When Andrew M sent in information about an upcoming auction for a barn find Austin Healey 3000, I was driving through the middle of Montana and writing about it while driving just didn’t seem like a safe idea. When I finally had a chance to get to it, the auction was nearly over. I couldn’t find any information about how much it sold for so I just assumed it had sold and was off to a new home. It turned out that this barn find didn’t end up selling though and thankfully, Andrew sent us another email letting us know it still was still on the market. I haven’t been able to find the reason this 3000 didn’t sell at this past weekend’s auction, but Auctions America has updated the listing with new information about making an offer. They don’t offer much information, but the listing can be found here at Auctions America. Thanks for the tip Andrew!

This big Healey has obviously seen better days and the barn it was sitting in did little to preserve it. The interior is intact, but in sad shape. It’s hard to tell from these photos what all it is going to need to be replaced and what can be restored. Typically auction houses are good about offering high quality photos and information, but the lack of details on this one could explain why it didn’t sell. Simply cleaning it up and taking better photos would surely generate more interest.

One of the major appeals of a barn find is originality and a quick glance under the hood confirms that it is anything but. The engine appears to be the correct unit and there doesn’t appear to be any signs of tampering, but there is lots of overspray. The firewall is wearing red paint, so it is safe to assume that the respray was in the correct or close to correct color. Any time I spot overspray I tend to get a bit nervous of what might be hiding underneath, so be sure to inspect it closely.

The 3000 isn’t my personal favorite of the big Healeys, but I wouldn’t mind taking one out for a spin. Values for these just keep going up, which leaves me curious as to why this one didn’t sell. Perhaps the right buyer just wasn’t in attendance or maybe the seller’s reserve was simply too high? If anyone was there or has heard why it didn’t sell, please share in the comments section below! I’d be very interested to hear what happened.