Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Ripsnort on September 26, 2002, 11:36:34 AM
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Small world, good friend of mine in Wisconsin wrote me when discussing Austin Healy's:
"I know them well, this my father's car for about 10 years. (Ripsnort note: Obviously the pic was not taken in Wisconsin, but on a road trip out in Montana) I think it's available for sale today by the person who bought it from him. Won some national rally awards. The, de facto, number 1 restorer of Healeys is right here in Wisconsin. Fourintune garages. Internationally known. My father is in Italy with him now. BTW, car drives like a truck anywhere but on open roads.
http://www.fourintune.com/
(http://home.wi.rr.com/bmw330cic/Cars_files/image009.jpg)
Lazs,
Do you know this guy at the website?
Incidently, his dad drives a bimmer now...better handling ;)
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...drop a Ford 286 in that and you would have a car. ;)
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Originally posted by Kieran
...drop a Ford 286 in that and you would have a car. ;)
Not sure what a 286 is (inline 6?) but the Ford 289 was the most dependable, reliable engine I ever owned in a '64 Falcon convertible, it had 249,000 miles on it when I pulled it out in favor of a 302 Boss that we dropped into it(hearst inline shifter kit, was a very quick little car in high school)
Personally, I'm into "handling" at this stage in my life rather than HP.
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Oops, make that 289....
...and I was talking about the "Bimmer". ;)
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Originally posted by Kieran
Oops, make that 289....
...and I was talking about the "Bimmer". ;)
BMW M54 Inline 6
448 lbs.
HP 225
Gas milege 21 city, 29 highway
Ford 289
460 lbs.
HP 180
Gas milege 12 city, 16 highway
No thanks Kieren, I wouldn't want to slow the car down! ;)
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It isn't a car 'less it has a 'mericun built engine in it. ;)
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rip... believe it or not there are a lot of healeys out there.. I don't know every one. The modified group that I belong to has hundreds of V8 healeys for instance.
Also... 347 ford (same as 289 with different bore and stroke) can produce 400- 800 hp quite easily. I prefer small block chevies tho.. mine is a 327. Most V8 healeys will run low 12 sec 1/4 miles. 0-60 in the low 4 sec range. most have suspension mods that make them handle.... well. (if comfort is not high on your list) As for milage? Who cares? I mean, in my car, you are beat to death long before you have to fill the tank more than once.
also... I prefer healey roadsters.. the car shown is a 60's convertible. Mine is a 2 seat roadster with fold down windshield.
How do you make a photo smaller, in kb, using acdsee free version? I have photos but they are large.
If all I wanted to do was beat bimmers in relative comfort then I would just go fire up the old '69 el Camino.
lazs
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Had one of those, Lazs. 351 Cleveland was a heck of a motor.
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Lazs, using acdsee:
Select the image in the browser, open it in the editor (CTRL e) .
When in the editor, go to the image tab and hit "resize" to make it smaller.
Then, you click on "save as", select JPG as filetype, click on the option pannel there and try various levels of compression.
Voila.
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I always wanted an Austin Healey, because they have my real life initials on the hubcaps :)
What's this about V8 Healeys? Which V8? In the 1970s in Britain, there was a car called the Rover 3.5 litre (P5) and also the Rover 3500, both of which used the same 3500cc V8 engine. There was also a Triumph Stag - a sleek looking car, but very unreliable. It had a 3 litre V8. Unfortunately, there was a design flaw such that the cylinder heads got inadequate cooling, causing warping of the heads. Many Stag owners replaced the original engine with the Rover 3500 unit. Perhaps that's the one in the Healey?
The 3 litre straight six in the Healey was, I believe, a souped up version of the engine used in the Austin Westminster and the Wolesley 6/110 - working from memory here.
The only British V8s I can think of besides those I've mentioned are the Rolls Royce, current Jaguar models, Aston Martin, and the Daimler SP250 (also known as the "Dart". I'll attach a picture of a Dart. Its 2.5 litre V8 engine was also used in the Daimler-Jaguar, a saloon (sedan) car with bodywork identical to the Jaguar Mk2. My father had a Daimler-Jag in 1967. I loved it! My mum hated it because the boot (trunk) was too small, and we needed a roof rack whenever we went on holiday (vacation).
Lazs - take a look at this Dart. I think it's your sort of car. The bodywork is all glass fibre. One problem that gave rise to was crazing of the paintwork on the bonnet (hood) because of heat from the engine. :)
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beetle... the v8 is a conversion. 100 4's came with..... 4 cylinder engines. I put the V8 in. It also has a muncie 4 speed and narrowed chevy rear with GM wiring harness. Even the guages are American. The "rover" v8 is nothing but a 215" 1964 buick/oldsmobile engine. It is an all alluminum ohv engine of mediocre performance. Several guys I know put em in Healeys and MGB's. The dart is a hidious looking car. I have seen em for sale on ebay for $3K. The U.S. has a long history of engine swaps. It is very commn here. British drivetrains and electrical are (to say the very least) not thought highly of here but a lot of the limey bodywork is nice.
kieren.. the cleavland is not a small block like the 289. The 260 289 302 are all the same. A 347 is a stroked 302 and very common.
lazs
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I'm sure I've posted this before, but it's a great page, so I'll post it again.
http://britishv8.org/swaps/examples.htm
-Sikboy
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sick... where it says "at last austin healeys with v8's lots of em" (to paraphrase) that is the group I belong to. My car is on that site.
lazs
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Originally posted by beet1e
The only British V8s I can think of besides those I've mentioned are the Rolls Royce, current Jaguar models, Aston Martin, and the Daimler SP250 (also known as the "Dart". I'll attach a picture of a Dart. Its 2.5 litre V8 engine was also used in the Daimler-Jaguar, a saloon (sedan) car with bodywork identical to the Jaguar Mk2.
don't forget the Jensen Interceptor
(http://www.jfgratton.com/midget/images/P8200059.JPG)
That's cool Laz, I've checked out the Healey site before. I really dig on the big healeys.
