Don’t forget that most of the Triumph TRs, the MGB and the Jensen Interceptor were styled by Italians! The TR6 was by Karmann, so German. Lotus Esprit - Italian. Aston Martin DB5 - Italian. But - Jaguar XK120 & XK150, D type, E type, XJ-S - Sir William Lyons and Malcolm Sayer, Austin Healey 3000 - Donald Healey - British.
Had a '62 Healy MK 2000, war spoils of Vietnam, in '69. It had side curtains not roll up windows, torquey 6 cylinder engine, same as London taxicabs, 3 SU carbs in parallel, infamous Lucas electrical system that wouldn't start the car on a muggy morning, and a hesitant solenoid operated over-drive appropriate only for high speed cruising. It handled with muscular authority exactly like the one above. Compared to the boats Detroit was selling, it was a whole new thrilling experience. Used to race guys in their Pontiac GTOs down main street Frederick, MD. They'd beat me off the line, but then I'd always out-torque them in 3rd gear. Sold it a year later for what I paid for it, $1200. It rode so low, the muffler, right inside the rocker panel, hit the pavement going onto a driveway, so had to drive up on them at an angle. It was a very sexy car for its day.
My dad bought a metallic blue Austin Healey, 3000 Mark III in 1968. It was a US version. It was a beautiful car, and I was lucky enough to get to drive it after I got my drivers license. It required quite a bit of regular maintenance. But I have such fond memories of this car.
That's a really nice example you got to drive Jack. I must admit to never having much time for the big Healeys and looked at them as being a rather crude lash up of bits from the BMC bin thrown, along with a ship anchor of an engine, into a pretty body. But I get that many can fall in love with them for a certain charm they have and they did of course have a decent competition record too.
Crude they were, but their toughness shone in rallies. I recall a photograph in one of the contemporary motor mags of the collapsed rear wheel of one of the 200hp works cars on something like the Rome-Liege-Rome event. The driver - John Gott, perhaps? - had driven, on the rimless spokes, at 10/10ths for the rest of the stage. The wheel was replaced and the ol' brute motorvated on, unruffled.
Those Rootes Rallye modified Healeys, were offering 248hp in their highest modification..Truly amazing powerhouses on the race track...they could keep pace, and sometimes overtake XKEs, depending on how daring the drivers were!
Thanks for doing this review. Back in the late 1970s a good friend of my brother's (and mine) had one of these. My brother had a 1968 Triumph GT6, and I had a 1969 Austin Healey Sprite Mark IV. I remember one night we were over the friend's house playing cards. There were five of us. The three cars I mentioned were there as well as a Triumph Bonneville motorcycle (which I later bought and my now ex-wife made me get rid of) and another motorcycle (don't remember which type). At about 2AM we all left. All these vehicles were highly modified, and frankly loud. I wonder what the neighbors thought. My brother and his friend tore down and rebuilt the engine of the 3000 at one point. Of course, they put a hot cam in it and made other modifications. A boyhood friend who went to the US Naval Academy had an Austin Healey 100. Notice a pattern here. Actually, the guy who sold me the Bonneville also had an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a 1964. He messed it up and my brother bought it from him. He totally restored it and still has it. He also recently tore apart the GT6 and put it back together. You should do a review of that car.
I owned a 1959 model, fifty years ago!...For the time, it was 2nd only to the futuristic XKE, that showed up in 1961. You have to consider, that the Healey was configured in the early 1950s, so naturally it was not going to perform like a newer-designed vehicle. Personally, there were a couple of things I did not like about the 64-67 models. The beautiful-sounding exhaust note of the earlier Healeys had been muted considerably--too bad, as that brutish 6cyl had an awesome sound to it!...Also, the "upgraded" dash and interiors of the last gen, looked like a rather lame attempt to copy the interiors of other American cars, like the Mustang, etc. For me, the best Healey was the 1963 models...they were the first to offer roll-up windows, and they still retained the older, more classic dash, with those big Smith gauges--they were beautiful, and easy to read. One last thing...the Healey never was timed in the 8 second range for 0-60...The most powerful, 150hp versions were timed just under 10 seconds. Once again, those beautiful Healeys were simply a little too heavy, too underpowered, to really be considered fast..the XKE, with it's 220hp, was quicker, hitting 7.7 seconds for their first generation, Dohc sophisticated engines. BTW, those Healeys offered OD that worked on both third and fourth gears, in effect providing a "six speed" transmission! It was truly a great thing to have on a Healey. I miss my Healey so much!...A pristine/redone Healey now goes for around $100,000 dollars! Back in 1969, I paid $1100 for mine! LOL.
And if you had kept it since 1969 and maintained it in pristine condition, I am sure it would have cost you more over the 54 odd years than $100,000 you would get for it now! But nice car all the same.
Good point...but many cars would demand a lot of money to keep running, over a 54 year period...and the enjoyment of driving a Healey would have been worth the hassle and money.@@tonylittle3508
This was my Healey and after Jack filmed it, I put brand new Michelin XAS tyres on it having realised on the drive down how the existing Continental tyres had gone past their sell by date! Jack if you had tested it now , it would have felt like a completely different car !! I think we were both scared to throw it around in the rain. For anyone who is interested the continental tyres were put on the car in 2015 and over time , together with the fact that the car had been sitting in the same place for a few years , meant that they had flat spots and had hardened ! Definitely not good when it’s wet!
I think I can speak for most viewers of car channels. We salute you guys for the dedication of keeping these wonderful vehicles on the road and allowing us this access to them. Many thanks and please keep up the good work. You have an absolutely marvelous and iconic car. Total respect.
Aha! Tyres are so key to grip and handling, and they do go off with time. Thanks for posting this. What a shame Jack didn't get to do this video with the Michelins!
He did give it a pretty good review though! It is a good looking car, but they almost ruined it with the rear "seats". I do like the 100 a bit better. But some 3000s are 2 seaters....or? I haven't done my homework on these cars as of yet.
The A-H kept Jensen going. The body was made by Pressed Steel and delivered to Jensen who mated it with the running gear and trim. They did the same with the Sunbeam Tiger. I have a photograph of the A-H 300 production line and the Tiger line running side by side in the West Brom factory. Sadly for Jensen, both contracts ended at the same time in 1967 and Jensen only just survived to produce the Interceptor.
I have lusted over the 3000 Mk3 for over twenty years now. As a former MG owner it was a natural progression but sadly prices are way out of my league now. And the colours would have to be the classic ‘Ice Blue over Ivory’. Surely one of Britain’s most beautiful sports cars.
I had a chance to buy a red 3000 in 1969 for $1,500! Perfect condition. Drove it all over our Navy base in Rota, Spain. Couldn't have loved a car more. Alas, I didn't have $1,500. I didn't have $500! One of the great regrets of my life was not buying that beautiful car.
Healey blue over white--classic! Yes, prices are sky high...how I wish I could have had one instead of my 1967 MGB-GT. I love the MGB (stored now), but my Dad convinced me that the Healey was a rougher ride, trickier gearbox, etc. One day....
The Austin Healey 3000 Mk.III is one of my favourite cars. I've done quite a few miles in one over the years. I don't think it's that heavy to drive and really it's just a big, friendly old softie. The Big Healey is definitely a car where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A point to note is that the overdrive should work on 3rd and 4th, giving six gears. However, overdrive cars have a slightly lower ratio back axle. Apparently a good modification is to swap the back axle from a non-overdrive car to get slightly longer gearing. I'm surprised that you didn't mention the straight-cut first gear, with its distinctive whine. Don't forget to practice your double declutching, if you want to select first on the move. And pop the lever into second, before selecting first, if you have been idling in neutral for any time.
The BJ8 would indicate 95mph in OD third, and over 120 in OD forth, so the claimed 122 was probably achievable without a taller diff. The big twin exhaust made lots of crackling noises after that, a bit of a workout for the flexis. ;-) I moved the OD switch to a leather trimmed gear knob, like the works cars, fitted an Escort reverse light switch to the gear change extension, and changed it to negative earth for the Pioneer 8 track player. Fun times!
