2016-09-14 12:21:40 | pauls writes:

Car to be at auction 10/16
www.rmsothebys.com/hf16/hershey/lots/1966-austin-healey-3000-mk-iii-bj8/1082138

Auction description:
Hershey 6-7 October 2016
1966 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk III BJ8
Chassis no. H-BJ8-L/31113
Engine no. 29K-RU-H/5842

Without Reserve
Single-family ownership and just 32,311 miles from new
Accompanied by original documentation, including sales invoice
Profiled in the Canadian newspaper The Globe & Mail
Cherished and enjoyed for 50 years

In life, cars come and go. Some are simply a method for getting from point A to point B, and back again. However, there are those that provide a greater role in the lives of their respective owners. This wonderful Austin-Healey 3000 is exactly that type of car. It was purchased new by Joe Berecz from the Austin dealership in Montréal, Québec, on a summer's afternoon in 1966, for which he traded in his Renault R8 sedan. The Mark III has been cherished and adored by his family ever since.

Even though this lovely little Austin-Healey might not have been practical for a family of five with three small children, they made it work. The 3000 accompanied them on road trips, vacations, seemingly mundane jaunts to soccer practice, and work. It lived with them in Montréal; Albany, New York; and finally Windsor, Ontario. While other notable cars, Jaguars in particular, came and went, the Healey stayed. It was more than a car; it was a member of the family, and it remained an important part of their lives from day one. In November of 2015, the car and owner were profiled in The Globe & Mail, making national news of the Healey's lovely family history.

Accompanied by a substantial file of documentation compiled over 50 years of loving ownership, the Austin-Healey includes numerous documents chronicling the 1997 restoration, service records from throughout the car's life, as well as the original sales invoice and windscreen card.

It goes without saying that such an opportunity is incredibly rare, only becoming rarer as time goes on. As the Healey prepares to change ownership for the first time since it left the dealership lot, it looks to go to a home just as appreciative as its last, to enjoy perhaps another five decades of continuous ownership and loving care.