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sooooooooo , how much will it go for ??

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Looks nice but I wonder why they painted the fender beading and filled the side screen sockets? Also the one picture of the left rear wheel looks like it's pretty bent up. I think it's a build that if you were to bid that high, I would want to see it in person.
 
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Marvin Gruber said:
49 spoke wires? I normally don't like white wire wheels but those go well. Nice but not a $78k car
Marv
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I wouldnt pay 78K for it Im just thinking thats what someone will pay for it thinking they got a 100M
 
It might go for a decent amount, but only because it is quite good looking. It has not been "restored" and it shows. It is a nice driver. Too bad that when it was being done over that certain things were not done correctly, like the beading as already mentioned. I predict about $65k because it is sexy and will attract someone who likes the look.
 
I think you are right Hugh. I've seen several Healeys sold on BaT in the last few years for stupid money with huge wants (polished turds). I think it speaks to what a powerful emotional pull early Healeys exert on almost everyone - as we all know, they are flat-out the most beautiful, hot s**t sporty car ever made. No other car ever had a windshield like this, and when it's down it evokes such a sense of freedom in motion that everybody wants one.
Problem is that ones like this have a lot of wants. I agree on the wheel roughness comment, I notice the left front fender patch panel is a straight line down to the rocker, it should be a nice sweep/large radius to the rocker.
OTOH, I love the motor and performance side so I think the right buyer is someone who wants to go racing - This car would be perfect for this, its already rough enough that you can risk it and if it gets hurt, you can use that as the opportunity to fix some sins.
Skinner seats are a real plus too.
Dave
 
Poor body work; outer sills have flat bottom, should be gracefully curved, dogleg repairs not done properly (look at the photo of the left rear wheel well and note the bulge on the front edge, visible from front/left photo as well). Front curve of cove white paint not correct. White wires only look good on a 100S, IMO. And what is all the black paint on the underside hiding? $60K, tops, and if someone spends more than that they've got more money than sense.

I'm OK with all the 'Pretend M' stuff, except for the 'M' on the grill badge. That borders on outright fraud, IMO. I'd rather buy a nice, original BN2 that's had go fast bits--alloy head, extractor, bigger carbs, suspension mods, etc.--fitted and tuned and have a real sleeper. Someone here, I think (Richard M?) wrote you can do that and have a faster car than a factory 100M.
 
Take a look where this car stood in 2008 and I think you can get a good idea of why it is where it is today: https://bringatrailer.com/2008/12/13/not-understated-1956-austin-healey-100-4-bn2/ It's been a race car that's been turned back to a street car. That usually means some less than perfect bodywork. I think Dave is right, it would be a good car to send back to the track, but the buy-in is going to be kind of high to do that.
 
Going from the street to the track is usually a one-way deal and it does not make sense to me why someone would pick a race car without any special provenance, etc. to bring back from the dark side. If it really was a race car there will have been a lot of welding which cannot simply be removed with a die grinder. Plus a race car's life is hardly an easy one and it's pretty likely the car has been pranged a couple of times.

That said, the car looks nice and will certainly appeal to some guy who has a hole in his garage and wants something new to play with for a while. Some of the revisions are desirable (I have a BJ clutch in my 100 and it is very light and smooth) but the car is far, far from a "restoration". I am not into making any $$ predictions and nothing much surprises me anymore.
 
The dash panel looks like an early BN1 Split Dash. Which would explain why it has the Overdrive switch in the BN1 position, but with the BN2 escutcheon plate. Looks like the owner ditched the stator tube, too. According to the Heritage certificate it was originally OEW with red trim. I have heard of cars with such a colour scheme having a black chassis. But I wonder how often that happened?
 
