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[Healeys] FW: Original 750 Mile BN2

Subject: [Healeys] FW: Original 750 Mile BN2
From: cnaarndt at gmail.com (Curt/Nancy Arndt)
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:08:19 -0700
References: <006501cc2c6a$9a7bec70$cf73c550$@net> <443E53BE-8504-4445-84F8-7B03BDA96623@sbcglobal.net> <4DFAA310.2060902@comcast.net>
First off, this sellers reputation is well known to me, and others in the
industry and we will leave it at that.

Secondly, in my opinion, there is a subtle intent to deceive here where the
owner purposely tries to make this car sound like it's an original 750 mile
car with very little done to it... this is absolutely not the case.  In fact
this fellow got very defensive with me today after I called him to inquire
about the car for a client.  This car has been totally restored, and either
through ignorance or laziness what made this a potentially valuable car is
now lost forever.  I have no problem with someone restoring the car but too
many things were done incorrectly  that just didn't need to be done.

BTW, the current owner and seller did not restore this car, that being said
he's asking a premium ($115K) for this car based on certain assumptions
where it's not warranted.  *And how come no one wants to mention the fact
that the VIN tag is a REPRODUCTION!*  This is a huge red flag to me and
others on the Concours Committee.  There is something not right here, and in
fact another Concours Committee member also looked at this car for a client
and he told him to run away from it.

As far as David's comments go, who the hell said anything about not being
able to tastefully modify a car or that it had to be restored exactly as it
came from the factory.  I for one as the Concours Chairman am getting sick
and tired having to repeat myself on this issue.  There are a lot of
modifications that can be made to an Austin Healey that will improve the
driving and performance without detracting from the visible originality.
Both of my cars are being restored with this in mind, but the Concours
detractors want to spin what we do as being too rigid and inflexible, when
this  is just not the case.

We are in my opinion the most liberal in our judging standards, catering to
the cars being driven. If your Healey is a trailer queen that's your fault,
not ours.  This being said we also have one of the toughest judging
standards of any Concours.  Like Jaguar Concours (JCNA) we judge to 1,000
points, but unlike Jaguar, who take a max of 20 minutes, our typical judging
can run 90 minutes or more.  I'm involved with Jaguar Concours and the Jag
folks I know have a lot of respect for what we do.

Maybe most of you on the list don't see what I see but here are a few things
that bug me about this car...

-The fender spear on backwards, give me a break and this guy wants top
dollar for this car?
-Hardura in the boot versus Armacord.  What... too cheap, lazy or ignorant
to get the correct material?
-Typical incorrect Moss interior with the white piping on the seats.
Obviously replaced the carpet.
-Wrong steering wheel?  My original wheel, on a 76K original mile car that
was not pampered but at least indoors is still perfect after 56 years.. read
NO CRACKS.  And this car had 500 miles on it and spent all of its life in
someone house?
-As far as the fuel line goes , no chrome was not original nor an option.
The original copper pipe was a flat zinc or possibly flat nickel plated.
- Grill teeth are bright chrome not the satin or "Butler" chrome as
original.  This finish is extremely durable and I can see no reason what so
ever to have replated the grill other than personal preference.
- Finally the reproduction VIN tag, need I say more?

I'll end it here with the personal preference line.  His car his choice.
But now don't try to sell for what it is not.  What it is, is nice bronze or
silver level car, that in my opinion (and Gary Anderson's too) worth about
$75K at auction.  Bottom line... Bob Spidell summed up what I, and others
I've spoken to think.

On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 5:42 PM, Bob Spidell <bspidell at comcast.net> wrote:

*The problem I have--and I suspect others do too--is that this car is not
presented as having been (lavishly over-) restored.   All I saw was mention
of a few mechanical fixes, and the red coves being added.  Why was an
obviously expensive restoration not mentioned?  Because the car could
possibly fetch more money as a pristine original, presumably sold to someone
not truly versed in Healey provenance?  IMO, this borders on
misrepresentation--this seller is not naive.
*
Remember, I've spoken with the seller and something is fishy about this car,
and in fact he was so defensive he started yelling at me.  I advised my
client to walk away from it, and he agrees.*

*Cheers,

Curt

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