Don’t piss off Austin Healey internet fanboys.
Yes, this was my dad’s Austin Healey. We sold it 4-years ago to a local friend who has enjoyed it and is now moving on. Since this was a sentimental car to us, I created a short video before we sold it last time. It was really more for my dad then the general audience. I dubbed in my dad’s favorite band/song for the video: The 5th Dimension’s Aquarius.
However, when I posted it to the public, many didn’t enjoy the music. I got comments like, “yeah a year later and this piss head still has the music going … how sad.” They hated that you couldn’t hear the glorious exhaust note of the Big Healey. They were right. Below is that video remastered with the straight-6 symphony instead.
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BN7 Two-Seater/Numbers Matching
1 of 125 Tri-Carbs with Center Shift
Restoration by Healey Lane
Stock # 1139
VIN # HBN7-L / 17xxx**
Engine # 29E-RU-H/4380
Body # 18435
Numbers Matching/Original Color Specification
85,600 Original Chassis Miles
Full frame off restoration less than 8,500 miles ago
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Healey Blue (Ice Blue) BU2 with Blue Leather and White Piping
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Blue Hood (Top)
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4-speed with electric overdrive (factory center shift)
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BMC Heritage Trust Certified Copy of Factory Record
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Restoration by Tom Rocke of Healey Lane
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Clean and clear title
Sale Pending
The Austin Healey is the quintessential English sports car that really helped spark the U.S. interest in open sports car driving. Although many of these cars flooded our shores, just a few low-production models have captured the eyes of savvy collectors. Other than the 100M’s, the BN7 3000 Mk II Tri-Carbs have become highly sought after. Unfortunately, very few were built and even fewer have survived.
This Healey was built between February10th and 12th, 1962 and delivered to a dealer in Chicago sometime around April 1962. It was among the very last triple carburetor models built. 125 2-seat, triple carburetor models with a center-mounted shifter were exported to North America out of the 141 built for the world. These “Tri-Carbs” were built as a homologation for the racing program in which Austin Healey was involved.
The first owner drove the car for approximately 10-years at which time a partial restoration was begun but never finished. At some point during the late 1970s the car was sold to a buyer in Texas. That owner took the car completely apart planning on a complete restoration. The restoration was never performed and a buyer in eastern Canada purchased the disassembled Healey with the intention of rebuilding the car.
After many years of being in pieces, Tom Rocke of Healey Lane, a well-known and respected Healey mark specialist, purchased this example with all the boxes of original parts. He then spent several years bringing this beautiful and rare car back to life. This was a complete bare metal/frame off restoration at the highest level. Accuracy and quality were paramount. Every part on the car was either restored to original condition or replaced with new. The upholstery and carpet is by Heritage Upholstery and Trim of Blaine, Washington, known for their very high quality English car factory replacements. A custom carpeted wedge was made for the passenger side, which is located under the carpeting and creating a very comfortable foot rest for the passenger.
Fresh from restoration, my father and AutoKennel partner purchased it in August of 2002. The initial goal was to show the car a bit and then use it as a local weekend cruiser.
This Healey took First Place in an Austin Healey Association car show and Second Place in the Newport Beach Concours de Elegance in 2003 and 2004 respectively. After that, it was no longer shown on a competitive level and simply enjoyed driving to local Cars & Coffee events and PCH drives. We sold the car to the current Malibu, California owner in December of 2016. He continued the ritual of PCH cruising. Although he drove it regularly, most were short drives and he only added another 500-miles.
This car came from the factory with the following fitted equipment:
- Wire wheels- 60 spokes and painted
- Now fitted with 72 spoke chrome and stainless steel wheels
- Electric overdrive
- Heater
- Adjustable steering column
- Laminated windscreen
- Road Speed Tyres – now fitted with Michelin ZX steel belted radial ply tires
The engine is a 6 cylinder, in-line, water cooled 2912 cc generating 136 BHP at 4750 rpm.
There are 3 SU semi-down draft carburetors, making this car unique among Austin Healeys.
