Hi all,
This is not a general question, its for those who have the most professional experiences in dealing with Big Healeys. Well... whats your opinion in how to spray the AH to get the most out of it? The original color, even if its white, or to spray it in some other (what then?) color combination. An AH can be so beutiful in as well white as in some other color, but whats the most "payback" color nowadays?

BR

/Peter

I think if you stay with the original colors offer for the model, you'll realize the best return on your investment. Personally I love the Dark British Racing Green on my '65 BJ8.

Peter,

When you say you're looking for people with "the most professional experiences" I assume you're looking for people who buy and sell cars for a living, since this is basically an enthusiasts site made up of people who love their Healeys I don't think you'll find to many dealers here. However if you're just interested in getting the most dollars for the car, as close to concourse, original would probably be the best way to go.

Doug,

I'm with you, there's BRG then there are all the other colors. This raises an interesting question, you're one of the few of us actually racing a British car and it's not BRG, what's up with that?

Hey Kevin -

Good question, I love my '65 BRG BJ8. It's so well restored and maintained that I couldn't bring myself to modify it for vintage racing. I also love the 1950's and the some bright pastel colors of the cars during that time. I was luckey enough to acquire a '57 100-6 MM that was already race prepared in a rare "1950's" color scheme with the factory hardtop. Some don't care for the Florida Green, but seen in person and on the track, it always is a crowd pleaser.

Peter,

I’ve asked this same question before. I was debating painting my car the original black vs changing it to Healey blue with white coves. The consensus seemed to be that as long as you stay with a standard Healey color (even if it is a change from the car’s original color), then you won’t harm the value. Even a few “non-Healey” colors seem to sell well provided they maintain the spirit of the original (there was recently a non-OEM light metallic sage green on Bring a Trailer that did well).

Basically, the advice I got was:

1) it’s your car- paint it a color you like
2) if you decide to do a color change, you won’t harm the value if you keep within the Healey color family
3) if you go outside the Healey color palette, choose carefully to keep the spirit of the original.

With all that said, on a perfect restoration, I agree with your implied comment that some colors will sell better than white. Healey blue (with or without white coves), dark British Racing Green, and red (almost cliche) all have shown prominently on Bring a Trailer in recent months. Something unique like Golden Metallic Beige or Florida (or Pacific) green might be OEM but set your car apart.

I think the interior color gets less attention than it deserves. I think black is boring and tan looks nice but ordinary. Blue, red, or even green seem more interesting to me if it matches or contrasts nicely with the exterior.

None of this is a “professional” opinion, but I have thought about this a lot.

Check out this website to try some different colors (note: you can change models) :

http://www.austinhealey.com/catalog/3000mk2/3002cat.html

Good luck! Let us know what you decide to do.

Jim

Looks lovely! Sure inspiring!

Hi Jim and thank you for your reply regarding my question!
First I must apologize you all if my tone in my question was a bit "speculative". Since Im quite a newbie in this classic cars, just love them, I just wanted to feel the general opinion in this with original color vs other. Not that I was thinking of doing some flake/candy spray, but always good to know how to handle it since its quite an investment to paint a car and then dont want to destroy it all if it´s just a matter of red/rg/black or original color.
Well Jim, I think you have a good point and guideline in your answer regarding this and I will have this in my mind if/when its time for re spraying the precious.

Many thank´s again Jim for your advice and thoughts!

BR
/Peter

Peter-

One last thought: I assume that the car is not a “time-capsule” where the original paint can be left alone. Obviously in that case, you would leave it white. “They are only original once”.

Jim

Doug,

I've been to a number of car shows over the years and seen a lot of Big Healeys but the while the Florida Green cars are not that common, they always draw big crowds. It does have that classic '50s pastel look.

Peter,

I think most of the respondents are missing the point of your question. its not what would you do? or what is your favourite colour? it was, which is the most popular/best selling colour (combination) a bit like asking what colour should a Ferrari be for most popular choices, and of course the answer is RED!
I think without a doubt (especially if you speak to professionals who sell them for a living) is the ice blue over white, this is THE iconic Healey colour, that most 'new' enthusiasts look for. a Friend of mine who was having one restored professionally was told that painting his car that colour would add £5k to the value. Personally I prefer red over white, which I why I bought the one I currently have.

Peter,

I debated with myself for months when trying to determine what color would be the right for the car and myself. I finally decided that as long as I was trying to enhance the beauty of the car and not take away for the essence of design by painting it some really strange color, it didn't really matter. I agree with Jim's comment which was "Even a few “non-Healey” colors seem to sell well provided they maintain the spirit of the original". My car was originally white and black which I didn't care for. I like red but there are a lot of red Healey's and other British sports cars out there and I didn't want it to be seen as another red Healey.
So I decided to paint it a deeper red that was not an original color offered by the factory. I wanted the exterior and interior colors to compliment each other and some how make the car look a bit richer. As a result I've had a lot of compliments on the color choice. The interior and exterior colors were actually chosen by my daughter, I gave her the option to choose since the car will eventually be her's when I can't drive it any longer.
In the end it's your car and paint it what ever color you desire because you are the one that has to live with it and enjoy it. I think the pleasure you get from your color choice will far out weigh the concern of affecting the price if you ever sell it.
Pete

Pete -

I like the color. Similar to my Bugeye.

Jim

ok I gotta chime in cuz I have a similar thread going. I agree with keeping it in the bmc family and fortunately there are some excellent options. also makes it super difficult to decide. maybe envision what you want the car to look like, such as the theme or attitude and then choose a color that supports that. I, for example, am going the stripped down rally/works route and therefore am not going for something that accentuates the chrome look. maybe I just added confusion but if you think "rally racey" then some colors automatically drop out. if you think elegant touring, then others drop out.

it's a good problem to have...awesome car that looks great in just about anything. Holly Golightly. timeless beauty and a little unstable.

and when all else fails throw your favorite 5 colors out there and let us vote!

If you're going race/rally here's your color choices....

The last one's my favorite

The original post was implying the choice had a financial implication and there is one aspect of this that hasn't been mentioned. For me a change of colour requires a complete strip down and removal of all original paint.

There is nothing that would put me off spending money on a car more than seeing a different colour show through and it always does.