I wasnt far off , it sold for 75K .......... someone got taken there for sure
 
Shocking. That is what I was referring to above - a totally emotional buying experience. I noticed the buyer asked "Do you guys think it is a good deal? My first vintage car".
The more I looked at the pictures, the more I saw wrong, like the rear fender dog leg patch panels that are the ones that only have a hemmed over metal edge but not wired. And, these observations are just from pictures.... In the write-up they even said there were earlier pop-riveted patches in the boot that they left in place - overlapping and riveting patch panels is not the way to go.....
One thing that I noticed is that the BaT regulars are usually very quick to point out flaws/warts and in this case almost all were fawning over the car. I bet this is a buyer who is gonna suffer 'buyers remorse', I sure would.
Dave
 
Dave, I agree. Once this guy digs into all things Healey he is going to realize that he way overpaid--I wonder if he suspects that already with his question. And I cringe at the thought that this may be the first vintage car he has driven. He's going to be shocked--as I like to tell people, Healeys are uncouth brutes wearing Savile Row suits.
 
Auction sales mystify me. I just don't understand how someone can risk their money on a vehicle they haven't had a chance to drive, inspect up close, or even, as in the case in online sales, seen in the flesh. We've all seen TV auctions where bidders aided be free booze pay stupid money for cars. And there's lots of examples of eBay and BaT auctions where people are paying plenty for cars that have defects that people familiar with the cars can see even in online pictures. I just chalk it up to the idea there are buyers out there that are much different than those who frequent the forum. They don't pretend to be experts on the cars, they haven't spent years building up knowledge about them, they haven't owned enough of them to learn what to look out for, and haven't scrimped and saved to get the car they have today. They have enough money that this kind of purchase is not a huge financial risk to them and can take the hit if they get bit in buying. In my opinion, the seller in this auction did very well while the buyer overpaid. But maybe the buyer is happy enough getting a car with new paint, new interior, new O/D and some really nice upgrades not to be bothered by spending a bit more to get it.
 
Keep in mind that there are many people who find their way into Healey ownership and have no knowledge of nor concerns with many of the details and issues about which we obsess. They just want to own an Austin-Healey, and many of them have the wherewithal (read $$) to overpay, either knowingly or unknowingly, without it mattering too much to them. They buy cars and they sell cars just as others buy and sell boats, houses, etc. whether or not they know what they are doing.

The guy from whom I purchased my ex-wife's BN7 bought a different "toy" each year. His "new" 1966 Corvette was being delivered in a week or so and he was very eager to unload the Healey he overpaid for a year earlier. It had already passed into his mental rear-view mirror and I was able to buy a very nice car for not a lot of money. (I miss that car....)

Without criticizing the judgment of the guy who bought the car that is the subject-matter of this topic it's clear that he is coming from a different place than probably everyone reading this post. And though I hope for his sake he does not find his way to this forum while the string is still active I agree that he probably has acquired the opportunity to get a liberal education on all things Austin-Healey--if he wants it!

BTW I know and have raced with the seller and to him I say "well sold!"
 
I was lucky; bought my BJ8 on impulse--went to the Stanford/Palo Alto Concours but spent the day in the parking lot checking out the Healey for sale--but got a low mileage (64K) car that was completely stock but had had an engine overhaul and a couple paint jobs. For the test drive, I went to the owner's house and he tossed me the keys and said 'Have fun;' I think he knew he had a fish on the line from the start. I had owned a junker Healey years before, and vowed I'd get a good one when I could, but I wasn't actively looking.
 
Bob--

I can relate and was lucky too. When I bought my 100 in 1999 it had been a long time since I had owned an LBC and though I thought I knew what I should be looking for I didn't know a dog leg from a dog bone. Only after forking over the money did I take the car to Healey Surgeons for what Bruce drily termed "The Post-Purchase Inspection" and fortunately both chassis and running gear were sound.

I hope our friend Kenny enjoyed the champagne.
 
I found following the auction deeply satisfying in a somewhat selfish way. My 100 is days away from coming home from a full restoration at Fourintune Garages in WI. Over the last year or so, I have paid quite a bit more for my car than the car that sold on this BAT Auction. But I know with absolute certainty that my car chassis and substructure are perfect. All the rust, all the botches by PO's are sorted properly. I have owned my car since 84 and some of the PO botches are actually mine! When you are in your 20's with no money or knowledge, you make mistakes and some of these I paid for during the restoration. Jacking up on the rear cross-member and having it slide forwards and the jack go through the trunk floor for example! Anyway, seeing someone pay a significant amount for a car very far away from what I wanted as an end result made me all the more happy that I took BEV to somewhere that would really do it right.
 
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