Austin Healey 3000 MK1 – BT7

Austin Healey 3000 MK1 (BT7)

Chassis HBT7L6634
Old English White with Blue interior
Production : 10.800 from 1959 to 1961
2912cc engine with disc brakes
Original left-hand drive example
Very original and well maintained over the years
Fitted with the desirable overdrive gearbox
Original colour scheme
Restoration and services invoices from 1996 to today

History

'A classic competition car among the all-time greats in motoring history,' was how The Autocar magazine summed up the works Austin-Healey 3000 in 1963. Yet at the time of its arrival in 1959, few would have guessed that the low-slung 'Big Healey' would triumph over its apparent shortcomings so effectively that it now rates as one of the most successful rally cars of the 1960s.

A development of the preceding 100/6 rather than a genuinely new model, the Austin-Healey 3000 was launched in March 1959. The two cars looked virtually identical and under the skin was the same separate ladder-type chassis and independent front/live rear axle suspension. Improvements to the 3000 included a slightly enlarged (to 2,912cc) version of the C-Series six-cylinder engine and Girling disc brakes up front, a development greeted with enthusiasm by devotees of this muscular British sports car. Breathing through twin SU carburettors, the revised power unit produced 124bhp at 4,600rpm; top speed - with the optional hardtop fitted - increased to 115mph, with 60mph reachable in a little over 11 seconds. Like the 100/6, the 3000 was available in two-seater (BN7) and 2+2 (BT7) guises and came with wire wheels and adjustable front seats as standard.

A BT7 four-seater model, this Austin-Healey 3000 Mk1 was manufactured for the US market and delivered to California finished in Old English White with blue interior and blue hood (the same as it is today), matching numbers and has the desirable overdrive gearbox.

The current owner bought the Healey in 2013 to participate in local rallies, which he has enjoyed very much. We have been advised by the owner that the car drives extremely well, is very well prepared, 'on the button' and ready to be enjoyed

Beautiful and very original early 3000.

Ready to be rallied and enjoyed by its new owner.

For more information, please contact us.

Visible on appointment only.