While I find many different types of cars and trucks to be attractive, few ever strike me as being as just downright pretty as an Austin-Healey roadster. But it wasn’t until I heard one under heavy throttle that I really became smitten with one of the more iconic British roadsters ever made, and someday hope to spend some time behind the wheel of an example like this Austin Healey 100-6. The seller describes it as an estate sale find, belonging to the late husband of the seller, who apparently kept it in his workshop for 30 years. The car today runs and drives but is not quite roadworthy; find it here on Facebook Marketplace for $25,500 in Vacaville, California.
For a car that’s been sitting, it remains in incredibly nice condition. Despite not being quite ready for the open road, the bodywork and paint appears to be in good order, which hopefully translates to not having to perform any sort of extensive rust repair or fixing prior accident damage. And, given it’s been tucked away for three decades, it seems likely to have avoided the sort of careless use that can creep into a car’s existence later in life. The chrome isn’t blindingly bright but it’s not dull, either, and the California black plates are as strong an indication as anything else that the seller’s story checks out. He notes that a tonneau cover and side windows are included.
Seeing the interior makes you wonder if the previous owned undertook a restoration at some point, as even with careful storage, original leather in a top-down car rarely looks this good. If there was period in which the previous caretaker stripped the car down, or at least fixed the more obviously tired areas (interior and drivetrain would make sense), that may help explain why it’s still such a presentable runner today. It doesn’t take long for convertible interiors to look like absolute trash, even among owners who don’t necessarily abuse the car. The seller doesn’t offer much in the way of detail about the Austin Healey’s history, but perhaps the widow of the previous owner would offer up some details.
The engine bay is complete, and it’s always good to see the valve cover still in place. I can’t tell you how many long-dormant cars I’ve stumbled upon where it’s clear someone began to disassemble the engine or tackle a headgasket job, only to get bored and leave the engine internals exposed for years, thus increasing the amount of work the next owner will have to address. Looking at the paint, it seems quite likely the exterior was redone at some point, and that’s no big thing – it still looks smart, even if there may be some interesting masking around the perimeter of the engine bay. A classic that will never lose value and will always find a new owner willing to pay a fair price – that’s what you can expect with a vintage Austin Healey.
Not sure about this one, Jeff. It has been a VERY long time since I’ve looked at a 100-6 (my father traded his for a 3000 in 1960), but I do see a few things that don’t look quite right to me. Maybe someone with more expertise knows better….
First, this car has a center-shift gearbox, something I’ve never seen in a Healey until 1963 or so. Seats and carpets appear to have been replaced, and the carpet is a bit of a patch-job (that central shift lever again?), and neither is of top quality. If the rest of the car is original, it has drum brakes in front, which work well enough but are not as effective as the 3000’s discs.
Finally, the car has definitely had a repaint, and not a good one. The seller provides a photo of the boot, which would make me look for accident damage because of the strange spots of overspray inside.
Asking $25K for it strikes me as a bit of a reach, especially considering its non-running status. Assuming it needs only the basics — brakes, hoses, tires and a tune-up — to make it roadworthy, that still means an investment in time and money that might add another four-figure sum to the price unless the new owner is garage-savvy.
The transmission is definitely from a later car.
Weird overspray in the boot.
The engine bay needs a major cleanup at a minimum.
The interior also needs work.
Sadly, a 100-6 in this condition isn’t a 25K car
What looks like a bit of overspray at the top of the door shut next he the windscreen surround as well I think
I had a 100-6.Bought it in 1975 (or so).
First car my (now) Wife went out in.I paid $1000
for it,put $300 into it,& sold to a guy whose father
was a partner in Love-Thomas Motors in Honolulu
for $2100 – I made a killing on it (or so I thought).
It was red 4 seater,with chromed wheels (not-
wire),& home made front & rear bumpers.
When we sold my Wife’s 510 wagon,the guy who
bought it told me that he’d worked worked at that
dealership.
I wonder where it’s at now?
I had a 1958 100-6. Paid $800 for it in 1966. It had a fiberglass hardtop that was very stylish. Drove it with all of my belongings to California and sold it for $1200. Mistakes we all made! Nothing sounds like the big Healey. If this one is a sold car it would be worth an offer.
This another of those, “wow, it looks cool, therefore must be”. My brother had a ’58 100-6 with a newer 3000 motor,( and that bent shifter) it replaced his ’63 Alfa Spider ( another story) in the early 70’s, I think he paid $1500 for it. Make no mistake, it was a fun car, BUT, several shortcomings that definitely didn’t make it cool. Speaking of cool, it was a hot car, uncomfortably hot, and handled poorly, way too heavy up front. Low car tore the exhaust off several times. ( sure sounded neat when that happened) With O/D, we did get it up to 120 once, shaking like a leaf on a tree, and speaking of brakes, it was ultimately what did the car in. The drums up front must have been out of kilter a bit, someone pulled out in front of him, he hit the brakes, the LF grabbed before the RF, it spun the car around, mowing over a traffic island. Folded the wire wheels under, bent the front suspension, tore the exhaust off, again, and bent the rear axle. I thought it was repairable, but he was going into the service, and I had no place for it.
I know what I said about price, but a few years ago, you couldn’t touch these for under 6 figures, maybe the bottom is already falling out @ $25g’s. Seems like a deal.
Had one of these too, mine had a bj8 motor, still with the side shift and od. What you described of your brothers, held true to mine. I converted to disc brakes up front. I had it early in my marriage and as the kids grew, it just sat in the garage with its cover on. Finally after realizing I had put 200 miles on it in 3 years, I sold it. A woman bought it as an Xmas present for her husband. Thirty five years later, he still has it. Now that the kids are grown, I enjoy my Miata, that provides the fun parts of the English sports car ownership without the downsides.
There are no downsides to owning an English sports car as the best part is not the driving of them, but the tinkering maintenance. In my experience they don’t break down, they just take a rest now and again in order to receive a little bit of fettling. Aside from that, and the general bashing of British cars, I owned a 1934 Austin Ten/Four for 28 years and apart from one puncture and a loose points base plate, it never let me down over many thousands of miles. The wedding couple had a daughter and I also drove this car to her wedding 25 years later.
A Kurt Tanner-restored BJ8 may have been tough to touch for less than six figures at one point, but I doubt any 100-6s that weren’t factory competition cars traded hands in that price range. When Healeys were peaking about a decade ago, you could still get a 100-6 in driver condition for less than the asking price of this one. I don’t think they’ll have much luck until they knock it down by about a third.
Is it me? Or does the engine look like it’s in crooked?
I agree with others’ comments that this is not a $25,500 car. The problem with estate sales like this is that some well-intentioned person, who is not familiar with the marque or even the general collect car hobby, looks at a price guide of some sort, makes a guess about condition, likely adds a bit for some negotiation room, and fixes on a price. I see a 100-6 that needs $75,000 in restoration to be worth $35-40,000. Sorry.