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oj



Joined: 02 Dec 2016
Posts: 21
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia USA

PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 7:19 pm    Post subject: Howdy Reply with quote

I looked for an 'Introduction' thread but didn't see one, this will have to do. Hello. I have a professional Hot Rod and period restoration shop in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
I'll try to post pics of current work:

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V8 Nutter



Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Posts: 587

PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 8:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A friend of mine is building a T.Bucket. Fibre glass replica body, he has just imported a 427 small block Chevy crate motor to go in it.
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47Jag



Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Posts: 1480
Location: Bothwell, Scotland

PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 9:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

V8,

I hate to nit pick but the 427 isn't a 'small block'. As I recall it was originally a truck engine. The biggest small block is the 350ci.

Art
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V8 Nutter



Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Posts: 587

PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Small blocks used to be 350 but they have grown a bit. Not sure of the details but this one has a stroker crank and a big over bore.
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47Jag



Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Posts: 1480
Location: Bothwell, Scotland

PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 1:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

V8,

I stand corrected. I know the small block as the original Chevrolet one which went from 260ci to the 400ci (I thought 350ci was the max) that I spoke of. Apparently there is a NEW (as in from 1995) aluminium 'small block' which goes up to 7 litres (427ci).

Summit Racing sell a 427ci crate engine but that looks like the old truck engine that I know. https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/nal-19166393/overview/make/chevrolet

Art
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oj



Joined: 02 Dec 2016
Posts: 21
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia USA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a pic of it with engine etc mocked up from when I was building the headers. I've pretty well built the car and now the bits and pieces are being chromed, polished, painted etc, the engine is in the machine shop and I hope to drive it this summer at some point.
[img][/img]

This is what I started with, bits and pieces and not all of it from the same car.
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47Jag



Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Posts: 1480
Location: Bothwell, Scotland

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OJ,

Is that a Chrysler hemi fitted in there? The brake drums look like the came off a Buick, are they?

Art
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oj



Joined: 02 Dec 2016
Posts: 21
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia USA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

47Jag wrote:
OJ,

Is that a Chrysler hemi fitted in there? The brake drums look like the came off a Buick, are they?

Art


You've a good eye Art, the motor is a '57 354ci Hemi, not very powerful but it has presence. Drums are Buick fitted to Ford hubs.
When building this I studied the packaging of early British Sports Cars, I walked a fine line to keep it's identity of an early Salt Lakes car but there is lots of little detail stuff copied from old Jags, Rileys etc.
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Ashley



Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 1426
Location: Near Stroud, Glos

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I recognise the Nash Healey and the Hemi. Very pleased to see you on here, my son builds hotrods for a hobby and designs interiors for them for his business.





I'm looking forward to progress photos.

Ash
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oj



Joined: 02 Dec 2016
Posts: 21
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia USA

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ashley wrote:
I recognise the Nash Healey and the Hemi. Very pleased to see you on here, my son builds hotrods for a hobby and designs interiors for them for his business.





I'm looking forward to progress photos.

Ash


WOW! He is gifted, thats some beautiful workmanship!
The Nash Healey is being a challenge. It was badly crashed, more than once, severe rust and the worst possible workmanship when a previous owner thought he could 'improve' it by swapping in bits and pieces from a 1965 Mustang. It was so poorly done it couldn't have been driven and sat abandoned for decades after that.
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Ashley



Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 1426
Location: Near Stroud, Glos

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd guess the Nash Healey is sufficiently valuable to justify the effort/expenditure or valuable enough for you to recoup your costs and give someone else the "satisfaction" of sorting it.

It's amazing to me that cars we thought of as solid and dependable forty years ago are mostly in a right state now. Experts tell me that Healey and TR chassis are a real problem. Replacement might be the only option.
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2016 12:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ashley wrote:
Experts tell me that Healey and TR chassis are a real problem. Replacement might be the only option.

Healey chassis are thin gauge steel, welded to the floors. a construction when attacked by rust needs considerable work. No wonder why solid Healeys are worth lots of money. A close friend needed years to properly restore his 3000 Mk1 Healey and I was surprised to see the flimsy construction.
A TR chassis is very different, using heavy gauge steel. Which of course can also rust but is much easier to repair or replace. I never think about chassis rust in my unrestored TR4 but surely would have in a similar condition Healey.
_________________
a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment
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Ashley



Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 1426
Location: Near Stroud, Glos

PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2016 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

badhuis wrote:
Ashley wrote:
Experts tell me that Healey and TR chassis are a real problem. Replacement might be the only option.

Healey chassis are thin gauge steel, welded to the floors. a construction when attacked by rust needs considerable work. No wonder why solid Healeys are worth lots of money. A close friend needed years to properly restore his 3000 Mk1 Healey and I was surprised to see the flimsy construction.
A TR chassis is very different, using heavy gauge steel. Which of course can also rust but is much easier to repair or replace. I never think about chassis rust in my unrestored TR4 but surely would have in a similar condition Healey.


I was discussing Healey rust problems with our local TR expert and it was he who said they're getting TR chassis problems as well, but I agree that the Healey is in many ways a flimsy bodge. Complicated cnstruction too.

I bought mine off John Chatham and he assured me it had a good chassis. It does, but a chum looking for Healey saw thirty one cars before giving no up. Some were in Holland, so he really tried. Eventually he found a sound one in Monterey.

With apologies for thread drift - don't want to drive off a new arrival by stealing his thread.
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oj



Joined: 02 Dec 2016
Posts: 21
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia USA

PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

badhuis wrote:
Ashley wrote:
Experts tell me that Healey and TR chassis are a real problem. Replacement might be the only option.

Healey chassis are thin gauge steel, welded to the floors. a construction when attacked by rust needs considerable work. No wonder why solid Healeys are worth lots of money. A close friend needed years to properly restore his 3000 Mk1 Healey and I was surprised to see the flimsy construction.
A TR chassis is very different, using heavy gauge steel. Which of course can also rust but is much easier to repair or replace. I never think about chassis rust in my unrestored TR4 but surely would have in a similar condition Healey.


You are right, this particular Healy has a very thin chassis, more a unibody construction where the body & chassis are joined. I thought about seperating them once I figured out how they built it.
I'm using 16ga steel to replace the rusted sections of the frame, very thin.
Heres a picture of the rusted frame rails, the rust was on the top side and floors completly gone.
The frame was very thin so we used 16ga to match existing and doubled it up, this is the 1st piece we welded in, the 2nd piece overlaps this one and they all get fully welded.

A small section needed to be replaced on the side, we cut it out and added metal inside before welding a new side in place.
Frame fully welded.

This show the welded frame and the inside of the new rocker we had to make.

The inner rocker welded in place and primered.

The new floor pan we made to match existing, we aren't ready to put it in as yet.


I hope I didn't over do it with pics etc, I can get carried away at times.
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colwyn500



Joined: 21 Oct 2012
Posts: 1745
Location: Nairn, Scotland

PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brilliant work and pictures OJ...please keep them coming. There's a lot of us who will lap that sort of thing up....the more detailed the better. Thanks. Laughing
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