My dad is a long-time car enthusiast and he took exceptional care of this Healey. No maintenance was ever over-looked, and he had frequent oil services performed as well as driving it on a regular basis. Besides having Healey Lane performing some of the initial services during the “break-in” period, some of the top local British car specialists have looked after the car. Recent/significant services include:
- Regular oil and filter change
- New battery
- New battery cables
- New valve cover gasket
- Valve adjustment
- Carburetors adjusted and balanced
- New muffler installed
- Coolant system fluid flush and inspected
- Transmission fluid flush and inspected
- Replaced clutch flex line and inspected clutch
Before selling it to the current owner, we had it inspected by a marque specialist. The car was found to be in excellent condition considering its age/miles. A compression test was also performed and the results were even and ideal. The current owner has had the car nearly 4-years. He lives in Malibu and would use it at least once a month for cruising on PCH. He’s only added 500 additional miles since we sold it to him. He has an onsite mechanic that maintains his collection. During his care, the following services were performed:
- Repair exhaust system clamps and hangars
- Flush fuel tank and clean
- Rebuild carburetors
- Fuel filter
- Oil services
- Rebuild starter
- Fuel pump
- Spark plugs
- Tuning
- This example is in exceptional condition. The paint looks great with light to minimal signs of wear. The chrome has no signs of pitting. Although the restoration was nearly 20-years ago, it still looks fresh and a testament to the quality of the restoration. The brightwork still looks great and hardly shows any age. The chrome on the wire wheels show no significant blemishes. They are wearing older period-correct tires that have near full tread with no cracking. However, they are older and should be replaced if there are plans to do more driving than showing.
The interior looks equally nice. The leather shows almost no signs of wear. The vinyl top and detachable side windows were brand new 18 years ago and have only been installed twice – once 18 years ago and again for the photos accompanying this description. The rest of the time they were carefully packed and stored away. The door panels and carpet look fresh with no stains or other blemishes. 3-point seatbelts have been properly installed for extra safety using factory mounting points and can easily be removed. All the gauges and controls work properly as do all the lights.
The engine bay, boot area, and underside all look fantastic and also show that this Healey was not only properly restored, but also correctly looked after for the past 2-decades. Everything is factory correct and quite tidy. The wiring is beautiful and factory correct. There are no significant leaks as well as free from signs of any prior damage or corrosion. This is a very dry, correct, and well sorted example ready for being shown or vintage motoring.
This Austin Healey drives great. It starts easily thanks to the new starter. If you follow the included starting procedure, it will start most of the time on the first shot. It shifts smoothly in all gears and the electric overdrive works with the flip of a switch in either 3rd or 4th gear. The overdrive makes freeway speeds a pleasure with the rpms around 3000. The power is nicely paired for this vintage sports car. The brakes work properly with no pulling. The car tracks straight and has a smooth ride. Besides the looks, the best part about this Healey is the way it sounds. It is one of the best sounding and most unique exhaust notes for vintage British sports cars.
The car has current California registration good through August, 2020.
This car comes with 2 sets of keys, tool roll with tools, custom tool roll case, scissor jack, Thor knock- off hammer with custom case, Protective Knock Off Wrench™, custom car cover, original factory sales brochure, original factory color brochure, Road & Track book on Austin Healey, 1953 Motor Trend on Austin Healey and the following books and manuals: Healey Owners Handbook, Austin Healey 3000 Driver’s Handbook, BMC Austin Healey Workshop Manual, Autopress Workshop Manual for Austin Healey, Austin Healey Owners Workshop Manual, Austin Healey 3000 Service Parts List, and Austin Healey Tech Talk by Norman Nock.
**Note: VIN and other numbers withheld to protect against fraud. All numbers including VIN, Engine, and color will be provided to serious buyers.
The specified gallery is trashed.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Paul at 714-335-4911 or [email protected]
This vehicle is sold “as-is” with no warranty, written or implied. In some cases, the vehicle does have the remaining factory warranty still in place and will be described above if that is the case. All taxes and fees are the responsibility of the buyer and are not included in the listed price. All vehicle sales will require a $170 administration fee. The vehicle listed is described to the best of our ability. The information is based on our own research and statements made to us by the previous owner(s). To the best of our knowledge, the above information is accurate. We are not responsible for errors in our description of options or any other details. The above-mentioned vehicle is used and can be expected to show some wear and tear. It is not a brand new vehicle. We do welcome all local pre-purchase inspections on vehicles in order to verify condition.
Special Note
We appreciate the countless calls from brokers and dealers. As much as we would love to quickly “wholesale” this car to industry partners so they can make a quick profit, the car is on consignment (as are all of our offerings) and the owners have the final say.
If you have actually taken the time to read this far in our detailed description, I can’t imagine there are any questions you may have. However, if there is something I missed or you would prefer to hear the warm sound of a human voice (mine) reiterating the research I’ve provided above, I would be happy to help.
If you put our company name in Google (AutoKennel®) you will see that we have been a long-time part of the Porsche community and have worked extremely hard to earn the positive reputation you will find. Feel free to reach out to our local PCA chapter (www.pcaocr.org) and the board members are familiar with us. Most in the club have known us for most of our 25-year membership involvement. Of course, if you would like more references, you will find countless testimonials on our website as well.
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