NMNA: Ratty Big Healey

If I had the room, I'd be extremely tempted to buy this, fix as little as possible and drive as-is after figuring out how to get it titled. 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/898336994712672/?ref=product_details&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

Wondering if he'd trade for my 65 289 'stang project 

As someone who took this car

Through this

On its way to this point

The photos in that ad give me PTSD. 

All old cars rust, but a Healey just hits different in that department

In reply to Trent :

Oh believe me, I'm well aware...

Sometimes we want what has hurt us most. 

I'm with Trent- Big Healeys specialize in serious hidden rust issues. The fact where the pictures show the doors being held closed with a bungee cord is prime evidence of big time frame rust. To get this on roadable is going to take someone with excellent welding and fabricating skills.

I would start with this order from Kilmartin

And build from there. I genuinely wouldn't consider doing it any other way. If they had offered a complete BN2 chassis when I did that one it would have saved the customer 5 digits of labor

So I ended selling a restored 59 Big Healey for a gentleman who was living at my wife's retirement community. He apparently commuted each day and passed a farm that had a big healey sitting in a field rotting away. One day, he could not help himself and went and talked with the owner and struck a deal. Car went to at least two restoration shops, second shop to fix what the first shop messed up. I had all the receipts and they added up to over 70K that he had in the car. Was beautiful to be sure, but seeing the bodywork up close and knowing that  the frame is welded to the body would keep me from ever thinking I could restore one of these. I do agree, that just driving it as a rat rod, might be the better option, but the doors held on by a bungee cord probably keep that from being an option.

 If you really want to restore a car, I do not think you could go wrong buying it for that price. As a first restoration project, I would not advise doing a Big Healey. 

It seems complete and not overly molested; that said, I would want to look under the car and have a hard look at the chassis. While the chassis is not made of actual wet toiled paper from the factory, its close. 

A Healey has an aluminum center body with steel fenders bolted to the aluminum. Normal course is for the aluminum to disintegrate from galvanic corrosion. That car does not look too bad.

Of all the Brit cars I have worked on, the Big Healey is the one I have developed the least admiration for. It was obviously a product made from bits of other cars and a restrained budget for product design.  

Healey's corporate motto was "Never use one piece if 20 pieces will do the same job" I describe the car as a collection of Rube Goldberg devices traveling in close formation.

Body repair panels are available but not of great quality.  Mechanical stuff is pretty basic and is available and to be found used if you are patient.

People seem to pay silly $$$ for nice finished ones, so perhaps 1000 hours of your free time might not be wasted. 

It's not the rust, it's the insane number of panels, in such a small car. It's only really big next to a bugeye, or a Europa