According to the seller, this 1959 Austin Healey was found in a storage container where it had been kept for 40 years! The body is said to be pretty rough, but the chassis appears to be in “very good condition.” The car can be found here on Craigslist with an asking price of just shy of $12,000. Located in Portland, Oregon, the NorthWest climate may have contributed to some of the body issues. Let’s dig deeper on this one and thanks to Matt H. for the tip on this Austin!
You’ll notice both doors and hood appear to be donated from a different car. In fact, the seller says the hood is from a Healey 3000 along with 3000 disc brakes and steering box. I’m not sure what is going on with the center of the door. If this door is the “new” one, I’d hate to see the door that it replaced!
The seller says they assume the engine is seized. The starter and driveshaft are in the trunk. A restored version of these engines can be quite striking, especially in green.
Overall, this looks like a pretty big project, even if the engine isn’t seized. Hopefully, someone will invest the time and money to bring this car back to what it could be. What do you think about this project?
Wouldn’t touch this one until I saw the underside and the top of the frame where the floor sits on it. Big job here.
That’s a great project and a truly classic design. I had a project AH that was truly rotted out by Ohio weather and I never got to complete The engine ran great and I did sit on a crate to test it I still enjoy that memory
The fiberglass reproductions of this actually scare me less than this rust bucket …
This takes me back. My best friend in high school had a 1962 3000 (with the 3 carbs). A few years later we embarked on a restoration project! These pictures resurrect those awful feelings after we got it torn apart where it looked a lot like this one. “Now what are we going to do?” we said as we sat there, just staring at it. We had taken over our friend’s half-garage and he wanted it out of there. Somehow, we got the wheels back on and made it towable. His brother (the dentist) took over and paid a professional to finish the job. I never did see the finished product. I learned to have a lot of respect for those who can start AND finish a auto restoration.
$12,000.00 for a pig in a poke. No thanks. Doesn’t look like there’s really one good thing left of the car; door and hood not original? That takes it down to a $2000.00, that’s if the floors and rockers are good, which they probably are not. Too bad.
A very nice one sold yesterday on Bring a Trailer for $32k, it will take more than that to make this one right again…
Dude has no wrenches:
“The starter and the driveshaft are in the trunk so I have no way of trying to turn the engine over.”
For those that do not know or have never owned one there is no difference in the hood or doors on any 3000 except for the doors on the 3000 MK II & III so that should not matter. A big reason to replace those doors is that they are aluminum skinned and a total pain to get right. I have owned 4 over the years and helped restore a couple more.
The big problem is the frame. There is ABSOLUTELY NO way to shim this body up. It is either right or it will not fit. Been there and Done that. If it has been in a wreck then run away. IF the basic frame and body tub is in good condition then these are a wonderful car to restore and own.
Bruce, I disagree with you and question your stated experience with Healey 3000. The only Healey’s that had “aluminum” doors were the early Healey 100’s, ’53’54. And those doors would not fit a 3000. Please do your homework prior to touting that you are experienced in Healey’s.