-Sikboy
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Lazs - that's the one (Rover 3500). I remember it being referred to as the Rover/Buick V8.
I'm glad you mentioned the MGB. I never heard about V8s being put in those, although there was a car known as the MGC, which I believe had the same engine as your Healey. In the mid seventies, they brought out a MGBV8 - again, the Rover 3500 engine in an MG, but that was OEM or "stock", as you guys call it. ;)
Sikboy, I have not forgotten the Jensen Interceptor, and even the Jensen FF. But they were powered by an American V8, a Chrysler unit of around 7 litres - 428 cu in? But yes, you are right. Another one I thought of was the old Sunbeam Alpine.
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Why anyone would take a small car that already drives like a truck, and slap even more weight in it with a big V8, is beyond me..other than just to race a 1/4 mile....
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Originally posted by Ripsnort
Why anyone would take a small car that already drives like a truck, and slap even more weight in it with a big V8, is beyond me..other than just to race a 1/4 mile....
Actually Rip the stock AH 3000 block (a straight 6) weighed over 600 pounds. (I had a 63 AH 3000 from 1972 until 1981.)
The block was copied from the old Chevy 235 straight six, had SU carburetors and produced only 130 BHP but a ton of torque. 4 speed with electronic overdrive produced a top speed of bout 120, but over 110 the front end would shake pretty bad.
Driving it fast around a turn was an adventure because the front end was so heavy, so to go fast you had to control your drift and heel- toe the throttle and the brake like a dirt track car.
I loved my AH. It wasn't as fast as the 240Zs or the Triumph TR-6, but it was a beautiful car and had I kept it my 700 dollar investment in 1972 would be worth 27k today.
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Interesting Elf, thanks for the tidbit..600lbs! Whew thats alot of banana's by todays standards..
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Which one, Lazs? You mean *your* car, or one like your car?
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kieran... mine is number 108 on the site. When you click on the picture There is a short video my kid took of me testing the new traction bars. If you wondered what a solid lifter high compression motor with 25 degrees initial advance sounds like then check it out.
rip.. the small block and muncie weighs about 40lbs less than the stock healey units. adding dependable (double to quadruple the amount) horsepower and torque with no gain in weight or complexity is allways a good thing. in my case I quadrupled the horsepower for less weight and increased dependability and handling. seemed like an ok idea to me. When you built your BMW what things did you consider?
beetle the jensens were 383 ci and 440 ci. mopar motors. the cars weighed between 3500 and 4000 lbs so there was no real advantage weight wise over a large American sedan. They are not that expensive to buy now but will probly go up.
lazs
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"When you built your BMW what things did you consider?"
Lessee, cost, fuel efficiency, enough room for the whole family...ummmm, tracking ability, suspension, certainly not "straight line" performance. ;)
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Oooh... I had a Fiat Spider 1600 I did in that color combo! Not anywhere near as cool a car as that one though. As you know, FIAT stands for Fix It Again, Tony.
I'd take that over a Bimmer any day of the week. ;)
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Originally posted by Kieran
Oooh... I had a Fiat Spider 1600 I did in that color combo! Not anywhere near as cool a car as that one though. As you know, FIAT stands for Fix It Again, Tony.
I'd take that over a Bimmer any day of the week. ;)
Yeah yeah yeah, everyone says that until they hit the first corner ;) Seriously, two different cars for two different purposes...you want straight line speed or something you can out manuever someone with? Kinda like our aircraft in AH ;)
Sweet looking ride Laz, too bad you don't have the same to say about anyone elses preferences ;)
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rip... both of my cars corner quite well. Certainly for real world driving the power and torque of both is useful. I have no trouble pulling away from cars that may or may not have a slight edge in cornering on twisty real world roads. Haven't you ever wished for a little more power on that uphill straight?
And... I don't care if you like my car or not. I didn't build it for you. I put a lot of hours into it's construction but none were for your approval. I certainly think that all the time you spent building your car has made you a little touchy. All those long nights with a torch and welder and all that figuring out steering geomety and stuff and then to have someone like me tell you you coulda done it better? Still... ya gotta admit that an all aluminum small block of around 450hp and richmond 6 speed would wake that car of yours up.
Maybe this winter I will come up and help you drop one in.
lazs
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Rip, you have to realize I am just jerking your chain. I do confess, the AC cries "open road fun" more than your stock 4-door BMW. Bimmers scream "soccer mom" to me. ;)
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Originally posted by Ripsnort
Yeah yeah yeah, everyone says that until they hit the first corner ;) Seriously, two different cars for two different purposes...you want straight line speed or something you can out manuever someone with? Kinda like our aircraft in AH ;)
Sweet looking ride Laz, too bad you don't have the same to say about anyone elses preferences ;)
this post need more disengenuous ;) 's in it.
;)
-Sikboy
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Lazs, e-mail me your phone number. I'll be through Dixon next week, would like to check out the Healey. Saw the video and photos, it looks great.