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Ashley
Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 1426 Location: Near Stroud, Glos
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 6:00 pm Post subject: Austin Healey 3000 MK IIa |
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I've had my Healey for three or four years now and spent a fortune getting it right. It's looks excellent and has a lovely smooth engine in it that pulls from tick over in top even on steep hills.
It's a BJ7 which doesn't go as well as a BJ8 and I had the chance to buy a rebuilt BJ8 engine in Los Angeles. I'm guessing it got left at an engine shop because the owner found it was cheaper to stick a V8 in his car. Therefore I bought it and had it shipped home. I stripped it out and found it mostly in really good condition and nicely bored and ground, balanced etc. Only issues was the head, so I had it gas flowed by www.spamspeed.com who's local and has a rolling road where we can prove his work.
I got it all back together last week and am very pleased with how it looks.
This week I've summed up the courage to remove the old and perfectly good engine to replace it with my carefully blue printed and as new one. It's easy enough to get the old one out but quite a fiddle to get the new one in, but we managed it an hour or so ago. I'm feeling quite please now and praying that it runs as well as ts predecessor, but with more power.
Here is the old one coming out.
And the new one in.
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Rick Site Admin
Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22446 Location: UK
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Ashley
Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 1426 Location: Near Stroud, Glos
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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Won't be long Rick, I've got a friend drilling out and replacing exhaust manifold studs and as soon as I have them back, I can finish reassembly.
The carburettors are almost ready.
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JC T ONE
Joined: 30 Oct 2008 Posts: 1139 Location: Denmark
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 3:26 am Post subject: |
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Nice Work _________________ http://www.eurods.eu/wp/index.html |
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bob2
Joined: 06 Dec 2007 Posts: 1727 Location: Malta
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:10 am Post subject: |
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Nice job!!
Is that inlet chromed or is it polished alloy cause the shine is great! |
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Ashley
Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 1426 Location: Near Stroud, Glos
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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bob2 wrote: | Nice job!!
Is that inlet chromed or is it polished alloy cause the shine is great! |
It's polished by an excellent nearby polisher.
Only BMC would use a lovely bit of alloy like that and paint it a deadly metallic green, so I got it polished and fitted a rocker cover from a Vanden Plas 3 litre. |
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47Jag
Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 1480 Location: Bothwell, Scotland
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 11:48 am Post subject: |
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Ashley,
Quote: | Only BMC would use a lovely bit of alloy like that and paint it a deadly metallic green, |
Surly the original heads on the big Healeys were cast iron and yours is an upgrade.
Art |
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peter scott
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7118 Location: Edinburgh
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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47Jag wrote: |
Surly the original heads on the big Healeys were cast iron
Art |
Heads yes, manifolds?? _________________ http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon |
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Ashley
Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 1426 Location: Near Stroud, Glos
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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peter scott wrote: | 47Jag wrote: |
Surly the original heads on the big Healeys were cast iron
Art |
Heads yes, manifolds?? |
As the picture of the carbs shows the inlet manifold is very nice cast aluminium that BMC painted their metallic green. |
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peter scott
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7118 Location: Edinburgh
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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Ashley,
How do you polish such an item with all its inaccessible corners?
Peter _________________ http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon |
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Ashley
Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 1426 Location: Near Stroud, Glos
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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Very easily! There's a very nice old chap down the road from me who's about as good a polisher as I've found. It's the sort of job that needs a professional and specialist equipment.
Only trouble with all this is that I now have a perfectly good spare Healey engine and have been banned by my son from buying a late fifties Wolesley 6/90 and hotting it up. |
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