1965 Austin Healey 3000 MKIII

Convertible

3 liter 6 cylinder

Manual

HBJ8L27728

Clear

Gasoline

This extremely original, un-molested BJ8 has been well cared for its entire life. The car retains its original upholstery (except for carpeting which was replaced 5 years ago), original chrome, even the dashboard wood has never been re-finished. The car was re-painted in original color once with no indication of ever having any rust repair at all. The black lacquer paint is over 20 years old and shows exceptionally well. Wiring harness has been replaced and frons suspension components have likewise been renewed. The engine was comprehensively and properly rebuilt by Mark Baker of Sport & Specialty about 3 years ago and has covered less than 1,000 miles since the rebuild. When rebuilt, it was evident that the engine had never been touched up until that time - confirming that the indicated mileage on the odometer is most likely accurate. The car is absolutely turn-key ready for any type of driving event and I would not hesitate driving the car cross-country. The car is equipped with chrome 72-spoke wheels that are in very presentable condition though at some point may benefit from renewal or replacement. I purchased my first Big Healey in 1976 and have owned many over the years. In 1993, I sold what I thought at the time would be my last Healey because at 6'7", I just could never get comfortable enough in the Healeys to really enjoy driving them. Upon selling the Healey in 1993, my wife conveyed to me her sadness at my selling that car, stating that it was her favorite car. After several years of her reminding me how sad she was that we did not have a Healey, I came accross this car and purchased it for her as a Christmas present. In all of my years of being involved in the car hobby including owning over 30 Austin-Healeys over the years, this is by far the best Healey that I have owned. What makes this car so special is that it has never been a car in need of a comprehensive restoration - and likely will never need one presuming that future owner(s) of the car will continue to preserve and care for it. For my personal tastes, this is exactly the kind of car that I treasure the most. We are reluctantly offering the car for sale at this time as we are nearing the completion of a restoration on my Wife's Jaguar XK-120 which now renders the Healey redundant in our collection. Please note that I am not a Dealer - we are however going to be offering a few cars from our collection in the coming months as we are refining the collection to better fit our current interests. The car is available for inspection in Elk Grove Village, IL (very close to O-Hare Airport). Please call me with any questions you may have or if you wish to schedule an inspection of the car. I can be reached at 630-417-2876. I can assist with transport of the car including preperation for International ShippmentsOn Dec-28-12 at 07:16:41 PST, seller added the following information: Several people have called with various questions including the following:Yes, the car does have overdrive and it functions properly.When the engine was rebuilt, a new clutch was installed and we replaced all gaskets and seals in the transmission and overdirve - no other service was needed on the transmission.Tires are in good condition with plenty of tread and no signs of ageing.Convertible Top and top boot appear to be original however; I can not guarantee that they have not been replaced somewhere along the line.The spare tire under the tire cover is original 48-spoke painted wheel and tire is possibly original.Yes, we do have original Owner's Manual - in good condition.We do have original jack however; I do not recall having the jack handle.The radio is 1980's vintage Sony Cassette - car also has a power antenna installed - all is fully functioning