Austin-Healey 3000: The “Big Healey” That Won Rallies and Cooked Its Driver’s Feet

Some cars you hear before you see. The Austin-Healey 3000 is one of them. A deep, hoarse six-cylinder sound makes you turn your head before the car even appears around the corner. The British simply call it the “Big Healey”, to tell it apart from the small, cute Sprite. And it may be the most macho British roadster of the 1960s.

Donald Healey and BMC

Donald Healey was a rally driver and engineer from Cornwall. In the early 1950s he designed a beautiful roadster and showed it at the London Motor Show in 1952. Leonard Lord, boss of the big Austin company, saw it, loved it and offered him a deal the same day. That is how the Austin-Healey brand was born: Healey’s design, with mechanical parts and a factory from Austin, which soon became part of BMC.

The first model was the 100, with a four-cylinder engine. The 100-Six followed, and in 1959 came the 3000, with the 2,912 cc C-series six-cylinder engine. The cars were built at the MG factory in Abingdon, near Oxford.

Three versions, each more powerful

The 3000 Mk I had about 124 horsepower and front disc brakes, rare at the time. The 1961 Mk II got three SU carburettors and a few more horsepower. In 1962 came the BJ7 convertible, with proper wind-up windows and a hood that was easy to close. Until then Healeys had plastic side screens that you fitted by hand.

The last one, the 1963 Mk III BJ8, had about 150 horsepower, a wooden dashboard and a top speed of over 190 km/h. It was the fastest and most comfortable Big Healey, and today it is the most sought after.

Mud, dust and trophies

Despite its low ride height, the 3000 became one of the most successful rally cars of its time. The BMC works team ran it in Europe’s toughest events. In 1960 Pat Moss, sister of Stirling Moss, and her co-driver Ann Wisdom won the legendary Liège-Rome-Liège rally. It was one of the greatest victories by an all-female crew in rally history. In 1964 the Finn Rauno Aaltonen won the Spa-Sofia-Liège in a 3000, a marathon run over the mountains of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.

Drivers loved it and feared it at the same time. The exhaust ran very low and hit every stone. And heat from the engine and exhaust came into the cockpit so strongly that on long stages the drivers were literally cooking. Even today owners say the Healey is the ideal car for October, not for August.

The end of an era

In 1967 production stopped. New American safety and emissions rules would have required big changes, and BMC did not want to pay for them. About 43,000 3000s had been built, most of them for America. Donald Healey wanted to build a successor, but he was not allowed to.

Today a good Big Healey is one of the most expensive British classics. If you are looking for one, check the chassis and the lower body very carefully, because rust hides everywhere. And take a drive with the hood down before you decide. After the first sound of that six-cylinder, the decision will probably already be made.

P.Kefalas