Lovely old cars the Austin Healey 3000, ' the big Healey;. I agree it looks good from any angle and the interior in this one is well kept. Interesting review Jack thank you. 👍👍
The Austin healey is a very nice car. I have a 3000 mk2 ( tri-carb). Think the mk2 looks a bit better than mk3. It is perfect for backroads and up to 60-70 mph. I have been past 100 mph but is is best at lower speeds. Have driven it for length on motorways at 80-90 mph and it is OK and pulls well. It looks very good ( especially with lower suspension in the rear). And it demands little maintenance. I have no problem with steering, clutch, gearchanges, brakes ( they are a bit weak, though) and have been driving the car since the 90`s when I got my driving licence. It`s nimble and a joy to drive. Nice car!
What about trying to keep those three carbs in equal tune?...Not a problem? I do agree with you, that the older Healeys somehow look a little more sleek, less bulbous, etc. Problem was, the older ones, like the 1959 I owned years ago, suffered from limited ground clearance...I had sold my Healey (sad!) to a ditzy airline stewardess, who sent me a small letter a few months later...she had driven over a rock, that had damaged the underside of the car...she continued to drive, until the engine seized!...She junked that wonderful sports car. I am still saddened to think about that!
I drove a brand-new one in the 1960s. Fun to watch them in vintage sports car races on RUclips. Most British cars are not running well because they have 2 or 3 SU carburetors. You need a mechanic who knows how to work on British cars.
@@TeaParty1776well thats absolutely true im sure it does , the MG was designed in 1960 , first produced 1962, The Miata is 30 years newer. BUT, the MG feels fantastic to drive .
@@chrisadams6595 A friend w/a British racing green MGB taught me how to drive sports cars. He worked as an oil delivery truck driver and knew how to compensate for the continually decreased amount of oil sloshing about as he drove around corners.
Hi Jack, Good to see you with a really great car. I have the same model you are driving and a 1962 triple carb model. I did thousands of miles in european rallies in one of these and they definitely are long distance cars. Mods to the front suspension can improve the general steering and handling. I once drove back from lake garda at 80mph through italy and france no problem, however. being behind the wheel for eight hours per day certainly gives you a good nights sleep.
My BJ8 with decent all season radials was predictable on the limit. I feel many folks these days just don't have the seat of the pants feel to be comfortable pushing this era of sports car. I grew up driving Triumphs, Jags, MGs and Austin Healeys, as well as racing and autocrossing them. Not only do you need to have/develop that feel, the requisite skill for that style of driving isn't always easily acquired. But attain that skill and every drive becomes a rewarding adventure. Love the 3000, this video reminds me I need another one.
How much might the better impression over the original might be due to tyres? The first reviews might have been on cross-plies, while it's almost certainly on radials now. With a few exceptions, changing to modern tyres dramatically improves most vehicles.
Here in the US, most tires are considered a safety hazard after 8 years on the road-regardless of mileage...the rubber compounds in the tires simply break down with time, increasing the chance of tire failure. And yes--for sure, modern radial tires are superior, even when considering a classic vehicle...My advice is, always buy the best tires you can possibly afford! Safety is important.
Very nice video on my least favorite British sports Car! As a mid-teen, I was totally in love with the Austin Healy 100-4. It looked so much better as a real two-seater, than the later 3000 with room for a back seat - Ha! The 4-speed transmission had one gear locked out because originally it was a truck transmission with wrong ratios for a sports car. And don’t forget the windscreen that could by lowered in a very innovative way. Unfortunately, I never did get an Austin Healy. A good friend was racing XK Jaguars, and I fell under his spell and bought a thoroughly used XK120FHC. That adventure taught me how to repair virtually everything in the car, and eventually to a series of new Corvettes. I still wouldn’t mind having an Austin Healy 100 in the garage.
The original 100 models, IMO, were the most sleek, handsome of the Healeys...and the 100S models were quite quick, even though only 4 cylinders were on tap! But the brutishly loud sound of that large six, was music to my ears!
There is one of these where I live (Whangarei, New Zealand) with a Chrysler 265 (4 litre) engine, 5 speed gearbox and a different diff fitted, the engine reportedly makes around 300 HP and 350 lb/ft torque, so I imagine it's a bit of a handful!
I think you should try a 1955 Austin-Healey 100M, as it is lighter and more fun. I had one in the 1970’s when they cost £150! It had a 3-speed gearbox but overdrive gave it an extra gear. There were factory produced ones or a kit of parts could upgrade a basic car to 100M specification. My car was an original factory one. It succumbed to rust and I sold it to a restoration company as a MoT failure. It was black with brown leather seats. Another car I should have kept!! The 3000 was more of a GT car for long-distance family touring.
Some guys have all the luck 😏 I turn shades of green watching you drive one gorgeous machine after another. Just a point - my first car was a C reg and was 1965. Keep them coming.
My 1967 3000 MK III drove and handled wonderfully! My wife and I traveled in it on long tours from our home in the mid Atlantic USA to and through the Rocky Mountains. It’s electric overdrive made the Great Plains of the USA fly past. I should never have sold it! 😢
I hired one for a long weekend a few years ago. It looked beautiful, and sounded great, but it felt like a car from the 50s. I now own a series 2 Alfa Spider, and that feels so much lighter and nicer to drive despite only being about 10 years younger.
Compared to the behemoths treading the roads in the USA during the late 1950's and early 1960's the Austin Healey was quite civilized. Amazing stuff on that car; disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and a low center of gravity, it made me a True Believer. Thanks for the great video.
Again, despite Three Marks, BMC never developed anything because they were too worried about costs. The ill fated Mark IV was to use a RR Princess 4 litre in lone six. BMC had been inspired by ARX 91B’s Targa Florio performance..almost with winning that race in Cerda should have inspired its owners. Instead of making it pass US and emerging Common Market crash legislation, the company killed it. The 5 speed IRS Datsun 240Z showed up the Big Healy as a crude anachronism.
Yeah...The 240Z even spelled the end for another Datsun sports car, the 1600, and 2000 series. The 2000 series was very robust, with a 150hp 4 cylinder engine. It was a very fun sports car, and clearly the design had been inspired by the MG series...but when the 240Z showed up, then 1970 became the last year for the very quick, but sort of anachronistic, 2000 model!
We worked on one. We installed an electronic Ignition system, Iridium Spark Plugs, Opened up the exhaust system more and better shocks. The performance was impressive.
There was a Rootes-offered upgrade, that turned a 3000 into a nasty, very competitive rallye/vintage race car. On RUclips, there is a video taken (inside the car) of a dude ramming that Big Healey, with straight-cut gears and 250hp, right past most all of the vintage competition, at SPA!...The Healey sounded like an enraged bull!
Any reference to hairy chested man’s car really needs to be took in context with other cars available at the time, not compared to anything more modern. These were also formidable rally cars in their day too. At the most recent Goodwood in 2024. There was a rally car big Healey seriously drifting most of the way round the circuit in pouring rain. Impressive to watch.
You need someone who really knows how to work on these British cars, especially with 2 or 3 SU carburetors. Finally, in the last ~10 years, the Austin-Healy has been recognized as one of the best classic British sports cars. My uncle, Dick Anderson, was a top BMC mechanic who worked at John Bull Motors in Santa Cruz, California. I went with him to many road coarse races on the West Coast of California in the 1960s and 1970s.
Owned an ex-SCCA C Production 100-6 back in the Sixties. Besides the car's very late breakaway there was also the tendency of the exhaust system to be torn off at the slightest provocation.
Why aren't you using o/drive on 3rd gear.The sequence is 1,2,3,o/drive 3,4,o/drive 4. You get 6 speed not 5. On twisty roads 3 + o/drive 3 you can flick in & out of o/drive with very little time in those changes. Shame some "testers" have so little experience with electric overdrive systems. Just sayin'........
I only drove Austin-Healey 100, the 4-cylinder one, and man, there is something about these heavy, deliberate controls, firm ride and feeling siting more outside of the car than inside it that really appeals to me. And I own Lotus, Lotus Excel but still a Lotus. It is a quintessential man's car (funnily enought, that Healey 100 I drove is owned by a very nice, middle-aged lady), you have to wrestle with it a bit, make an effort and get good to really drive it well. It has a personality of it's own. I really, really like it, it makes every ride feel special.
