slo town
$200 Site Donor 2026
I’ve owned two Austin Healey 3000s. One a 1962 triple carb BT7, the other a 1963 BJ7. Beautiful and timeless. I was never an MG fan.
Scott
Bring a Trailer is Dangerous
- Thread starter RooflessVW
- Start date
Scott
There's always time to learn to do better
slo town
$200 Site Donor 2026
Would my V12 Jaguar E-type count? I had one of those too, a 4-speed manual. In truth, I ended up hating that car and sold it after 10 years of angst. My wife Sue helped me pull the engine and transmission in one gigantic lump when I put a new clutch in it. That thing was a difficult car to work on. But there’s nothing like the wail of a V12 at WOT while going 142 mph!There's always time to learn to do better
Scott
No, the V-12 E-type was an abomination with a comically long nose.
I still wish I had bought one when they were still quite affordable.
I've always had a thing for the TF and also the MGA.
My far more modern MGB was also a fun car to dive and was easily maintainable and repairable, except for the clutch.
Truth to tell I've always liked the big Healeys. They have such a cool vintage look to them and plenty of power by the standards of the time as well.
I still wish I had bought one when they were still quite affordable.
I've always had a thing for the TF and also the MGA.
My far more modern MGB was also a fun car to dive and was easily maintainable and repairable, except for the clutch.
Truth to tell I've always liked the big Healeys. They have such a cool vintage look to them and plenty of power by the standards of the time as well.
That's fair. How about this?
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-porsche-911-carrera-cabriolet-133/
Wow, even though it's the hated 996 and it has what most would consider high miles for a Porsche as well as seven past owners, that is beater money for a nicely kept car.
It has had the IMS work done and it has had a clutch replacement (only two grand?).
This car would be a pretty compelling case for buying a Porsche even with the little problems that it has.
What do you think?
Depends on what it sells for. I'd say that for ~$10k, buy it and enjoy the ride.
It's a 3.4 so you don't have to really concern yourself with D chunk or bore scoring, and the IMS and clutch were done.
Not a lot of "gotchas" there. Multiple owners, over 100k miles, and light damage on the Carfax... That's a driver. The value isn't going to go down unless you total it.
Agreed, it's a driver, as any car should be.Not a lot of "gotchas" there. Multiple owners, over 100k miles, and light damage on the Carfax... That's a driver. The value isn't going to go down unless you total it.
What they were made for, right?
I would not buy an expensive show queen.
No point to it IMO.
slo town
$200 Site Donor 2026
I've had five English cars; the two Healey 3000s and the E-type I mentioned earlier, plus two Triumph TR6s. My second TR was pretty much a street legal race car. I was crewing for a national championship caliber SCCA race car team in the early and mid '70s. I was responsible for all the suspension setups, including spring selection, shock valving, alignment settings, plus I maintained everything brake related. I even experimented with tire stagger, which was unheard of in the series back then. I had connections with the British Leyland Competition department, which was in nearby Brisbane, CA. Anyway, the Jag being the exception; the Healeys and TRs were EXCEPTIONALLY reliable.
I had two close friends with MGs; one had two MGAs (one a twin cam) and the other a "B" (as they were called back then). Their cars were exceptionally reliable as well.
We used to drive our "British Iron", just to drive them and put miles on them - the exception being the E-type. The problem with that car was the Opus ignition system as well as its sheer mechanical complexity, which made it incredibly time consuming to work on.
Scott
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