This sad Austin-Healey is now a parts car at best, a long fall from the halcyon days of 1965 when it graced the marque’s stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany. History alone isn’t always enough to make a car salvageable, but if you want some parts with provenance for your own big Healey, here’s your chance! Reader George G. shared this one with us, and you can find it here on eBay, with bidding up to $520 and about a day left on this Langsville, Ohio car.
I’m a little concerned by these panel gaps…. Seriously, though, I can’t think of much reason to actually cart away this enitre body. It’s been sitting outside since the early ’70s, having been wrecked twice in a brief roadgoing career that took it from Germany to California to Ohio. Rust is pervasive, nothing is straight, and, uh, clearly there’s some frame damage. The rear bumper might be useable, the door glass is intact and said to be in good condition, and the radio looks to be in one piece for whatever that’s worth, but there’s not a whole lot else left attached to the car that’s of value.
Still, that’s not the worst parts haul for a few hundred bucks, and there’s additional value in the parts that aren’t attached anymore. The BMC C-series 3-liter inline six and transmission are present and may be useful for some cores or other bits, and there’s a veritable mountain of trim, interior hardware, lenses, and suspension components also included in the sale. The grille, although one of the pieces in nicer condition, is from an earlier, Mark I 3000, so it might not be as good a find for someone restoring a Mark III as it seems—unless you’re not concerned about correctness and like the way it looks.
From its charmed beginnings under the exhibition hall lights, this Austin-Healey’s trajectory quickly took a hard turn, followed by a long, slow decline to where it sits today. I’m pretty sure it’s past hope—pipe up in the comments if you’d be foolish brave enough to try to restore this one!—but hopefully someone will get a good deal for those pieces of this car that can be used to return another to the road. What other salvageable parts can you spot?
That’ll buff out.
No it won’t “buff out”. Did you look at the pictures? The thing is a wreck.
They were kidding Milt.
Nice patina
It’s not patina…..a word I hate…it’s RUST
duct tape and zipties and it will be mint.
david frieburger level: 100%
I’m glad someone got it :)
Just put out with the rest of the trash for weekly pickup. It will be gone when you get home from work. Good riddance.
Beverly Hills Car Club will bid on it!!
Shame…….but if it was an old Porsche 356 in that condition, the bidding would likely be in the thousands of dollars.
Ran when parked! (bring a broom)
Ran when parked . Jk.
BJ auction would get a million for it.
Frame off restoration has already begun. Just needs to be finished.
“That’s a nice car, I’m gonna fix it up some day”
Looks like the “tree” won that race. Palm tress are the worst they bend but never break when your car leaves the roadway at speed.
Is that an overdrive I see on the Transmission ? $$$
Yep. Definitely an overdrive.
Nice green lawn…..compliments to the groundskeeper, but
lipstick on a hog, is still a pig
So sad to think about cars like this–and wish they could tell their stories. Think about it–at one point, this came home from the dealer, fresh and new–shiny paint and chrome, and was someone’s absolute pride and joy.
But over the years, and likely owners, it’s fallen from grace.
I just wish cars like this could speak and tell their stories…
The show is only beginning.
Just like people cannot get away from gawking at accidents:
If you take this to a cars&coffee, everybody would be swarming around this, I can guarantee it.
The only question would be how to get everything there and home afterwards….
.
.
in other words, you could not replicate this with 100s of work hours
Long fall!! Looks like a long fall off a cliff ! I am going to go into woods and see if I can dig up some old cars and sell them. Hope title is clean
By dump truck. Then back it up to the crusher and turn the lift on.
What a story
A PPI by a qualified mechanic would be a must here.
A little welding,a bit of por-15,
a couple scraps of leather,and some clear coat,
“it can’t be too hard to fix…can it”?,……yes,….yes it can! LOL..!
I am with other poster,if this was a 1950’s VW van,
they would have to have security cameras and guards!
The engine would make a good anchor.
Yup a hillbilly boat anchor!
Hahaha. I’m with Mark looks like it fell end over end over end down a mountain
Disintegrating on the way down
Wow.and that’s all that’s left!
Monty Python Black Knight comes to mind. “tis but a scratch”…
Trailer Queen.
If it was a Porsche, I would say it was the long lost James Dean death car.
Looks like it was put in a swampy area and had I stick of dynamite put under it. We could cry about it or if you own one you’d be happy to know the your car just went up a notch in value as it just became more rare.
If you DID make it whole, and actually reused more than 10% of the original car, you would have bragging rights forever.
Clear coat and sell as ratrod.
You aren’t serious? Why waste the space on this kind of crap!
Looks like a “Welderup” build.
The 3000’s had jump seats for two rear passengers… but very little foot room.
Looks like this owner has figured out a way to improve on this…….Some assembly required…..
http://barnfinds.com/?attachment_id=163362
Thing is about these postings, while the car is pretty shot, it sure brings out the comedian in some of you folks. Pretty funny. I wonder at what point this person deemed this car undriveable? Probably when it broke in half. Way to go, Ohio.
Museum piece…..unique & unusual…..
New body shell and away you go…..https://www.scparts.co.uk/sc_en/body-shell-1-10596.html
Its up to $960. $960 American dollars. For that?
Someone please tell me what the bidders are smoking, drinking or otherwise snorting cause we all need some oh that!
Wax it and drive it.
A good metal man can take the aluminum on this and straighten them,I have seen it done,,The man was a wonder to watch..OD trans also…
It’s amazing how people just sell a pile of garbage and other people buy it
Keep in mind, many(most?) Big Healey restorations start with a new frame(with all internal sheet metal) from Kilmarten or Jule.. From that point of view this could be restored.
Not that I’d do it, just sayin’
That trunk lid sure provides the evidence that AH trunk lids are made of steel, not aluminum. I have never seen that much rust except for cars that were dumped in the salt chuck.
Let’s hope that the running gear is useable. A sad sight and a good example of what happens when a car is left outside for decades, as exampled by car hoarders.
Ended up selling for just under a $1,000. And the HD8 carbs are worth that. Between the Overdrive, the carbs, the manifolds (if they aren’t rusted through), the signal lenses (if they aren’t cracked), door handles (at least one), and driveshaft, there seems to be some usable parts. I couldn’t see a dash in the pictures, but if there are gauges and a trafficator then the buyer did better than okay. But even with a new Jule frame, this one seems to have no decent panels as a resto candidate.
Where are they now, show car edition…
Yard art