@@marcob4630 I've owned LandCruisers for the past 30 years, it's a different kind of fun, but don't ask me about my Series II Rover work vehicle in the early '70s! 😖
CAN NOT COMPARE TO THE MGB..WHY? The MGB is a unibody as is the E Type and Porches...you just can Compare it to Triumph like Spitfire, Tr3, Tr4, Tr6 all full frame "truck" sp[orts cars...I say "Truck" because all trucks are full frame. And of course, ONE OF THE BEST LOOKING CARS EVER...
I've had two Healeys, a '59 100-6 and a '62 3000 w/3 SU carbs. Both of them shod with Michelin X. On a smooth surface each would absolutely go around a 90 degreee corner at speed and no problem. Bumpy roads were occasionally dicely but not consistently. Just keep in mind that the rear end was a solid axel on leafs and be prepared for a twitchy rear end, but nowhere near life threatening. Heavy steering? I never noticed. Both trannys were solid and slick. I never bothered with first gear as it was only good to maybe 35 mph and both cars pulled effortlessy from dead stop in 2nd anyway. My '62 had a factory hardtop for winter driving and the heater worked great. The stock twin tailpipes sounded freaking awesome. And, wow, they were beautiful.
To judge the car against the old road tests you’d have to try it on Dunlop cross-plies. You don’t say what this one had but the original tyres would have made the ride harder and the steering lighter than on modern radials.
As a kid in the 80's I used to read the adventures of Langelot. A young French spy in the the post war era. One of his vehicles of choice was the Austin Healy. Nice memories! Thanks for yet another great installment! Greetings from the Netherlands
A very pretty car and ideal for a Sunday morning jaunt. Timo Makinen took a MK3 to a class win at the Monte Carlo Rally so it isn’t all bad. I’d love one.
Always wanted an Austin Healy, but when I could afford one, they quit being sold in the U.S. Bought an MGB GT instead. Hated the wire wheels - lost their balance within an hour of being serviced - maybe the dealer's fault, not sure. Also, the Lucas parts were horrible. Took months to get them and then they didn't last long. The design was awesome though and fun to drive.
Very nice car. I love the derpy adorable face these cars have with the hood scoop it looks like it has a mowhawk. Thank you for showcasing these older cars. Keep up the good work.
The source of this car is of course the Austin Atlantic. And this is great because my recently restored Atlantic has all new engine parts for the nearly 2.7 litre engine from the Healey specialists. This engine has lots of torque and for 1948 it is very impressive. Not many cars in 1948 could be tuned to100mph. The front and rear suspension and drive train and many other parts clearly share Atlantic heritage. However Healey 100/4 has a complex very strong and very light body that really sets the Healey apart. Healey also modified the engine with double valve springs and a different cam. Many Healeys were kept on the road from cannibalised Atlantic's. I like fact that today the Healeys incredible success has helped me keep our Atlantic's alive.
Thanks Jack, seems all your gym work has had an effect if it didn't seem that heavy to you?! An AH 3000 will always have the classic appeal, looked a really good example! 🙏🙏
I had a Mark 1 (I think it was a 60 maybe a 61) during the summer of 67 when I was in college. it was only my second sports car, I had driven a Corvair Monza spider the last couple years of high school, so I knew about oversteer. The Austin Healy was a dream to drive for that time. Certainly slow by today’s standards, but considerably faster than the many four-cylinder sports cars available. It was not as refined as later models as I got to drive a mark two owned buy a friend. It was definitely fast enough to outrun a cop I saw parked on a side road. Of course those days the cops drove nearly stock big American iron cornered like a bulldozer. I only kept it for the summer, as is typical with British sports cars of that era, parts fell off about as fast as I could glue them back on. I had to sell it when I returned to college, it never would’ve made the trip from Pennsylvania to Colorado. I certainly have great memories of that car. It had a very peculiar exhaust note that sounded like a bird call and I nicknamed it “the gray canary“. It certainly was one of the more fun cars I’ve ever owned.
A wealthy frfiend of mine (here in Massachusetts) invited me to drive this very model. He apologized for the 'coal cart' ride but explained that these machines are all about "drift" (deliberately kicking the tail out) going around corners. He further explained that the more grippy modern (and greatly improved) tires did this chassis no favors. The 3000 was a design for its time, and like so many other British sports car designs, often designed on the back of and envelope, outclassed everything else available at the time.
My very first car was a Triple carb Mk2 . Took my driving test in it . You never use first gear in a Big Healey. Who says it's a males car? I loved my Healey and wish I still had it. It is still on the road today
The slight Steering Delay is quite likely the Wire Wheels . They are springy by design , and on that car , them being narrow Rims , the wheels have to " Load Up " before there is a response . Wire wheels are great on a Motorcycle because the Forces stay perpendicular to the Axles for the most part . Not true for a Car . Gorgeous Old Roadster though.........
@@curbozerboomer1773 . Yep . Great on Bikes , for the reduction in un-sprung weight , but not so good on Cars . Disk wheels are better because of the superior rigidity .
Fifty odd years ago when I bought my first 911 I looked at one of these. A neighbor who was versed in British cars warned I wouldn't enjoy it as it was "truck-ish" compared to the Porsche. I still love the look of the A-H but I don't regret passing on one.
This YT post caught my eye, as a neighbor of mine back in the mid-1960s had the left-hand drive US model of this same car, where sadly, he lost his life when the car lost control on a mountain road. It was mystery back then how the crash happened, but from my observations with how he drove it back then at elevated speeds in the neighborhood; combined with, years later, having an awareness of the car's handling, the guy probably pushed the handling envelope a bit too far on that mountain road.
Back in the mid seventies I had a MKI/2-seat 3000, I feel it was more of a sports car, as opposed to the example here. Also, the MKI was a true roadster where as The MKIII is a cabriolet/ touring car.
@@curbozerboomer1773 Well, mine was solid and never had any issues with it for the few years I owned it. Only reason I sold it was because I lived in the deep south of the US and VERY hot. No A/C and the black seats, and black canvas top made it unbearable in the summer months. I drive Toyota 4-Runners and Tacoma pick-ups now. Won't buy any from the American Big Three manufacturers.
Best built car you ever owned? Makes me doubt you ever owned one. The engineering on these cars was primitive. Suspension ridiculous, body work rots out on all of them.
@@johnmalenchek6597 ...you are referring to how the underside was "finished" ...NOTHING to do with how well it was built. Try to open your brain. I have owned one since 1972. I know what I am talking about. A very solid and tight car. .
You impress me with your passion and wisdom and all round love of reviewing all sorts of cars from different eras! Don’t change a thing! I would open arms let you take my cars but there’s a catch.. I’m in Australia! Keep up the great work!
Great video, never actually seen a real driving perspective review of these before and always been fascinated with them. I also remember the auto knowledge section at the bag of the mag in the late 80's saying that you had to be hairy of chest to drive these...Lol.
I always admired the big Healey, but had never had the chance to drive one. Fairly amazing, considering the number of cars I'd owned even at a fairly young age. Then I got a call from an old friend. I'd just gotten back from Vietnam and was footloose and fancy free, and Ronnie needed his '67 Healey transported from San Jose to Key West. He'd finished his tour and had gotten the plumb assignment to Naval Station Key West...about as far as you could get from Vietnam and still be in the USA! I was in Santa Barbara, so I grabbed a girlfriend and we rode the Greyhound to San Jose to be met by Ronnie's Mum. Car cleaned up nicely (it only had 15k miles on it) and we were on our way. Decided to take the scenic route, since we had 10 days to make the drive of roughly 3400 miles in those days with the US Interstate system not quite completed. Then the fun began... We had decided to go to Reno, then drive down to Las Vegas, enjoying the lack of a speed limit in Nevada. Well, we limped into Reno, running on about 31/2 cylinders. I found a nice little garage, and the mechanic took one look under the bonnet and pronounced, "Rats!" Seems the northern California rodents had developed a taste for English wiring. Old Joe Lucas would have been proud. We spent a couple enjoyable days in Reno having everything inspected and put right; it cost just under $100 which, even back then (1970) wasn't too much money. Hit the road to Vegas. Car was comfortable and plenty long-legged with the overdrive, but the exhaust ran right under the LHD drivers feet, and my heels were broiling! The cure was a couple cheap bath towels and a styrofoam cooler filled with ice and water...steam ensued. In Vegas, I found a place that sold sheets of heat insulation and mitigated the problem. For the rest of the highway journey we did just fine, even got about 20mpg at 75mph, which seemed good at the time ($0.35/gallon premium fuel). Our adventure led us to Virgnia and a jaunt down the storied Blue Ridge Parkway. This was not so much fun as I had hoped. Even with newish Pirelli Cinturatos and checked pressures, the car was lumbering and clumsy, nothing like my Alfa Veloce. Then there was the cowl shake. We didn't make the whole length of the Parkway, branching off to the Interstate in North Carolina. Back on the straight and wide, the Healey did just fine and got us into Key West a day early. We'd had fun, but I have never since had any urge to drive a big Healey. Once did the trick. Not really a good sprots car, but a pleasant turnpike cruiser up to 100mph (above that the dreaded cowl shake returned), once you got the insulation fixed. Still among the PRETTIEST of the "sports cars" of the period, though.
