1962 Austin Healey 3000 Mark II BJ7 Sports Convertible

Highlights

• Only 50,000 miles covered from new
• Extensive history file
• Bare metal restoration by a Healey fanatic
• New parts from Healey specialists
• RHD conversion

General Description

After the Second World War Britain was struggling. Having to rebuild after long years of ariel bombardment, low supplies of basic goods like food and a costly victory had made the end of the 1940s quite a bleak time. In contrast the Unites States was prosperous and had come out as the richest country in the world. But the American G.I.s that had fought alongside their British comrades did provide some slight relief for once particular industry for the British car industry.

Many G.I.s, wanting to waste no time in spending the wages they’d earnt during the war, went out and bought cars. The MG Midget, which many had seen while stationed in the UK, proved to be a particular favourite and gave a number of engineers, designers and businessmen the idea that small British sports car would be a popular and prosperous venture. One of those men was Donald Healey.

Before the war, Donald Healey had a successful career in rallying, winning the 1931 Monte Carlo Rallye in an Invicta, as well as being a consultant for Triumph in the 1930s. After the war ended, he would set up the Donald Healey Motor Company, based in an old RAF hangar in Warwick. He would release his first car in 1947 but his first major breakthrough came when he was looking to build a sports car that was reasonably priced yet could reach 100mph. This would turn out to be the Healey 100, which was shown at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show.

However, despite his creation achieving all his aims, Donald Healey was unsatisfied with the car’s looks and asked for it to be placed behind a pillar at the show. But that did not stop Austin chairman Leonard Lord taking a look and being thoroughly impressed with what he saw. After the show a partnership was struck between Healey and Lord for the 100 to be built at Longbridge and be renamed the Austin-Healey 100.

The car proved highly successful and by 1962 it had been in production for almost a decade and had a number of variations, each improving on the last. The Austin Healey 3000 Mark II was powered by a 3.0 litre inline 6 taking just over 130 bhp to the rear wheels and allowing it to achieve 115 mph. The only other changes made from the original Healey 100 were the addition of front disc brakes, a wraparound windscreen and wind up side windows. The Mark II came in a number of body styles, including the BN7 open two-seater, BT7 2+2 roadster and the BJ7 Sports convertible.

About this specific vehicle

The Austin-Healey 3000 Mark II BJ7 Sports Convertible offered for auction here was built in 1962 and originally delivered to the United States. After spending all of its life in the US, the car was then imported to the UK from the state of Ohio in 2014 by an Austin-Healey fanatic.

After its arrival in the UK, the car would be subjected to a Bare metal restoration, with no expense spared. The car was stripped and painted in the factory colour of Colorado Red and reupholstered in black leather. The engine was fully rebuilt and new parts, such as the exhaust, came from specialists A Head Healeys and UK Healey Centre Parts. During the restoration, the car was also converted from its original LHD configuration to RHD, to better suit UK roads.

Today this car presents as a fantastic example. The car has seen minimal use since its restoration and currently has only covered 50,000 miles since new. The car comes with an extensive history file, including photos of the restoration, invoices and bills and notes on how to run the car.

This is an opportunity to purchase a full restored and very well-maintained Austin-Healey 3000 Mark II BJ7 Sports Convertible with low miles and a great history.