Taking Z powered Healey to it's first showing...should be interesting

[Healey Z]

Yea, I understand the timing comment. In Healey's biography he talked about how the US serviceman over in Europe was one of his biggest customers. It is also interesting to note that of the 42,929 AH 3000's cars built, 35,981 (84%) were exported to the USA.

[HS30-H]

The same was true for many other marques and models of sports cars and GTs in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

A very large proportion out of total production ended up in north America and the USA in particular, but we are often told that the high proportion of S30-series Z production that went to the USA is "proof" of the car being "built for the USA", as though it was some kind of exception. It was - in fact - pretty much the norm for that type of vehicle...

[Bruce Palmer]

Take a valve cover to a welder and have a section welded flat where an overhead mill or such could machine the words "Austin Healy Mark Stealth" or "Factory Super Healey Evaluation Model" cut into it. That'll generate more chin music from the Limey know it alls than anything else you can do.

Wouldn't be any stretch to get some sharp writer to come up with background info on this indepth research that went on for years to find the prefect running gear for the Healey and this was what they came up with just before closing the doors ..... Too much, Too late.

I'll never forget a hotrodder in my home town had a T-bucket hotrod that had "1927 Pribble" cast in the ribbed valve covers on the 327' Chevy. Watching guys expound on the Pribble Marque at the drivein was really rich

[Healey Z]

Bruce, I milled the NISSAN off of the valve cover. I think there were few people that would have known that the motor was not original, if I didn't state it on the flier I put on the car. Maybe next time I'll just leave the flier off.

[HS30-H]

That'll generate more chin music from the Limey know it alls than anything else you can do.

"Limey know it alls" like Mr George Herbert Skinner of 154 Kentish Town Road, London NW5, perhaps?

I think Healey Z is more likely to meet 'Yank know nothings', given his location......

[ZCurves]

That's what I am talking about. Nice, Very Nice.

[xs10shl]

I think if you re-routed the plug wires and added an angular extension piece onto the intake manifold to place the SUs at an angle, you'd be well on your way to fooling all but the die-hard enthusiasts. I wonder if some variant of Healey cam cover can be fashioned to work? I like Bruce's idea . . . .

Edited September 13, 2011 by xs10shl

[sblake01]

Why is is necessaary to 'fool' anyone? Besides, if you're 'fooling' someone who doesn't know any better, what's the point?

[xs10shl]

Figure of speech . . . No offense intended. It was meant more as a compliment to the clean install.

Edited September 13, 2011 by xs10shl

[sblake01]

I wasn't offended but I just think that doing things to make it look more like the original setup goes beyond a clean install...JMO.

[Healey Z]

Interesting discussion. When I had the motor on the stand, I painted one side of the motor Datsun blue and the other side Austin Healey green and then walked by it for a week to decide which one I wanted to live with.

I decided to go with the blue because I thought it was a better color, it would go better with the dark green body and my goal has never been to fool anyone and I didn't want to give the impression that I was trying to.

Here is a stock Austin Healey:

And here is the Datsun Healey:

I have to say...the Datsun motor looks better in there!

I have some projects in mind to clean up the engine:

- I'm trying to find another balance tube, grind off the unused stands, seal up all the unused ports and make it nice and smooth (anyone have one they would part with for cheap?)

- re-route the fuel line under the carbs in steel

- install air cleaners

- get rid of the do-hicky on the valve cover and route a hose to the air cleaner

Edited September 14, 2011 by Healey Z

[sblake01]

Well, to me, it's already a clean install and it already looks better then the Healey engine.