@@Schlipperschlopper My understanding is...the older, mid-50s 100M models, with a fairly powerful, 140hp four cylinder, and a sightly lighter chassis, was more of a true "sports car" than the Big Healeys. They were arguably more attractive, too.
@@ianrichardson3228 The car HAD Pirellis, and they were freshly balanced! On smooth pavement, it was fine, but on anything the least bit uneven, cowl shake. I went on to have a decent career racing F5000 and got in the car business managing a main dealer for Triiumph/Alpha/Citroen. Every now and then, we traded for a big Healey (which had gotten cheap by then), and they all had this characteristic. Still, that big torquey 6 and the lovely lines were great. On the whole, a TR6 was a better car, but not nearly so pretty.
I have driven a very nice 1959 Austin Healey this year. It’s all about the nostalgia and the ambiance. Jack is quite right it’s a refined car for its day and would have seemed relatively quick in period but in modern terms it’s quite lethargic. Very direct offset clunky but pleasing gear shift and super heavy and quite dead feeling steering. No door or wing mirrors just a tiny dash mounted rear view. I liked it but far too valauable to try throwing it about. Nevertheless a charming time piece for the well heeled and hairy of chest!
The "Big Healey" was a 100/6, through the latter part of 1959. Then is when production of the 3000 began. I have owned 2 '59 BN6 [two seat] 100/6 cars, as well as a 1964 BN7 car, a 3000 MK II, which was also a two seat variant. Fantastic driving vehicles - when it is dry! Good tires make a huge difference. BTW, the transmissions, with overdrive, were overdriven both in 3rd and 4th gear, essentially making it a 6 speed.
My 1960 BT7 was 10 years old when the refinement of a '67 BJ8 convinced me make up a pair. Ice, even black, was just a fun game at near the ton, and wet roads through hedgerows of spray from the front only became uncomfortable as the hood lifted from the top screen rail at that speed, to soak the drivers lap. Eventual replacement of the common Pirellis with Michelins made a huge difference, as did Konis all round. Problem now is that 50 years have elapsed since my ownership, the cars are showing their age, and expectations have been shaped by bureaucrats, not drivers!
I was lucky enough to own a red Mark 3, phase 2 was about 7 years and only sold due lack of garage space and changed circumstances. To think Jack summed it up nicely it is a lovely place to be sat in and yes there are faults but this is the character of the car and I never tired at just looking at it, as well cruising around countryside roads.
I had a BN7 3000 in the late sixties. With Michelin X tires it had very predictable and "safe " handling, and was easy to drift. If not, I wouldn't be here today.
My all-time best loved marque that I would ( almost ) give my 'eye teeth' for. Ever since I was a little boy in school ( when these Austin Healey's first came out ) I would daydream about and drawn sketches of this design. What an utter shame that BMC had to follow the dodo bird into oblivion!
Owned 2 MGB’s at different times years ago. An acquaintance had a Healy making me jealous. Having heard this, I’m satisfied and would again go with B’s (my love to this day). Thanks, now I’ve got the bug again. 😎
I have a Golf R with Stage 3 tuning and just under 500HP. It's a much better car and will go 0-60 in under 4 seconds, but I also have a '65 BJ8 with Healey Blue paint. The BJ8 is more fun. Nobody stands outside a convenience store to ask me about my Golf. When I take my Healey out, everyone wants to strike up a conversation.
"Power"?! It was 148 HP from a 183 cu inch straight 6?! When standard V8s in the cheapest cars were 275? The 3000 was considered a teeny weak foreign sports car that rich fops drove.
A Healy 3000 , how about a big Viper V-10 with a tremic 6 speed ? You gonna have to up grade everything like brakes and suspension . Go fast cars need stop fast brakes , a stock Healynot much had these . Lok put La Mans there is an old Austin Healy about to spank all of ypu .
The Healey's worm and peg steering is brutal. Either you have too much slop or it stiffens up. Complete garbage compared to the MG-A or the Morris Minor's rack. All in all it's like dating a great looking woman who's giving you hell in private.
I had the earlier 3000, same color, w/a bent shift and top stowed in the trunk. I outran a cop on a twisty road. And five (5) people can sit in it. I saw one like in the vid a few years ago, in perfect condition. I hsd to leave it w/my mechanic for six months. It started instantly on a snowy day. Of course, it sometimes didnt turn off...
I owned one. Beautiful design, absolutely primitive mechanically. Bodies rotted out. Engine originally from truck. Suspension riduculous. In other words typical English engineering.
One of my favorite cars of all time. You Brits sure can design beautiful roadsters and GT’s.
Used to be able too! The TR6 is my personal favourite.
Don’t forget that most of the Triumph TRs, the MGB and the Jensen Interceptor were styled by Italians! The TR6 was by Karmann, so German. Lotus Esprit - Italian. Aston Martin DB5 - Italian. But - Jaguar XK120 & XK150, D type, E type, XJ-S - Sir William Lyons and Malcolm Sayer, Austin Healey 3000 - Donald Healey - British.
@@simonhodgetts6530 touchet!
Thanks.
Yes, we used to. Those days are long gone by now though.
Aston DB4GT Zagato styled by ITALIAN 😅
Had a '62 Healy MK 2000, war spoils of Vietnam, in '69. It had side curtains not roll up windows, torquey 6 cylinder engine, same as London taxicabs, 3 SU carbs in parallel, infamous Lucas electrical system that wouldn't start the car on a muggy morning, and a hesitant solenoid operated over-drive appropriate only for high speed cruising. It handled with muscular authority exactly like the one above. Compared to the boats Detroit was selling, it was a whole new thrilling experience. Used to race guys in their Pontiac GTOs down main street Frederick, MD. They'd beat me off the line, but then I'd always out-torque them in 3rd gear. Sold it a year later for what I paid for it, $1200. It rode so low, the muffler, right inside the rocker panel, hit the pavement going onto a driveway, so had to drive up on them at an angle. It was a very sexy car for its day.
Those tri-carb models are very rare, and considered desirable now.
The triple carbs were a tuners nightmare, so larger twins with successive power upgrades quickly replaced them.
My dad bought a metallic blue Austin Healey, 3000 Mark III in 1968. It was a US version. It was a beautiful car, and I was lucky enough to get to drive it after I got my drivers license. It required quite a bit of regular maintenance. But I have such fond memories of this car.
That's a really nice example you got to drive Jack. I must admit to never having much time for the big Healeys and looked at them as being a rather crude lash up of bits from the BMC bin thrown, along with a ship anchor of an engine, into a pretty body. But I get that many can fall in love with them for a certain charm they have and they did of course have a decent competition record too.
Crude they were, but their toughness shone in rallies. I recall a photograph in one of the contemporary motor mags of the collapsed rear wheel of one of the 200hp works cars on something like the Rome-Liege-Rome event. The driver - John Gott, perhaps? - had driven, on the rimless spokes, at 10/10ths for the rest of the stage. The wheel was replaced and the ol' brute motorvated on, unruffled.
Those Rootes Rallye modified Healeys, were offering 248hp in their highest modification..Truly amazing powerhouses on the race track...they could keep pace, and sometimes overtake XKEs, depending on how daring the drivers were!
