Phase 1 or 2

[dancrim]

I have a 1965 BJ8 , build date Oct. 1964 (Heritage Cert.) . Do I have a phase 1 or 2. I can>t seem
to find any Specs. that I can go with to prove one or the other. I have one front light but I understand the 2 front lights cane out in 65. Any help out there? Original paperwork says it was sold as a 65.

 

[Keoke]

Look at your frame .
If the bottom of the frame is perfectly straight it is a Phase 1
IF the bottom of frame has a section lowered @ the rear axel it is a phase 2

 

[Bob_Spidell]

My PII BJ8 has a lowered chassis section under the rear axle, allowing the axle to ride lower thus raising the rear end.

 

[steveg]

Phase 2 also has radius arms above the rear axle. The forward mounting boxes for these show behind the seats.

 

[dancrim]

It's a phase 2, guess that's a good thing. Thanks guys.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

I have a 1965 BJ8 , build date Oct. 1964 (Heritage Cert.) . Do I have a phase 1 or 2. I can>t seem
to find any Specs. that I can go with to prove one or the other. I have one front light but I understand the 2 front lights cane out in 65. Any help out there? Original paperwork says it was sold as a 65.

dancrim, I believe your chassis number is 29443, and the body number is 74318. By chassis number, your car is a Phase 2 (phase 2 chassis numbers begin at 26705). As far as the light configuration, it is not based on "year" but on body number. Early Phase 2 cars up to body 76137 had the single light, and from 76138 up they had dual lights.

 

[dancrim]

Hey Steve, forgot about you, and that I had registered the little car. This shows that registering is worth doing. After checking
values, I see the phase 1 seems to be worth a bit more than the phase 2. I would have thought the opposite. Things that make you go Hmmmmmmm.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

Well, since there were a whole lot less of the Phase 1 cars (1,390) compared with the Phase 2 (16,322), relative rarity probably has an effect on the "value".

 

[John_Progess]

My car is a Phase I and do we have any idea how many Phase I cars are still around? There are no others in our club and I have never seen another one. I notice there are three or four people on the Forum that have Phase I cars. Have a good day!

John

 

[tahoe healey]

I have an earlyish phase 1 (25508) built November 1963.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

My car is a Phase I and do we have any idea how many Phase I cars are still around?
John

John, "how many Phase 1 cars still exist" is a question that sounds like it should have a simple answer, but it's complicated. I would venture to say that the BJ8 Registry is the best source for providing a reasonably accurate number, with some explanation.
Of the 1,390 Phase 1 BJ8s originally built, the registry has at least some data for 704 of them. That leaves 686 with no record at all (yet). Some of the 686 probably exist, it's just that no owner of those cars has so far chosen to enter the car into the record, or a source for that information has not yet been made available to me. I will enter a car into the registry if ANY information is available for it that can be related to its VIN. I am fortunate that I have access to the BMIHT records and can get the original manufacturing information for a car even if no owner has yet been identified.
For most of the 704 Phase 1 cars in the registry, at least one owner is recorded; but that information may have come from old sources, such as AHCA membership records from 1984. The car itself may or may not exist anymore and we can't really know until it turns up again.

 

[tahoe healey]

Steve, I'm not sure what your last paragraph means. You have mine BJ8 in your registry. Does that mean I am the only one?
TH

 

[healeyblue]

One owner per car, 704 cars.

 

[Legal Bill]

I too have a 1965 single parking light phase II. I recommend you get a 3000 MKIII parts book. You will find there were a few changes through out 1965. The changes are listed by serial number ranges.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

tahoe, I have 25508 in the registry with you as current owner, and two previous owners in Idaho before you. I guess I'm puzzled about what part of my paragraph you don't find clear, but I'll try again if you'd like to ask your question again.

 

[tahoe healey]

Steve, I re-read what you wrote. I miss read it as I was the only phase 1 you had recorded. Now I understand you meant most did not have history of more than the current owner. I know of only one previous owner unless you count the brothers as separate owners. Dave Russell when to high school with him/them (?). Is there someone I am not aware of? Maybe a private message?
Thanks
TH

 

[BJ8Healeys]

One owner per car, 704 cars.

Not quite correct. The BJ8 registry essentially consists of two integrated parts for each car: the personal data (i.e., name and contact information) for all owners who can be identified (and their dates of ownership), and the details of the cars themselves. For some cars I have as many as 15 or 20 sequential owners recorded. For others, I have no owners identified, but I do have the BMIHT data or other information about them recorded. And again, as of now the BJ8 Registry has data and records for more than 49% of all the cars originally built.

It is the cars themselves that give us all our common interest in Healeys, but it is the people who give the cars meaning. The BJ8 Registry attempts to be a database of information about BJ8s that can be (and has been) a useful and valuable resource to the Healey community in general and to individual BJ8 owners in particular. It is much more than just a list of one car/one owner.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

I too have a 1965 single parking light phase II. I recommend you get a 3000 MKIII parts book. You will find there were a few changes through out 1965. The changes are listed by serial number ranges.

The parts manual is helpful, but it should be noted that some of the changes (such as the turn/parking lights configuration) are not by serial number (chassis number), but by body number. Since the cars were not assembled at Abingdon strictly in chassis number or body number order, it isn't always possible to tell simply by chassis number whether a particular change applies.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

tahoe, I count the two brothers as individual owners. I don't know if each of them had his own title to the car, but if they did they would certainly be separate owners. As a general rule, unless I have information to the contrary, I consider them separate owners if two different people have their names associated with a car.

 

[dancrim]

Guys and gals, I'm glad I started this with one question and appreciate the answers I got. I hope we now see how important spending a few seconds registering our cars with Steve can be.