Larry’s find isn’t so much a barn find, as it is a tale of saving what he already had. This big Healey has been his car for a long tim, but when it started having issues, he parked it in his Mom’s basement garage and never got around to fixing it. Sadly, his Mom recently passed away and he needed to move his ’67 out of her basement. He’s decided it’s might be time to fix his Healey up, so he thought he’d share it with us and see what you guys think! Thanks Larry and good luck reviving your Healey.
From Larry L – When I was in high school I’d ride the bus to town, go to the Healey dealer and sit in the 3000s until they ran me off. Those were the days. Jump forward to June of 1986 and I finally had my Healey. During the 30 mile each way trip to work, my ’67 Healey started making a clicking noise in the engine. Not having time to find out what it was, I put it in my mother’s basement and told her I’d be back in a couple of months to get it. The basement at our house was already full with a ’64 Healey 3000 and a Bugeye (which are still there).
When we were building our house I sold my wife’s ’68 Mustang and told her I’d buy her another one. Sometime after I put the Healey up I found a ’67 Mustang convertible that was very cheap and very rusty. I bought it and started working on it. I put a bench seat in it so we could haul the 3 kids with us, something you can’t do with a Big Healey. During this time I found a ’67 GTA 390 fastback and bought it. 30 Mustangs, a 68 Charger, some MG’s and 50’s model station wagons later time just got by.
My mother passed away this past April and I had to bring the Healey to my house to get ready to sell hers. It’s amazing how quickly the time got away from me. I retired a few years ago, so maybe I can get to work on both Healeys. Soon as I finish a ’68 Mustang coupe and a ’54 Ford station wagon. Thank goodness the ’66 fastback is finished and ready for local car shows!
Great car, we’d love to see more.
Wow, what a great story! Thanks for sharing!
Show us the rest of the collection. As long as we’re jealous, you may as well rub it in
Cool story, but my Dad had a ’67 3000 MkIII and there were 4 of us (plus Mom and Dad). My brothers and I sat in the “jump” seats (one typically with his butt on the rear deck of the car) while my mother held my younger sister on her lap. Try doing that today – LOL!
Loved that car, I was sad when he let it go. I have an E-Type now, but long for a red ’67 just like my Dad’s – glad you have time to fix yours up, good luck and thanks for sharing!
Larry L..
Soooo know the ‘feeling’ of time slipping by. In 1992, my ’78 Clenet Series 1 Roadster developed a problem, ‘n I garaged it, Then in ’96 I ran across a ’40 Ford Pick-up that had already been garaged since ’63, pulled and rebuilt its flathead using all period correct late 40’s/early 50’s speed parts, then ‘Life’ got in the way. I retired in ’07, and moved 4 states, taking them with me. 2 yrs ago I decided to get the Clenet running, finished it, but time had taken its toll on its ‘vert top, ‘n tires had flat spots in them, so I ordered new 2″ WW tires, then M’Lady acquired a ’01 BMW V12 750iL, ‘n I started working on it.. The Clenet still sits, tires are stored on a rack, the 40’s engine is still on its carriage, ‘n the Bimmer is awaiting a few hard to find parts to gett’r back on the road. I’ll be 72 in 6 months, ‘n Father Time is getting closer, sigh*
One of the upperclassmen in my college fraternity had a 3000, and he swapped the motor out and left the bad one behind the house. He graduates and the motor is still there a couple years later (this is the mid 70’s). During the spring work party a few brothers cleaning the yard picks up the big old six and tosses it in our dumpster.
There was a very surprised refuse collector the next week when that chunk of cast iron dropped 10-12 feet into his garbage truck……..
Thanks for the kind remarks concerning the Healey everyone. I’m going to use this Healey to show me how to reassemble the 64 Healey that I took apart around 25 years ago. This was to be a parts car but turns out to be one of the first Mk III’s assembled, so I decided to save it. I bought the 67 in the early 70’s and the 64 in the mid 70’s.
I do have 2 barn finds. The first is a 66 Mustang fastback. I didn’t actually see it in a barn but was told by a acquaintance that was delivering a car to the owner of the Mustang in Western Ky. that that’s where it had been for quite a while. The other is a 65 Mustang pedal car sold by Ford dealers that I did find in a barn. The 68 Mustang is a junk yard car and the 54 Ford wagon was in an old shed in Tn. I bought the Bugeye in 1972 for the hard top on it but didn’t have the heart to crush the remains of the body.