Thanks for doing this review. Back in the late 1970s a good friend of my brother's (and mine) had one of these. My brother had a 1968 Triumph GT6, and I had a 1969 Austin Healey Sprite Mark IV. I remember one night we were over the friend's house playing cards. There were five of us. The three cars I mentioned were there as well as a Triumph Bonneville motorcycle (which I later bought and my now ex-wife made me get rid of) and another motorcycle (don't remember which type). At about 2AM we all left. All these vehicles were highly modified, and frankly loud. I wonder what the neighbors thought. My brother and his friend tore down and rebuilt the engine of the 3000 at one point. Of course, they put a hot cam in it and made other modifications. A boyhood friend who went to the US Naval Academy had an Austin Healey 100. Notice a pattern here. Actually, the guy who sold me the Bonneville also had an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a 1964. He messed it up and my brother bought it from him. He totally restored it and still has it. He also recently tore apart the GT6 and put it back together. You should do a review of that car.
This with a 2JZ swap would be nice. High revving NA 3.4litre 2JZ with power steering would fit this car probably...
I owned a 1959 model, fifty years ago!...For the time, it was 2nd only to the futuristic XKE, that showed up in 1961. You have to consider, that the Healey was configured in the early 1950s, so naturally it was not going to perform like a newer-designed vehicle. Personally, there were a couple of things I did not like about the 64-67 models. The beautiful-sounding exhaust note of the earlier Healeys had been muted considerably--too bad, as that brutish 6cyl had an awesome sound to it!...Also, the "upgraded" dash and interiors of the last gen, looked like a rather lame attempt to copy the interiors of other American cars, like the Mustang, etc. For me, the best Healey was the 1963 models...they were the first to offer roll-up windows, and they still retained the older, more classic dash, with those big Smith gauges--they were beautiful, and easy to read. One last thing...the Healey never was timed in the 8 second range for 0-60...The most powerful, 150hp versions were timed just under 10 seconds. Once again, those beautiful Healeys were simply a little too heavy, too underpowered, to really be considered fast..the XKE, with it's 220hp, was quicker, hitting 7.7 seconds for their first generation, Dohc sophisticated engines. BTW, those Healeys offered OD that worked on both third and fourth gears, in effect providing a "six speed" transmission! It was truly a great thing to have on a Healey. I miss my Healey so much!...A pristine/redone Healey now goes for around $100,000 dollars! Back in 1969, I paid $1100 for mine! LOL.
And if you had kept it since 1969 and maintained it in pristine condition, I am sure it would have cost you more over the 54 odd years than $100,000 you would get for it now! But nice car all the same.
Good point...but many cars would demand a lot of money to keep running, over a 54 year period...and the enjoyment of driving a Healey would have been worth the hassle and money.@@tonylittle3508
Indeed, the factory pretenting having 150hp, but it was not...max 115 to 120hp at the max in standard form.
Most beautifull
Sportscar ever made in Brittain
This was my Healey and after Jack filmed it, I put brand new Michelin XAS tyres on it having realised on the drive down how the existing Continental tyres had gone past their sell by date! Jack if you had tested it now , it would have felt like a completely different car !! I think we were both scared to throw it around in the rain.
For anyone who is interested the continental tyres were put on the car in 2015 and over time , together with the fact that the car had been sitting in the same place for a few years , meant that they had flat spots and had hardened ! Definitely not good when it’s wet!
I put new front tires on my Miata this week and I couldn't believe the improvement in handling quietness and smoothness. Buck
I think I can speak for most viewers of car channels. We salute you guys for the dedication of keeping these wonderful vehicles on the road and allowing us this access to them. Many thanks and please keep up the good work. You have an absolutely marvelous and iconic car. Total respect.
Aha! Tyres are so key to grip and handling, and they do go off with time. Thanks for posting this. What a shame Jack didn't get to do this video with the Michelins!
Be more flexible....not everything covered by rubber, feels bad when wet....
He did give it a pretty good review though!
It is a good looking car, but they almost ruined it with the rear "seats". I do like the 100 a bit better.
But some 3000s are 2 seaters....or? I haven't done my homework on these cars as of yet.
The A-H kept Jensen going. The body was made by Pressed Steel and delivered to Jensen who mated it with the running gear and trim. They did the same with the Sunbeam Tiger. I have a photograph of the A-H 300 production line and the Tiger line running side by side in the West Brom factory. Sadly for Jensen, both contracts ended at the same time in 1967 and Jensen only just survived to produce the Interceptor.
And the volvo p1800 as well.
I think the running gear went in at Abingdon. Jensen sent out painted, trimmed shells.
I have lusted over the 3000 Mk3 for over twenty years now. As a former MG owner it was a natural progression but sadly prices are way out of my league now. And the colours would have to be the classic ‘Ice Blue over Ivory’. Surely one of Britain’s most beautiful sports cars.
I had a chance to buy a red 3000 in 1969 for $1,500! Perfect condition. Drove it all over our Navy base in Rota, Spain. Couldn't have loved a car more. Alas, I didn't have $1,500. I didn't have $500! One of the great regrets of my life was not buying that beautiful car.
I believe this: it has been always my dream car! @@MrHambone43
Healey blue over white--classic!
Yes, prices are sky high...how I wish I could have had one instead of my 1967 MGB-GT. I love the MGB (stored now), but my Dad convinced me that the Healey was a rougher ride, trickier gearbox, etc.
One day....
Always loved the way the Healey 3000 mklll looked and sounded a truly British traditional sports car
The Austin Healey 3000 Mk.III is one of my favourite cars. I've done quite a few miles in one over the years. I don't think it's that heavy to drive and really it's just a big, friendly old softie. The Big Healey is definitely a car where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A point to note is that the overdrive should work on 3rd and 4th, giving six gears. However, overdrive cars have a slightly lower ratio back axle. Apparently a good modification is to swap the back axle from a non-overdrive car to get slightly longer gearing. I'm surprised that you didn't mention the straight-cut first gear, with its distinctive whine. Don't forget to practice your double declutching, if you want to select first on the move. And pop the lever into second, before selecting first, if you have been idling in neutral for any time.
I can remember, and totally relate to what you are saying!
The BJ8 would indicate 95mph in OD third, and over 120 in OD forth, so the claimed 122 was probably achievable without a taller diff. The big twin exhaust made lots of crackling noises after that, a bit of a workout for the flexis. ;-) I moved the OD switch to a leather trimmed gear knob, like the works cars, fitted an Escort reverse light switch to the gear change extension, and changed it to negative earth for the Pioneer 8 track player. Fun times!
Lovely old cars the Austin Healey 3000, ' the big Healey;. I agree it looks good from any angle and the interior in this one is well kept. Interesting review Jack thank you. 👍👍
There is nothing like driving a Healey at full chat. The sound and handling is off the charts, the car looks beautiful, and it’s easy to work on.
If I correctly recall, in 2nd gear at 2000rpm, there is a beautiful resonance from the exhaust.
One of my all time favourite cars, just love the way they look, don't even need to drive it, just park it in a garage and drool🙂
Not a line out of place!
Around 1960, one of my neighbors in Sacramento, California had an Austin-Healy with a Chevy 283ci V8. It was dangerously fast.
I love the frontal treatment - there's a definite face there and it's smiling at you, saying, "Be careful, chum, or I'll bite you!"
Wicked, cheeky grin!!
The Austin healey is a very nice car. I have a 3000 mk2 ( tri-carb). Think the mk2 looks a bit better than mk3. It is perfect for backroads and up to 60-70 mph. I have been past 100 mph but is is best at lower speeds. Have driven it for length on motorways at 80-90 mph and it is OK and pulls well.
It looks very good ( especially with lower suspension in the rear). And it demands little maintenance.
I have no problem with steering, clutch, gearchanges, brakes ( they are a bit weak, though) and have been driving the car since the 90`s when I got my driving licence. It`s nimble and a joy to drive.
Nice car!
What about trying to keep those three carbs in equal tune?...Not a problem? I do agree with you, that the older Healeys somehow look a little more sleek, less bulbous, etc. Problem was, the older ones, like the 1959 I owned years ago, suffered from limited ground clearance...I had sold my Healey (sad!) to a ditzy airline stewardess, who sent me a small letter a few months later...she had driven over a rock, that had damaged the underside of the car...she continued to drive, until the engine seized!...She junked that wonderful sports car. I am still saddened to think about that!
I drove a brand-new one in the 1960s.
Fun to watch them in vintage sports car races on RUclips.
Most British cars are not running well because they have 2 or 3 SU carburetors.
You need a mechanic who knows how to work on British cars.
