1961 | Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II (BT7)

• Original RHD UK-market car

• Engine rebuilt to fast-road spec by Rawles Motorsport

• Comes with works-style hardtop, plus bumpers

• Large history file with Heritage Certificate

For many enthusiasts, the Austin-Healey 3000 remains the archetypal British sports car of the late 1950s and early 1960s, thanks to its blend of performance, style and competition pedigree. 

The car being offered for sale here perfectly epitomises those qualities thanks to a long-term programme of restoration work and well-chosen upgrades. Originally built in June 1961, it is a Mk2 BT7 that was dispatched that month to the Donald Healey Motor Co in Warwick. 

The ‘BT7’ name denotes that it featured the practical 2+2 seating arrangement, and it wasoriginally finished in Healey Blue with a blue interior. The Heritage Certificate that accompanies the car shows that it was supplied new with wire wheels, a heater, an adjustable steering column, and an overdrive unit for the four-speed gearbox.

Beginning in 2005, the Healey was treated to a series of work that started with the restoration of its chassis and bodywork. Four years later, the engine was rebuilt by renowned marque specialist Rawles Motorsport – a job that including uprating the six-cylinder unit to fast-road specification. It was given an unleaded conversion, plus a Rawles performance inlet manifold with new SU carburettors, a Mallory distributor, an alternator, a high-torque starter and a stainless-steel side-exit exhaust. 

The bumpers were also removed at this time, giving the car a look that evokes period racing Healeys, but they’ve been retained should a future owner wish to reinstate them. 

The gearbox and overdrive were rebuilt in 2010, and work since then has included uprating the braking system, fitting an adjustable steering box, installing a new wiring harness, and adding wing vents – a very effective modification that helps to reduce under-bonnet temperatures. 

In 2017, the safety harnesses were replaced with inertia-reel seatbelts, and the following year the front seats were retrimmed. The final touch came in 2020, when Hexagon Classics resprayed the Healey in the striking two-tone colour scheme of Ice Blue metallic over Old English White.

This Healey 3000 comes with a works-style hardtop plus an extensive history file that includes a wealth of invoices cataloguing the restoration and upgrade work that’s been carried out, and it’s very attractive example of this muscular British sports car.