Lot Ended
Description
From a deceased estate; in the current ownership for 30 years;
restored to show-winning condition in 1994 and carefully maintained since;
veteran of many shows and rallies; has spent the last dozen years in sunny
Cyprus; a super Healey at an attractive guide price
One of the
best-loved British sportscars, the Healey 3000 was launched in 1959 and simply
got better as time went on. Last and best was the MkIII version which came out
in October 1963 and remained in production until the end of 1967 when production
finally ceased.
Classified as the BJ8, the new
model was the most powerful and luxurious of the Big Healeys, with a walnut
dash, wind-up windows and now with 150bhp rather than 136bhp thanks to
improvements to the engine which included a new camshaft and valve springs, twin
SU 2" HD8 carburettors, together with a new design of exhaust system.
Servo-assisted brakes were also fitted as standard.
Only available as a 2+2, the interior trim was now Ambla vinyl
as leather wasn't suitable for the hot climates of most export markets. In
May 1964 the Phase II version of the MkIII was released with a modified rear
chassis to give some much-needed extra ground clearance at the rear, and in
March 1965 the car also gained separate indicators. Only 17,712 were made in
total, all but 1,146 of them in LHD as the vast majority went to the booming
American market.
Dating from 1966, this BJ8 Phase
II was originally one of those LHD cars which was imported back to the UK in
1991, although it wasn’t registered here until August 1994. Dozens of
invoices show that the car was treated to a total nut-and-bolt restoration
between 1991 and 1994, much of the work being carried out by The Northern
Healey Centre of Willowbridge Garage, West Yorkshire.
The restoration included a full engine rebuild by Chris Watson
Engineering of Bradford, with new pistons, bearings, con rods, camshaft,
reground crank etc. The overdrive gearbox was also overhauled along with all
other mechanical aspects of the car – carbs, brakes, suspension, electrics,
conversion to RHD etc.
The interior was
sympathetically refurbished by S Turner Coach Trimmer of Wilsden, preserving as
much originality as possible. There are very few invoices for bodywork repairs
or new panels, so presumably it had come in from a dry climate and needed little
more than some localised repairs, various bits of new brightwork and a full
repaint.
At this point the car was owned by a Mr
G Higgins of Bradford, from whom our vendor's late-father acquired the car in
1996 when it was showing 53,500 miles on the speedo. A professional mechanic and
car restorer of some repute, we are told that the Healey was his pride and
joy for the rest of his life and attended many shows and rallies, winning lots
of awards over the years.
In 2011 he emigrated to Cyprus and took the
Healey with him, the V5C showing that it was put into his daughter’s name at
this point, thus retaining its original registration number (it was registered
as 500 A while in Cyprus). We are further told that it
continued to win awards in Cyprus, the owner being employed by the Cyprus Motor
Museum to keep their cars in good running order and attending many shows and
rallies on the island in both this car and others owned by the
museum.
The owner sadly passed away in early 2024
and the Healey was imported back to UK in September of that year, passing an MOT
in Cyprus first, as this was a legal requirement before it could be exported.
There are various bits of Cypriot paperwork associated with the car but
regrettably these are all Greek to us so you will need to come and decipher them
for yourselves.
A check of the MOT history
online indicates that the Healey was showing 61,928 miles when last tested in
the UK in February 2011 and the odometer currently shows 83,112 miles so it
has clearly been in regular use. We are told that the owner kept it
well-maintained but unfortunately any invoices it might have had for new parts
fitted or work carried out are no longer with the car.
Supplied with a
hood, tonneau cover and hood cover, all in good condition, it also comes with an
original owner's handbook, lots of restoration invoices, Haynes workshop manual,
period road tests and a useful quantity of spares. We are told that more spares
are available should the winning bidder wish to collect them from the
Basingstoke area (they wouldn't all fit in the boot when we had
the car collected).
As you can see in the
photos, this Healey still looks most impressive over 30 years since it was
restored. The chrome wire wheels look virtually new, as do the tyres, and the
paint finish still has a deep glossy shine. It has been starting promptly and
running very sweetly indeed as we have moved it around on site, with healthy
60psi oil pressure. We did note that it tends to jump out of 2nd gear
if you don’t keep your hand on the gearstick, so that would merit
investigation.
On offer here from a deceased
estate, this fine-looking Healey now needs an enthusiastic new owner who can
continue to cherish it as the last owner did these past few
decades.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970
309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com