All those companies , Austin Healey, MG, Triumph, Jaguar , Jensen, Lotus, Morgan, .......so few left
The sports car mags say the Miata has better handling than the MG.
@@TeaParty1776well thats absolutely true im sure it does , the MG was designed in 1960 , first produced 1962,
The Miata is 30 years newer.
BUT, the MG feels fantastic to drive .
@@chrisadams6595 A friend w/a British racing green MGB taught me how to drive sports cars. He worked as an oil delivery truck driver and knew how to compensate for the continually decreased amount of oil sloshing about as he drove around corners.
Hi Jack, Good to see you with a really great car. I have the same model you are driving and a 1962 triple carb model. I did thousands of miles in european rallies in one of these and they definitely are long distance cars. Mods to the front suspension can improve the general steering and handling. I once drove back from lake garda at 80mph through italy and france no problem, however. being behind the wheel for eight hours per day certainly gives you a good nights sleep.
My BJ8 with decent all season radials was predictable on the limit. I feel many folks these days just don't have the seat of the pants feel to be comfortable pushing this era of sports car. I grew up driving Triumphs, Jags, MGs and Austin Healeys, as well as racing and autocrossing them. Not only do you need to have/develop that feel, the requisite skill for that style of driving isn't always easily acquired. But attain that skill and every drive becomes a rewarding adventure. Love the 3000, this video reminds me I need another one.
I owned a 1960 3000 when I was 20.. talk about suffocatingly sexy and super cool. The car wasn't bad either. 😄
How much might the better impression over the original might be due to tyres? The first reviews might have been on cross-plies, while it's almost certainly on radials now. With a few exceptions, changing to modern tyres dramatically improves most vehicles.
Here in the US, most tires are considered a safety hazard after 8 years on the road-regardless of mileage...the rubber compounds in the tires simply break down with time, increasing the chance of tire failure. And yes--for sure, modern radial tires are superior, even when considering a classic vehicle...My advice is, always buy the best tires you can possibly afford! Safety is important.
Back in the day it was probably on skinny cross plys, wider radials are bound to make the steering heavy, sounded great,
Both mine were on radials, the BJ8 had a smaller leather trimmed alloy spoked wheel, and steering effort was no problem.
My mum still goes shopping to Sainsburys in hers every Thursday.
Go Mum!!!
Just like the MGC then! Heavy but adorable in a retrospective way. Many thanks for a great channel - always my 'go-to' for a classic car kick.
I found the MG B & C too cramped, like the TRs, and difficult to get into those small doors compared to the Big Healeys.
Very nice video on my least favorite British sports Car! As a mid-teen, I was totally in love with the Austin Healy 100-4. It looked so much better as a real two-seater, than the later 3000 with room for a back seat - Ha!
The 4-speed transmission had one gear locked out because originally it was a truck transmission with wrong ratios for a sports car. And don’t forget the windscreen that could by lowered in a very innovative way. Unfortunately, I never did get an Austin Healy. A good friend was racing XK Jaguars, and I fell under his spell and bought a thoroughly used XK120FHC. That adventure taught me how to repair virtually everything in the car, and eventually to a series of new Corvettes. I still wouldn’t mind having an Austin Healy 100 in the garage.
The original 100 models, IMO, were the most sleek, handsome of the Healeys...and the 100S models were quite quick, even though only 4 cylinders were on tap! But the brutishly loud sound of that large six, was music to my ears!
There is one of these where I live (Whangarei, New Zealand) with a Chrysler 265 (4 litre) engine, 5 speed gearbox and a different diff fitted, the engine reportedly makes around 300 HP and 350 lb/ft torque, so I imagine it's a bit of a handful!
I think you should try a 1955 Austin-Healey 100M, as it is lighter and more fun. I had one in the 1970’s when they cost £150! It had a 3-speed gearbox but overdrive gave it an extra gear. There were factory produced ones or a kit of parts could upgrade a basic car to 100M specification. My car was an original factory one. It succumbed to rust and I sold it to a restoration company as a MoT failure. It was black with brown leather seats. Another car I should have kept!!
The 3000 was more of a GT car for long-distance family touring.
Some guys have all the luck 😏 I turn shades of green watching you drive one gorgeous machine after another.
Just a point - my first car was a C reg and was 1965.
Keep them coming.
My 1967 3000 MK III drove and handled wonderfully! My wife and I traveled in it on long tours from our home in the mid Atlantic USA to and through the Rocky Mountains. It’s electric overdrive made the Great Plains of the USA fly past. I should never have sold it! 😢
I hired one for a long weekend a few years ago. It looked beautiful, and sounded great, but it felt like a car from the 50s. I now own a series 2 Alfa Spider, and that feels so much lighter and nicer to drive despite only being about 10 years younger.
however it was sexy!
Compared to the behemoths treading the roads in the USA during the late 1950's and early 1960's the Austin Healey was quite civilized. Amazing stuff on that car; disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and a low center of gravity, it made me a True Believer. Thanks for the great video.
Again, despite Three Marks, BMC never developed anything because they were too worried about costs. The ill fated Mark IV was to use a RR Princess 4 litre in lone six. BMC had been inspired by ARX 91B’s Targa Florio performance..almost with winning that race in Cerda should have inspired its owners. Instead of making it pass US and emerging Common Market crash legislation, the company killed it. The 5 speed IRS Datsun 240Z showed up the Big Healy as a crude anachronism.
Yeah...The 240Z even spelled the end for another Datsun sports car, the 1600, and 2000 series. The 2000 series was very robust, with a 150hp 4 cylinder engine. It was a very fun sports car, and clearly the design had been inspired by the MG series...but when the 240Z showed up, then 1970 became the last year for the very quick, but sort of anachronistic, 2000 model!
Great to see these older cars tested and some urban myths busted, thanks Jack!
We worked on one. We installed an electronic Ignition system, Iridium Spark Plugs, Opened up the exhaust system more and better shocks. The performance was impressive.
There was a Rootes-offered upgrade, that turned a 3000 into a nasty, very competitive rallye/vintage race car. On RUclips, there is a video taken (inside the car) of a dude ramming that Big Healey, with straight-cut gears and 250hp, right past most all of the vintage competition, at SPA!...The Healey sounded like an enraged bull!
Any reference to hairy chested man’s car really needs to be took in context with other cars available at the time, not compared to anything more modern. These were also formidable rally cars in their day too. At the most recent Goodwood in 2024. There was a rally car big Healey seriously drifting most of the way round the circuit in pouring rain. Impressive to watch.
You need someone who really knows how to work on these British cars, especially with 2 or 3 SU carburetors.
Finally, in the last ~10 years, the Austin-Healy has been recognized as one of the best classic British sports cars.
My uncle, Dick Anderson, was a top BMC mechanic who worked at John Bull Motors in Santa Cruz, California.
I went with him to many road coarse races on the West Coast of California in the 1960s and 1970s.
I don't think "infamous" means what you think it means.
Owned an ex-SCCA C Production 100-6 back in the Sixties. Besides the car's very late breakaway there was also the tendency of the exhaust system to be torn off at the slightest provocation.
100-6 Healey’s ran in E production and Allan Barker won the championship in 1965 in one 3000’s were in D Production
Why aren't you using o/drive on 3rd gear.The sequence is 1,2,3,o/drive 3,4,o/drive 4. You get 6 speed not 5. On twisty roads 3 + o/drive 3 you can flick in & out of o/drive with very little time in those changes. Shame some "testers" have so little experience with electric overdrive systems. Just sayin'........
I only drove Austin-Healey 100, the 4-cylinder one, and man, there is something about these heavy, deliberate controls, firm ride and feeling siting more outside of the car than inside it that really appeals to me. And I own Lotus, Lotus Excel but still a Lotus. It is a quintessential man's car (funnily enought, that Healey 100 I drove is owned by a very nice, middle-aged lady), you have to wrestle with it a bit, make an effort and get good to really drive it well. It has a personality of it's own. I really, really like it, it makes every ride feel special.
Great to see you doing some older cars. So much more character than modern cars, and some of them were pretty decent drives too.
not to compare with damned modern SUVs !
I later owned a '97 Celica GT4 for many years, and it certainly brought back memories of the BJ8.
@@marcob4630 I've owned LandCruisers for the past 30 years, it's a different kind of fun, but don't ask me about my Series II Rover work vehicle in the early '70s! 😖
C'est la voiture de sport britannique par excellence.
