2012-04-20 09:42:48 | pauls writes:

Car offered at:
bringatrailer.com/2012/04/17/bat-exclusive-41-years-parked-1960-austin-healey-30 ...

Sellers description:
April 17, 2012 -- BaT Exclusives / British / Cover Stories / Inspiration / Project -- 158 comments
BaT Exclusive: 41 Years Parked 1960 Austin Healey 3000

This 1960 Austin Healey 3000 Mk1 (Chassis HBT7L5313) was purchased by the seller in early 1963, and he was transferred out of the country in 1970 at which time he put it in storage with 76k miles. It has remained in his storage unit to this day, as after the seller returned in 1975 life had moved on and gotten in the way of reviving the car. The seller says it is entirely original (paint, hardtop, interior, drivetrain) apart from changing the door panels and rear seat panels to black from red as shown, which at his current 72 years of age, the seller says he can't remember why he even did! The car is new available for the first time in Houston,Texas for $25k.

The seller bought the car in Houston, then moved it to California in '65, and then back to Texas in '69. The car is titled in the seller's name in Texas, and was last registered in 1974. The original red upholstery is under the black door panels, so recovery of the original only requires removing the black. Oddly, the rear brakes were removed to allow the car to be moved between storage units. All the pieces/parts are in the trunk according to the seller, along with some ancillary parts such as tonneau bars, some seat piping and side curtain bag.
There is some rust that needs attention on the right rear quarter panel and the boot lid lip, both pictured in the album below. These photos were taken in April 2011, which was the last time the seller saw the car. He is now living in Virginia, but has family in Houston that can assist with seeing and removing the vehicle.

2012-10-11 11:23:50 | Ed Drapela writes:

She has had 42 years of dirt washed off and 6 generations of squirrel nests removed.

She's now on blocks with the braking system apart. All lines look clean and appear open. Next step is to flush lines with DOD 5 and ship the calipers and master cylinders off for rebuild.

Radiator out and off to shop for cleaning.

Plan is to pull the engine, trans and O/D and ship them off to Healey Surgeons for rebuild. The rebuild is a choice as she only has around 80K miles on her.

Cheers,
Ed