothing that sounds like the straight 6 on a BN6 or BN7 !!! I know, BN4's and BT7's sound the same, I'm just partial to 2 seaters.
Regards,
Mike
 
Right on Rick. I had a Cushman motor scooter.
 
Right on big healeysource
I love my BN7.
 
I drove my dad's clapped-out '69 MGB-GT during my senior year in high school, and it was a great everyday car...much better than my bn4 for driving in rainy Oregon (basically September through June)! The GT still seems like an under-rated potentially everyday driver (if there is such a thing anymore with LBC's).
 
Great topic, I have owned two MGBs (1967 GT, 1980 LE) and one big healey (54 100).

I have owned a few other British cars as well, Sprites and Triumphs.

I have to say if I were to rank them I would put the MGB on the bottom of the list, it is probably a better car than any of them, but not a better sports or collector car.

A 1275cc sprite is much more nimble and not much slower.

The Big Healeys have more power and classic stop you in your tracks looks.

Triumph TRs have more power, and arguably better, or at least more eye catching looks.

Don't get me wrong, as mentioned, an MGB has a more solid chassis, better balance and handling, better gearbox, better steering, better cockpit ergonomics than a big Healey.

But there is a reason the Healeys command a lot more money (though it is hard to justify the degree of difference IMHO).

1. Styling, first thing you see when you look at the car

2. Big lusty 6 cylinder, 150 HP v. 90

3. Named after the charismatic man who designed and built them (call it the Ferrari factor), someone from a time and era many look back very nostalgically to.

4. Much more rare than the MGB

The B does nothing badly, but nothing extraordinarily well, your Honda (Ford, Chevy, whatever) is your wife and your collector car is your mistress, if you had to live with them everyday the wife wins, but as the special occasion vehicle, the collector vehicle, the sit there and stare at it as it sits in the garage vehicle the Healey wins.

Lastly, just to open more cans of worms the more appropriate comparison is Big Healey and TR....
 
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