Beautiful car, British design at its best. John
CAN NOT COMPARE TO THE MGB..WHY? The MGB is a unibody as is the E Type and Porches...you just can Compare it to Triumph like Spitfire, Tr3, Tr4, Tr6 all full frame "truck" sp[orts cars...I say "Truck" because all trucks are full frame. And of course, ONE OF THE BEST LOOKING CARS EVER...
I've had two Healeys, a '59 100-6 and a '62 3000 w/3 SU carbs. Both of them shod with Michelin X. On a smooth surface each would absolutely go around a 90 degreee corner at speed and no problem. Bumpy roads were occasionally dicely but not consistently. Just keep in mind that the rear end was a solid axel on leafs and be prepared for a twitchy rear end, but nowhere near life threatening. Heavy steering? I never noticed. Both trannys were solid and slick. I never bothered with first gear as it was only good to maybe 35 mph and both cars pulled effortlessy from dead stop in 2nd anyway. My '62 had a factory hardtop for winter driving and the heater worked great. The stock twin tailpipes sounded freaking awesome. And, wow, they were beautiful.
To judge the car against the old road tests you’d have to try it on Dunlop cross-plies. You don’t say what this one had but the original tyres would have made the ride harder and the steering lighter than on modern radials.
I used to look after, MOT and drive these many years ago, mid-60s. One of my favourite cars. Great review!
ruclips.net/video/UD7TjvMkHK0/видео.html
These Austin-Healey vintage race cars are making them more famous every week.
As a kid in the 80's I used to read the adventures of Langelot.
A young French spy in the the post war era.
One of his vehicles of choice was the Austin Healy.
Nice memories!
Thanks for yet another great installment!
Greetings from the Netherlands
A very pretty car and ideal for a Sunday morning jaunt. Timo Makinen took a MK3 to a class win at the Monte Carlo Rally so it isn’t all bad. I’d love one.
Fred’s big brother 😂😂😂
Always wanted an Austin Healy, but when I could afford one, they quit being sold in the U.S. Bought an MGB GT instead. Hated the wire wheels - lost their balance within an hour of being serviced - maybe the dealer's fault, not sure. Also, the Lucas parts were horrible. Took months to get them and then they didn't last long. The design was awesome though and fun to drive.
Very nice car. I love the derpy adorable face these cars have with the hood scoop it looks like it has a mowhawk. Thank you for showcasing these older cars. Keep up the good work.
'Sketchy handling' Compared to what? The Healey was a lot more predictable than a TR-2 or 3, where chassis flex made for some real hairy handling.
Above all the look is quite excellent: very sexy! One of the most beautiful sporsters, no doubt. The famous Ford Cobra followed his style
The source of this car is of course the Austin Atlantic. And this is great because my recently restored Atlantic has all new engine parts for the nearly 2.7 litre engine from the Healey specialists. This engine has lots of torque and for 1948 it is very impressive. Not many cars in 1948 could be tuned to100mph. The front and rear suspension and drive train and many other parts clearly share Atlantic heritage.
However Healey 100/4 has a complex very strong and very light body that really sets the Healey apart. Healey also modified the engine with double valve springs and a different cam. Many Healeys were kept on the road from cannibalised Atlantic's. I like fact that today the Healeys incredible success has helped me keep our Atlantic's alive.
Thanks Jack, seems all your gym work has had an effect if it didn't seem that heavy to you?! An AH 3000 will always have the classic appeal, looked a really good example! 🙏🙏
The first and only car i fell in love with. I was about 13 yo and started scanning the want ads and saving money. Never happened for several reasons.
A beautifully designed car, whereas the Daimler Dart looked like a hotchpot.
went to look at one once with an eye to purchase but sadly the engine had been swapped with a 327 chev...... badly i didnt even bother to test drive
I applaud your thinking!
Infamous? Why infamous? Did it kill thousands of owners or what?
I'd much rather have torque than revs, looks the perfect car to me.
I had a Mark 1 (I think it was a 60 maybe a 61) during the summer of 67 when I was in college. it was only my second sports car, I had driven a Corvair Monza spider the last couple years of high school, so I knew about oversteer. The Austin Healy was a dream to drive for that time. Certainly slow by today’s standards, but considerably faster than the many four-cylinder sports cars available. It was not as refined as later models as I got to drive a mark two owned buy a friend. It was definitely fast enough to outrun a cop I saw parked on a side road. Of course those days the cops drove nearly stock big American iron cornered like a bulldozer. I only kept it for the summer, as is typical with British sports cars of that era, parts fell off about as fast as I could glue them back on. I had to sell it when I returned to college, it never would’ve made the trip from Pennsylvania to Colorado. I certainly have great memories of that car. It had a very peculiar exhaust note that sounded like a bird call and I nicknamed it “the gray canary“. It certainly was one of the more fun cars I’ve ever owned.
A wealthy frfiend of mine (here in Massachusetts) invited me to drive this very model. He apologized for the 'coal cart' ride but explained that these machines are all about "drift" (deliberately kicking the tail out) going around corners. He further explained that the more grippy modern (and greatly improved) tires did this chassis no favors. The 3000 was a design for its time, and like so many other British sports car designs, often designed on the back of and envelope, outclassed everything else available at the time.
My very first car was a Triple carb Mk2 . Took my driving test in it .
You never use first gear in a Big Healey.
Who says it's a males car? I loved my Healey and wish I still had it.
It is still on the road today
You mentioned the Daimler V8. Sacrilege, I know, but that's an engine crying out for a chassis... I'll leave it there
Understood!! 🤣
The slight Steering Delay is quite likely the Wire Wheels . They are springy by design , and on that car , them being narrow Rims , the wheels have to " Load Up " before there is a response . Wire wheels are great on a Motorcycle because the Forces stay perpendicular to the Axles for the most part .
Not true for a Car .
Gorgeous Old Roadster though.........
I did not like the wires on my 59 Healey...Now, I would have those replaced by something less prone to cause trouble.
@@curbozerboomer1773 . Yep . Great on Bikes , for the reduction in un-sprung weight , but not so good on Cars .
Disk wheels are better because of the superior rigidity .
Nothing better after a stressful day at work to see an upload from Jack @ Number 27...... just what I needed to unwind 👍
Please test Honda S 600 micro sports roadster from 1960s!
Fifty odd years ago when I bought my first 911 I looked at one of these. A neighbor who was versed in British cars warned I wouldn't enjoy it as it was "truck-ish" compared to the Porsche. I still love the look of the A-H but I don't regret passing on one.
I agree with your neighbor...but talk about the rear end instability!...The 911 was worse, IMO.
Absaloutly brilliant video jack❤👍why did we loose our way with making cars like that absaloutly beautiful car waw brilliant
Because you could'nt keep them running for more than a few hours at a time.
As classic cars go, they dont get much more "classic" than this ❤
This YT post caught my eye, as a neighbor of mine back in the mid-1960s had the left-hand drive US model of this same car, where sadly, he lost his life when the car lost control on a mountain road.
It was mystery back then how the crash happened, but from my observations with how he drove it back then at elevated speeds in the neighborhood; combined with, years later, having an awareness of the car's handling, the guy probably pushed the handling envelope a bit too far on that mountain road.
Back in the mid seventies I had a MKI/2-seat 3000, I feel it was more of a sports car, as opposed to the example here. Also, the MKI was a true roadster where as The MKIII is a cabriolet/ touring car.
Had a 1966 Healey back when it was new. Best built car I ever owned.
Remarcable that you said that!...Healeys were lovable, but not particularly well-built!
@@curbozerboomer1773 Well, mine was solid and never had any issues with it for the few years I owned it. Only reason I sold it was because I lived in the deep south of the US and VERY hot. No A/C and the black seats, and black canvas top made it unbearable in the summer months. I drive Toyota 4-Runners and Tacoma pick-ups now. Won't buy any from the American Big Three manufacturers.
Best built car you ever owned? Makes me doubt you ever owned one. The engineering on these cars was primitive. Suspension ridiculous, body work rots out on all of them.
@@johnmalenchek6597 ...you are referring to how the underside was "finished" ...NOTHING to do with how well it was built. Try to open your brain. I have owned one since 1972. I know what I am talking about. A very solid and tight car.
.
