All of the Healeys that I have owned (since 1978) were rusted out pieces of shit that looked like I dug them out of the ground. My first Austin Healey was a 1957 Austin Healey 100-6 BN4 with the dreaded two-port head. It was a rusted out dog of a Healey (read oil PSI of 12) that my brother and I picked up from a farmer outside of Charles City, Iowa in June of 1978 for $600. The car had been driven in the barnyard Grand Prix and had dirt clumps jammed up into the fender wells and chicken feathers and shit in the trunk. I think that it doubled as a chicken coup for several years on the farm. Even cows had rubbed up against the body and removed (through hide abrasion) some of the ugly-ass orange paint. The farmer never worked on anything on the car without a claw hammer and a pair of vise grips. Every nut and bolt was rounded off. When I tried to remove the nuts and bolts later I always had a propane torch and liquid wrench in hand, even then most of them snapped off. As an enthusiastic 19 year old, I drove the car to college in Iowa (even in winter) and the brakes sucked so badly that I always had to pump the pedal for a block before I had to stop. I never could get all of the air out of them.
All of my Healeys have come from Iowa. My friend Karl's BT7 also did, as well as my brother's 1963 BJ7 and my 3 other Healeys. I found this 1963 BJ7 #20,040 Healey on the internet at Hemmings for $4500. I'm starting to think that all Healeys go to Iowa do die until some poor idealistic sap with visions of grandeur rescues them. Here the Healey doesn't look too aweful. Initially, I was caught up in some dillusional thinking, "hey, just a little bodywork, fender dog legs and some paint and some clean up and maybe I could have a decent driver". WRONG! As the pictures will soon bear out.
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