It’s always a treat to see cars that have remained in the long-term care of a single owner, but it can also be somewhat disappointing to realize the car would have been better off if it had found a new caretaker sooner. Regardless, this 1967 Austin Healey 3000 isn’t past the point of saving, and it’s good to see it may live on to enjoy retirement now that the original owner has decided to let go. The listing points to a colorful past, as the longterm owner purchased the Austin Healey new in the UK and had it shipped to Washington, D.C., where he drove it regularly until 1994. Find it here on eBay with bidding at $5,600 and no reserve.
I suppose if I had a car that long, it’d be hard to for me to part ways with it. I’m assuming that’s the original owner in the top photo, who has likely moved onto more reliable transportation judging the late-model Toyota in the picture. I always wonder about vintage cars found in the DC area, as it’s not the easiest place to own an older vehicle. Were they a diplomat, or other higher-up in government that they lived in the UK long enough to bring a car home with them? Who knows. I do know that when my brother and I frequented junkyards in the Baltimore area, we did see the occasional oddball classic with signs of belonging to a foreign diplomat. Note the convertible top sagging at the bottom – hopefully, water hasn’t gotten behind there.
The Austin Healey is plenty rough all over, and the seller doesn’t go out of his way to highlight any specific rust issues. All that is noted is that there’s never been any bodywork done (clearly) and that the body is free of any bondo or filler. I wonder how long that will last once the next owner gets his hands on it! The interior is decent, with the black bucket seats presenting in OK condition, aside from the chunk of upholstery missing at the top. The wood in the dash is clearly in need of replacement, but on the upside, the original carpeting looks pretty tidy. Door panels are rough and will likely need restoration, and the same goes for the original steering wheel.
On the upside, the Austin Healey is said to be numbers-matching, which you would expect to some degree given it’s been in one owner possession for so long. However, as a means of clarification, the seller doesn’t specify whether he is listing the car on behalf of the owner, or if he purchased the car from the owner but never signed any paperwork indicating a transfer of possession. The original title is long gone, which will make it slightly tricky for those of you in strict title states to register. It’s hard to say how rusty it truly is, but restoring this Austin Healey back to the form it was in when it left the UK those many years ago will require a fair amount of TLC.
Look at that trunk lid and firewall . . . . wow . . . One owner means nothing if they kept it under water. Oh, and it also means nothing if they don’t have a title . . .
Says daily driver?!
Mileage: 101631 ????
Color: Olde English White
This is a rough one
Oh yea, and if the electrical system is by Lucas, all that moisture surely will wreak havoc.
If the underside shot on ebay doesn’t scare you nothing will. Kept looking for something good on the chassis with no luck. Running gear probably the only good stuff on it and I would not get excited about that until I found out if it was a flood car or not. Rough one.
I was so excited in 2010 to hear a friend say his dad was the original owner of a 1960 Triumph TR3. I went to look at it a found it was completely disassembled and the parts were all over the garage and the tub was in a shed that leaked water like a sieve. One owner doesn’t mean much if it is a rusty pile of parts waiting for 2x the value of the finished car to complete a restoration.
The main frame members are supposed to have bottoms to them! I have owned 2 BJ8 Austin-Healeys, and the one I restored was way better than this one prior to starting the project. Not a good idea to sand off the paint and then not paint over to protect the metal.
Last year I visited a fellow club member and his ’66 that was on a rotiserie. There was rust in all of the corners, but even then was way better than this one. My suggestion to anyone thinking about buying this is to run as fast as your can in the other direction before parting even with the low price so far. Not cheap to restore, that’s for sure.
It will be interesting to see if any of the cars in the background come up for auction.
Steve R
Parts car, at best.
He may as well ship it back to the UK where metal fabrication is still a thing.
Aw, if the guy pictured is the original owner, I feel bad for him. This was his baby, drove the heck out of it, and despite the condition, he just couldn’t let it go. “Maybe someday I’ll restore it’, and the painful realization, that’s never going to happen. I think it’s a decent price, you’ll have a ton of work in it, but it’s one of the few cars that will always return your investment. With this car, it will be close. They are fantastic cars.
The “old guy next to the car ” is getting to be a flippers trademark. I guess they think the buyer will think ” hey, an old person owned it ,
it must not have been beat on ! ” Sorry , I dont buy it anymore, but hey , the crutch is a nice addition to the flippers story
So, the original owner purchased the car in England , and had it shipped to the U.S. ? It probably would have been easier and cheaper to get a left hand drive one over here as there were dealers here , than to order one and pay to have it shipped . Of course thats if the flippers story is true
It was a very common thing when these cars were new to buy one in the UK and ship it home. There were tax advantages to this scheme, and many U.S. military people stationed in various locations ordered one. It was called “Personal Export Delivery”. If military, shipment home was free. Don’t know if this was one of them, but it probably was. It still has original leather upholstery, which was extremely rare on non-Personal Export Delivery vehicles, but more common on UK market cars.
I bought a 1 owner 1967 AH 3000 in 1973. The owner’s wife said it didn’t run. Well the battery had frozen and cracked open. Just a little surface rust.
This ine is scary.
One owner?? Disgraceful. He should be restricted to a donkey.
“the body is free of any bondo or filler” And pretty much any metal. Yikes.
When I read comments like its a parts car or whatever I think these guys have never restored a car.I finished a bn2 that was plenty ruff. Was it all fun,well no it was not, was it worth the time to fix it,might not fit that box either however it came out stunning. An all the same numbers car is well tuff to find.. These bad comment guys should go find a new Honda with pad shift and touchy nav screen. so they dont get lost on the I-state
A pig in a poke…
If it was a steal….I mean deal….the Gull wing guys would be flipping it.
Not even a donor car.
I’m with Steve. Easy to criticize when you’ve never turned a wrench on something that hasn’t been pampered. This could turn out nice.
I live about 20 miles north of DC. Finding a garage in DC is like pulling teeth. Also, finding a garage that knows anything about Healey’s is another stretch. If someone has deep enough pockets to show this some love, it can be a good car, again. And, from all I’ve heard, they are a bear to tune. Best of everything to seller and new owner.
If the old man wasn’t wearing a shirt
It would sell. Lol.