@@curbozerboomer1773 ...please provide an explanation on how the vehicle was "not particularly well-built". It very easy to type words.
.
You impress me with your passion and wisdom and all round love of reviewing all sorts of cars from different eras!
Don’t change a thing!
I would open arms let you take my cars but there’s a catch..
I’m in Australia!
Keep up the great work!
This channel gets better and better, really informative and well presented with really interesting cars. Thanks
Jack's featuring more of the "right" cars now. The exotics have been done to excess on RUclips.
Great video, never actually seen a real driving perspective review of these before and always been fascinated with them. I also remember the auto knowledge section at the bag of the mag in the late 80's saying that you had to be hairy of chest to drive these...Lol.
I always admired the big Healey, but had never had the chance to drive one. Fairly amazing, considering the number of cars I'd owned even at a fairly young age. Then I got a call from an old friend. I'd just gotten back from Vietnam and was footloose and fancy free, and Ronnie needed his '67 Healey transported from San Jose to Key West. He'd finished his tour and had gotten the plumb assignment to Naval Station Key West...about as far as you could get from Vietnam and still be in the USA! I was in Santa Barbara, so I grabbed a girlfriend and we rode the Greyhound to San Jose to be met by Ronnie's Mum. Car cleaned up nicely (it only had 15k miles on it) and we were on our way. Decided to take the scenic route, since we had 10 days to make the drive of roughly 3400 miles in those days with the US Interstate system not quite completed. Then the fun began... We had decided to go to Reno, then drive down to Las Vegas, enjoying the lack of a speed limit in Nevada. Well, we limped into Reno, running on about 31/2 cylinders. I found a nice little garage, and the mechanic took one look under the bonnet and pronounced, "Rats!" Seems the northern California rodents had developed a taste for English wiring. Old Joe Lucas would have been proud. We spent a couple enjoyable days in Reno having everything inspected and put right; it cost just under $100 which, even back then (1970) wasn't too much money. Hit the road to Vegas. Car was comfortable and plenty long-legged with the overdrive, but the exhaust ran right under the LHD drivers feet, and my heels were broiling! The cure was a couple cheap bath towels and a styrofoam cooler filled with ice and water...steam ensued. In Vegas, I found a place that sold sheets of heat insulation and mitigated the problem. For the rest of the highway journey we did just fine, even got about 20mpg at 75mph, which seemed good at the time ($0.35/gallon premium fuel). Our adventure led us to Virgnia and a jaunt down the storied Blue Ridge Parkway. This was not so much fun as I had hoped. Even with newish Pirelli Cinturatos and checked pressures, the car was lumbering and clumsy, nothing like my Alfa Veloce. Then there was the cowl shake. We didn't make the whole length of the Parkway, branching off to the Interstate in North Carolina. Back on the straight and wide, the Healey did just fine and got us into Key West a day early. We'd had fun, but I have never since had any urge to drive a big Healey. Once did the trick. Not really a good sprots car, but a pleasant turnpike cruiser up to 100mph (above that the dreaded cowl shake returned), once you got the insulation fixed. Still among the PRETTIEST of the "sports cars" of the period, though.
we need a direct comparison of Austion Healy 3000, Mercedes Pagoda 230SL (hand shifted!) and Alfa 2600 Spider!
@@Schlipperschlopper My understanding is...the older, mid-50s 100M models, with a fairly powerful, 140hp four cylinder, and a sightly lighter chassis, was more of a true "sports car" than the Big Healeys. They were arguably more attractive, too.
@@Schlipperschlopper The 230SL was a brick!
Scuttle shake was not a problem on my '67, Pirellis and maybe a wheel balance would have solved it for you.
@@ianrichardson3228 The car HAD Pirellis, and they were freshly balanced! On smooth pavement, it was fine, but on anything the least bit uneven, cowl shake. I went on to have a decent career racing F5000 and got in the car business managing a main dealer for Triiumph/Alpha/Citroen. Every now and then, we traded for a big Healey (which had gotten cheap by then), and they all had this characteristic. Still, that big torquey 6 and the lovely lines were great. On the whole, a TR6 was a better car, but not nearly so pretty.
I have driven a very nice 1959 Austin Healey this year. It’s all about the nostalgia and the ambiance. Jack is quite right it’s a refined car for its day and would have seemed relatively quick in period but in modern terms it’s quite lethargic. Very direct offset clunky but pleasing gear shift and super heavy and quite dead feeling steering. No door or wing mirrors just a tiny dash mounted rear view. I liked it but far too valauable to try throwing it about. Nevertheless a charming time piece for the well heeled and hairy of chest!
The "Big Healey" was a 100/6, through the latter part of 1959. Then is when production of the 3000 began. I have owned 2 '59 BN6 [two seat] 100/6 cars, as well as a 1964 BN7 car, a 3000 MK II, which was also a two seat variant. Fantastic driving vehicles - when it is dry! Good tires make a huge difference. BTW, the transmissions, with overdrive, were overdriven both in 3rd and 4th gear, essentially making it a 6 speed.
My 1960 BT7 was 10 years old when the refinement of a '67 BJ8 convinced me make up a pair. Ice, even black, was just a fun game at near the ton, and wet roads through hedgerows of spray from the front only became uncomfortable as the hood lifted from the top screen rail at that speed, to soak the drivers lap. Eventual replacement of the common Pirellis with Michelins made a huge difference, as did Konis all round. Problem now is that 50 years have elapsed since my ownership, the cars are showing their age, and expectations have been shaped by bureaucrats, not drivers!
I was lucky enough to own a red Mark 3, phase 2 was about 7 years and only sold due lack of garage space and changed circumstances. To think Jack summed it up nicely it is a lovely place to be sat in and yes there are faults but this is the character of the car and I never tired at just looking at it, as well cruising around countryside roads.
Might be masculine but didn't stop Pat Moss winning at rallying in one. Imagine going flat out for hours.
I had a BN7 3000 in the late sixties. With Michelin X tires it had very predictable and "safe " handling, and was easy to drift. If not, I wouldn't be here today.
Needs rack and pinion! I was offered a full rally 3000 in around 1974 but didn't buy it......what a shame....
My all-time best loved marque that I would ( almost ) give my 'eye teeth' for.
Ever since I was a little boy in school ( when these Austin Healey's first came out ) I would daydream about and drawn sketches of this design.
What an utter shame that BMC had to follow the dodo bird into oblivion!
Owned 2 MGB’s at different times years ago. An acquaintance had a Healy making me jealous. Having heard this, I’m satisfied and would again go with B’s (my love to this day). Thanks, now I’ve got the bug again. 😎
Carroll Shelby wanted to put V8s in these but Donald Healey wasn't interested. Maybe a lost opportunity given what happened with Cobras
I’m guessing the odd, slow-to-respond steering is negatively affected by chassis flex.
I have a Golf R with Stage 3 tuning and just under 500HP. It's a much better car and will go 0-60 in under 4 seconds, but I also have a '65 BJ8 with Healey Blue paint. The BJ8 is more fun. Nobody stands outside a convenience store to ask me about my Golf. When I take my Healey out, everyone wants to strike up a conversation.
"Power"?! It was 148 HP from a 183 cu inch straight 6?! When standard V8s in the cheapest cars were 275? The 3000 was considered a teeny weak foreign sports car that rich fops drove.
A Healy 3000 , how about a big Viper V-10 with a tremic 6 speed ? You gonna have to up grade everything like brakes and suspension . Go fast cars need stop fast brakes , a stock Healynot much had these . Lok put La Mans there is an old Austin Healy about to spank all of ypu .
Once described as the car that sorts the boys that cant drive it from the men who cant drive it....
The Healey's worm and peg steering is brutal. Either you have too much slop or it stiffens up. Complete garbage compared to the MG-A or the Morris Minor's rack. All in all it's like dating a great looking woman who's giving you hell in private.
I had the earlier 3000, same color, w/a bent shift and top stowed in the trunk. I outran a cop on a twisty road. And five (5) people can sit in it. I saw one like in the vid a few years ago, in perfect condition. I hsd to leave it
w/my mechanic for six months. It started instantly on a snowy day. Of course, it sometimes didnt turn off...
I owned one. Beautiful design, absolutely primitive mechanically. Bodies rotted out. Engine originally from truck. Suspension riduculous. In other words typical English engineering.