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what do u think about color for healeys ?

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soren_ak

soren_ak

Jedi Hopeful
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so im on my way today and might buy 2 60 bt7´s that booth need restoring - and im thinking about color for the cars - ( know that im a bit early out since they booth need restoring but still its nice to think about it)

whats your thoughts regarding the colors for the healey - in order to keep value up in the cars - would i be better off going back and finding the original color that the cars was born with or shuld i just paint them in what i think looks best ? what would keep the value of the car best ?
reason why im asking is that ive seen some pretty ugly cars over the years.

and does anyone have a color schem for bt7´so i can see what colos they used at that time ? -

thanks

soren
 
Unless the original color is particuliarly repugnant, I'd stay with the original color. I prefer originality, key word being prefer. It's your car, after all.

Colin
 
At the time I committed to a color (during the chassis restoration) there were 6 or 7 Healeys running around the roads of Lafayette, Louisiana. One (1) was white and the rest were Ice Blue.

Ice Blue (and white sides) was the original color of my car, but since the car wasn't being restored to original, I went with a color I liked: Porsche Wine Red Metalic.

If I was to do it over again, I'd keep it Ice Blue.

I get plenty of compliments on the paint now, but I'd probably get more on the car if it was more original.

exh_012.jpg
 
I personally have never subscribed to the theory that a car has to be kept the original color. In terms of value, I think far too much is made with respect to the connection between value and the car's original color. I have never paid less for a car that was painted a color other than what it left the factory with. Similarly, I've never paid more for a car simply because it was painted its original color. That said, I do think people emotionally prefer a color (or color combination) that was an option for the car at the time, but I think that's more of an emotional issue than a value issue.

In any event, so long as a car is painted well, and isn't in a color that the general population would find less desirable (say, pink with purple polka dots), I don't think it will have much impact.

Enjoy!
 
I think Curt Tanner got some good prices for some non-original colors on a couple BJ8s at Barret Jackson a couple years ago, original is probably the safe bet, but a period correct color that looks good on the car (there was much favorable discussion of a dark red or maroon Healey on the Healey e-mail list recently) will probably not detract.

I wanted to change the color of my Hundred from Healey Blue, partly because I was painting it myself and metallics are harder to work with, but didn't because they paint most everything on the car body color and I wasn't doing a frame off.

It has become harder to find, but there is a great site that lets you pick model and shows color combos: https://austinhealey.com/big.html
 
glemon said:
It has become harder to find, but there is a great site that lets you pick model and shows color combos: https://austinhealey.com/big.html
Click to expand...

I hope they keep this page updated, it's a great resource to look at what was available for each model.

Just click a model and the color/interior choices are on the right, click a choice and the car on the page assumes those colors!

https://austinhealey.com/big.html , same link as glemon's just select "Healey Catalog"

Hey Shorn, congratulations on getting that much closer to owning a Big Healey.
 
It sounds as if at least one is going to be sold so you probably wont be attached to it as much as one you'd keep. Therefore, I vote for the original color (on the seller car)for two reasons:
The first is that you won't have to get into every nook and cranny to be sure the paint matches.
The second is that it is more of a "restoration" to the next owner. If it's not a project car I was buying, I'd want the most original parts and stuff.
As I said, the one you keep, have fun and do what YOU want. And I think that if you are not commited to a color you really want, you will tire of it in a few years. Original color, you just say that's the factors choice.
This is a forum and each of us has a valid opinion. What you are asking is probably the most personal opinion. Now, if you need help with questions on the nuts and bolts of restoration then our help matters.
Best of luck, I know you have been lookin for a long time.
TH
 
Speaking as a lifetime member of the Strict Constructionist Faction: Original colors are the safe bet. None are ugly. All are "period-correct." Keeping a car the (or any) original color shows respect and appreciation for it.

There are better times and places and ways to get creative. I have seen some "interesting" and attractive-in-their-own-way non-original colors on Healeys, but they usually strike me as raw self-indulgence. There, I said it.

I will certainly be voted down - if not shouted down - on this matter, but I say, if you are bent on self-expression, take up painting (canvases, not cars), sculpture or topiary gardening.

A vintage car is not a canvas for self-expression. It is an object that represents a time and a place. You will certainly be told many times that it is YOUR car and that you should do what YOU what with it, but I've never been very good at telling people what they want to hear.

Yes, it's YOUR car, but what color you paint it will be a test of YOUR respect and affection for the marque.
 
I do remember someone shouting something else a while ago. Lucky you aren't running for president. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif ....

"But I’m a concours judge, and you know how we scorn non-originality, right? Wrong, Castrol breath! I absolutely LOVE the looks of these [non-original colored] Healeys. They are GORGEOUS."

Otherwise, I agree with what you say about original colors with the exception of 'none are ugly'. I don't want to say which ones I find ugly but IMO there are some that are.

Cheers,
John
 
Editor_Reid said:
John, John, John... you're completely missing the nuances of these statements! Buy me a Guinness and I shall reveal all in startling detail!
Click to expand...

Spun like a true politician! ... especially the 'buy me' part. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif
 
Showing respect for the marquee is all fine and good, but I have to live with the color of my car (or sell it, and that ain’t hapnin’ ;)). No disrespect to anyone who loves Healeys, but I didn’t get my car to please other people, just myself. I’ve spent a lot of money and too many hours to settle for a finish that doesn’t put a glow in my heart. Apologetically saying “At least it’s an original color”.
 
From somewhere in outer-space...a voice shouts...there is only one...color that is...you can not go wrong with red!

Red is joyous...bright...effusive...wins more often in contests then any other color...

Plus, did I say it...it's my favorite color...
 
Hello Soren,

It is always good to think or dream about something in this particular case the desired color. Maybe it would be an idea for you to see some of the period colors for real at a local club it gives you a better idea how the car looks in the by you desired color for real assuming you go for an original color.

All the best with buying the BT 's

Harry
 
Lucky for me Agatha was Carmine Red originally.
 
WA1KWA said:
Unless the original color is particuliarly repugnant, I'd stay with the original color. I prefer originality, key word being prefer. It's your car, after all.

Colin
Click to expand...

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif
 
Jeff...

I haven't been hiding...just living a different life...many, many things have changed...still, however have the Healey...some things need to remain constant...Happy New Year...
 
I think that no color can ruin the lines of big Healeys. I saw a photo of one of Tanner's restorations, a silver metallic. I e-mailed him for the color code and was told it was from a 2000 Chevy Astro. I had heard that there were a very few BN-1's that were "gunmetal grey". I never got a useable color code for that, but I realized that I had to please me first and others as an added bonus. I'm quite sure none of the people who give me a thumbs-up, or say "cool car" have any idea that the color is not "right" for a 1956 BN-2. I smile every time I pull open the barn door to work on it or go for a drive. If authenticity is your goal, by all means pick a color that was used on the cars when new, because that will make you smile. If the goal is to have a color you like then just pick a color you like. I don't know what it says about me, other than the fact that I like grey, but I have my "mineral grey" Healey with a blue interior, and a grey 1949 Piper airplane with a blue interior. Talk about a boring guy...

Jon
 
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