Pete Cummins reminded me of this on the MGB Forum

Thanks for the memories Pete. I had forgotten about my buddy looking at this same car until you got me thinking about it again. I did a search and came up with this post I made about 6 years ago:

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My best old buddy Don Seabaugh phoned me this morning and of course we got to talking cars. He told me about one he wanted to buy here in town about 40 years ago but his dad talked him out of it saying, "You, hell nobody, will ever be able to finish that damned thing." It was an Austin Healey 3000 all chopped up with a Kellison fiberglass body shell sloppily hung on. The irony? Check the posts below.


Bastardized Healey
Author: John D. Weimer ()
Date: 11-04-99 20:13

Hey Guys I'm not jumping ship, but I've spotted a 1962 Austin Healey 3000 MKII BT7 (3 carb job) with an unidentified fiberglass hardtop body. It runs,the doors are hung and all the glass is with it, but it's unfinished, and has occupied two barns during the past 15 years. I'm going to go look at it Saturday. Any input as what a heap like this may be worth? Does the fact that Saturday is my birthday make it worth any more? I'm taking my BMW scooter for the trip so if I don't buy it I'll have a good ride anyway.

What birthday? THE BIG 6-0. Beats the crap out of 5-0, it really sucked. I feel better now than I did then.

MAAAN OVERBOOOARD!
Author: John D. Weimer ()
Date: 11-07-99 17:58

Well Guys, I didn't jump ship, but I did fall overboard. Had a great 60th birthday, rode my motorcycle all day and I wasn't dragging my feet either. It was 130 miles to the Healey and I goofed off the rest of the day. I set out to see about buying an unfinished fiberglass bodied sports car and ended up with a Kraut Can. The bastardized Healey was just too much trouble to contemplate. Front fender wells butchered, rear frame horns cut off, some minor structual whittling, hydraulics shot to hell, whole trunk area chopped up, and the body is still a mystery. The body was built specifically for a Healey chassis, I could tell by the perfect fit over the area where the "jump" seats had been, but not an identifying mark on it, it's about 15 years old, and the company is probably out of business. The doors were hung, but not properly. The front end to door fit was not good. Front end mounting was flimsey. He has the windshield and rear glass, but no side glass nor window regulators. In short it would be your worst nightmare to try and finish this thing or rebody it with original parts. I bought a Porche 914 I found while goofing off. MAAAN OVERBOOOARD! When I found it there were some papers in the floorboard and among them was a parts ticket for $1,487.50. Things I found that weren't on the ticked included: new carpet, new seat upholstry, new battery, 5 brand spanking new tires on totally refinished wheels, and a new paint job. Not a good paint job, but if it sticks on it's a good base for another one. NO body rust or rust repairs. The only corrosion I found is noted below. Things I found that were on the ticket included 4 new fuel injectors, a new Monza exhaust system, all new lettering and emblems, new headliner, dash pad, various and sundry other items. The price marked on the sign was $2,000.00 OBO. After noticing excessive toe-in and camber on the right rear wheel I decided MBO was $1,700.00. The excesses were brought on by major corrosion, caused by battery leakage over the years, to the area that the right rear suspension arm and right front motor mount bolts to. Big Deal for some people. I got to thinking about what this guy had done. First he didn't inspect the car as well as I did before he bought it. BIG MISTAKE! Then he blew more than the car was worth on cosmetics mostly, and getting it running good. "I'll bet when that wheel moved and he learned why, he just got sick of this little s.o.b. and wants to simply get it out of his sight", I thought, so I cranked up the Beemer and came home. This morning I phoned him. "The sign on your car says $2,000.00 OBO. What will it take to buy it, cash greenbacks, Now!" He said, "$1,400.00." Me, "I'll be there in two and a half hours with a trailer." and I hung up. And that, boy and girls, is how I became the owner of a Kraut Can for my 60th birthday.

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The Big Healey was the same car Don had wanted in the same condition nearly 40 years later, Don's dad was right. Now what's the chances of two best friends looking at the same car in the same condition at times 40 years apart and neither of them knowing it? It was 4 years ago when I saw it. I backed off mainly because I wasn't sure what body it was and the owner had no idea. Not knowing that would make it impossible to finish because you'd never find the window regulators, door hardware, and all that kind of stuff to finish it. I learned from Don that the body was a Kellison, but totally unfinished and I didn't know if it would fit another chassis because the Healey was too far gone to do anything with except part it out.

That's an impressive story!

Lee, why would you expect any less from JD. He's an impressive guy, especially his Weimerisms.