Still available: ’60 Austin-Healey 3000 MK I

We spotted this back in July and it cropped up again on Craigslist. We still think it looks worthy of some additional attention. Unless of course one of our readers has seen it and it is a fright pig!

We like Big Healeys very much. They call them Big Healeys because they replaced the smaller 100-4. What else could they call it? The first attempt at the 6-cylinder car was the 100-6. Of all Healeys, big & small, it is our least favorite. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t buy one if a really special one came along. In 1959, the twin SU carb 3000 MK I debuted and it was a much better engine. Like the 100-6, it was a pure roadster with flat windscreen and side curtains. It came  in 2 versions– the rare 2-seater called a BN7 and the 2+2 (not really) known as the BT7 model. Today’s fresh find is a 1960, unrestored 89,000 mile car with original interior and paint. It has had 3 owners – 2 short timers of 2 years each and the middle one had it for 49 years. This is a special car and you have to drive an unrestored Healey to really understand why. If the suspension is in good order, the car will be remarkably tight and solid feeling. We owned an unrestored ’61 MK I that didn’t shake itself to death when you went over train tracks. We would love to get our hands on this one just so we can see what it would look like detailed to the max. We tried to blow up the images as large as possible because there may be some rust bubbles just ahead of the rear wheels. Can’t tell for sure. That would not be a surprise and an easy fix. The price is sort of reasonable at $36,500. Compared to a Kurt Tanner restoration, this one is a bargain and probably more fun. You wouldn’t have to worry about it so much. Click here for the listing.