# Austin-Healey 3000 (competition)

- Source: https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/austin-healey-3000-race/
- Publisher: Racing Car Network (racingcarnetwork.com), the race car marketplace
- Type: car · Brand: Austin Healey
- Discipline: historic-racing
- Series: historic-sportscar
- Era: 1950s
- Last updated: 2026-07-06
- For sale on RCN: https://racingcarnetwork.com/for-sale/austin-healey-3000-race/ (0 live listings right now)

The competition Austin-Healey 3000 is the works rally legend turned historic-racing stalwart: the big Healey that conquered the Alpine and Liège in period and now fills pre-'66 GT grids from Goodwood to the Tour Auto.

## Specifications

| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | 2.9 L C-Series inline-6 |
| Power | ~150–210 hp (road to works race tune) |
| Weight | ~1,100 kg (lightweight spec less) |
| Gearbox | 4-speed with overdrive |
| Chassis | Steel ladder frame, alloy panels (works) |
| Brakes | Front discs (from Mk I) |
| Years | 1959–1967 (Mk I–III) |
| Class | Pre-'66 GT / Appendix K / rally revivals |

## History

The 3000 (1959, evolving the 100-Six) gave BMC's Abingdon competitions department its hammer: 2.9-litre C-Series torque, aluminium-panelled works lightweights, and a rally programme that made the 'big Healey' synonymous with brute-force endurance — Pat Moss's 1960 Liège–Rome–Liège win the marque's monument, Alpine and RAC results stacking through the Mk I–III evolutions until 1965.

Circuit history ran parallel: Sebring works entries (the 'Sebring Healey' spec born there), Le Mans class runs, and national production-sports racing on both Atlantic coasts — a competition breadth few British sports cars matched.

Historic motorsport adopted the type wholesale: FIA Appendix K pre-'66 GT racing, Goodwood's TT-support grids, Tour Auto and rally-revival events all run big Healeys in numbers, supported by a specialist industry (Denis Welch lineage and peers) that manufactures effectively every component. The market tiers cleanly — genuine works cars as blue-chip collector pieces, period-competition cars beneath, and FIA-papered recreations as the active racing currency.

## Palmarès

Liège–Rome–Liège outright win 1960 (Moss/Wisdom); Alpine Rally wins and Coupes des Alpes through 1961–64; RAC and European rally podiums for the works team; Sebring class results and Le Mans finishes — then five decades of pre-'66 GT class wins in historic racing.

## What to check before you buy

Provenance tiers rule pricing: documented works cars (registrar-verified — UMB/ARX registrations are studied objects) sit in collector territory; period privateer competition history mid-tier; well-built FIA racers the usable market. Verify HTP papers against actual spec (aluminium panels, engine tune, axle — recreation-to-paper mismatches surface at scrutineering), chassis originality versus the extensive remanufacture the specialist trade enables, and rot in the main rails. The Welch-lineage parts supply makes running rational; buy papers and builder reputation over paint.

## Did you know

- Pat Moss's 1960 Liège win came on the era's toughest event — 96 hours near-nonstop — making her the first woman to win a major international rally outright.
- Works Healeys ran exhausts along the sill because ground clearance was so marginal — the burnt-calf scars of period co-drivers are marque folklore.
- The specialist industry remanufactures so completely that a big Healey can be built essentially new — originality forensics, not parts supply, is the collector battleground.

## Related entries

- Austin A35 (historic racer) — https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/austin-a35-race/
- Shelby GT350R (1965) — https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/shelby-gt350r-historic/
- AC Cobra (race replica/continuation) — https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/ac-cobra-daytona-replica-race/
- Ginetta G4 (historic) — https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/ginetta-g4-historic/