Michael’s Blog

Back in the early ‘80s the word on the street was that all little British Cars were doomed. Unleaded gas was coming, the sky was going to fall, and the exhaust valve seats in the Austin, MG and Triumph engines we all love to tinker with, which were made from cast iron, would be destroyed as a result of the lack of lead in fuel.
The theory was that the tetra ethyl lead in leaded fuel provided a lubricant which prevented the hot exhaust valve momentarily welding to the valve seat and then ripping some material from the seat when it next opened.
Like many others in the industry we at Precision Sportscar geared up for a huge influx of head work anticipating that instead of one or 2 MGB valve jobs a month we would be doing one a day; retirement loomed large.
Well…it didn’t happen, in fact the reverse happened; we stopped getting the MGB valve jobs and the sky stayed firmly fixed over our heads.
Some companies who had spent large sums developing replacement cylinder heads for those engines wherein it was impossible to install hardened valve seats were seriously underwhelmed by the sales numbers and budgets were revised.
Precision Sportscar didn’t do one MGB head job from the time that leaded gas was withdrawn from the market and the stock of cylinder heads that I had accumulated sits on the shelf to this day.
So what happened?
Well it turns out that unleaded fuel is actually easier on valve seats that leaded fuel in most engines. In fact leaded fuel causes pitting on cast iron seats and, unless the engine has small valves and is run very hard, the exhaust valve seats will probably last longer on unleaded fuel than on leaded!!! I guess somebody made some money out of the rumor but it wasn’t me.
I had pretty well forgotten all abut the dreaded exhaust seat recession issue until last fall when I was given a snow blower because its owner couldn’t get it to work.

Upon reflection this was the ideal engine to suffer from the dreaded recession. The exhaust valve was about the size of my thumb nail and when in operation it would run flat-out until the snow was cleared.
I popped the valve out, ground a few thou off the tip of the stem reinstalled it, fitted a new head gasket and the snow on my driveway was soon heaped at the side.
So exhaust valve seat recession does happen, but not to Austin Healeys, MGs and Triumphs.
Anyone need a new MGB head? I have several.

3 Comments »

PARTS LISTS FOR

Austin Healey 100 - Austin Healey 100/6 & 3000

Austin Healey Sprite & MG Midget - MGA - MGB 

Triumph TR2 - TR6 - Triumph Spitfire -  Triumph TR7

Please read the fine print below.

The parts in these lists are all available at the time of posting, however as you will see the quantities are typically very small and they are sold on a first come first served basis.

If it isn’t on the list, I probably don’t have it although it may be worth looking through the list of unprocessed used parts in the link at the bottom of this post.
The inventory is arranged by section and I will be working my way through these sections over the next few months and will post the lists as the work is completed.

Working alone each item takes about 4 minutes on average to dust off, check, price and restock; with over 6000 part numbers I’m looking at about 400 hours of work. I start going cross eyed if I do more than 4 or so hours a day and I’m only able to do this in my spare time so it is going to take a while, be patient.
I will post a message on the Healey newsgroup as each list is posted

Targa is over for another year. It takes a while to come back to earth after the event and this year was no exception.  2008 was my 5th year of Targa competition and certainly one of the better ones. With AHX12 now in its 4th year in the event I believe we have sorted out most of the bugs and turned it into a very competitive Targa car and Michael Oritt, my neophyte co-driver in 2007, really came into his own and started feeding me accurate and timely instructions throughout the grueling 5 day event.
There is no question that Blair Harber’s vision for AHX12 seems to be coming to fruition. When he and I competed in 2003 and 2004 the car performed very well and proved to be quite reliable but after a 2 year hiatus Michael and I found last year that the intensity of the competition had risen to a new level and the 6th overall position that Blair and I achieved in 2003 was not going to be easy to repeat.

As can be read in my earlier posts I made some substantial improvements to the rear axle casing on “12” this year to overcome the weaknesses revealed in our minor off road excursion in 2007. There is no question that designing and installing the 4 link system with the Watt’s linkage was a good decision, but minor bugs in the new design proved to be the weak link in our campaign last year and, unfortunately, again this year.

In 2008 Targa reconfirmed its reputation as “The Ironman of Motorsport” with Eastern Newfoundland’s rough and twisting roads taking the usual toll of competitors. The results show that of the 48 starters in the Targa Class, 3 cars rolled,  4 scratched with mechanical problems and one went “off road”, which is never a good thing in Newfoundland because the locals store their rocks in the roadside ditches.

With Michael’s vastly improved navigating skills we managed to keep AHX12 on the black stuff throughout the entire event and only went off course once while trying to negotiate an extremely complex intersection which was very poorly illustrated in the route book.

Unfortunately after securing a solid 1st place over the first twelve stages “12” met her match in the form of a huge pothole on the extremely rough Glenwood Stage on day two.

As soon as we started this penultimate stage of the day things started to go “pear shaped”. The road was so rough that in my efforts to drive around rather than over the holes and bumps I found that we were starting to run behind our required average speed. As we rounded the last sweeping right curve of the stage we were about 0.1 KPH over the required average so I deliberately took a wide line with a late apex in order to keep up our average and hopefully “clean” the stage. Great idea, poor execution. So intent was I on looking ahead to get the best speed through the turn that I  missed seeing the huge crater on the left side of my line until the very last second and, with the car on the limit of the adhesion of the Avon tires, we just didn’t have the grip to jog right and avoid it. You can view Keith Tanner’s video of the stage taken from his Miata here to see just how rough the stage was.

“12″ hit the hole with a tremendous crash and immediately the car slewed right, almost spinning. The impact on the already fully compressed left rear suspension was just too much for the lower left suspension link and the head of its rod end parted from the thread. This resulted in all the forces being transferred to the upper right link and it too collapsed. With nothing to stop the differential from rotating under braking or acceleration we weaved down the last 200 meter straight, virtually out of control, to cross the finish 11 seconds late.

As it turned out only one car cleaned the stage and if we had made it we would have retained first position with a one second lead over the eventual winner.

When we jacked the car up on the side of the road a few yards from the finish I realized that we were very lucky to have finished the stage at all as the only thing stopping the entire differential assembly from rotating was the coilovers!
A quick radio call summoned our support crew with the Carcamel.  Being able to load the Healey onto the Camel and, against all the rules, quickly transport it to the start of the next stage saved the day. As we whistled down the Trans Canada Highway the support crew and I formulated a plan.
Upon our arrival at the start of the next stage in Gander we unloaded the car and used the tie down straps from the transporter to lash the rear axle to the frame so that we could at least try to complete the 7 kilometer stage within the trophy time.
Perhaps an explanation of “trophy time” required. The first goal of all the Targa crews competing is to complete every stage of the event in “trophy time” which is 35% longer than the target or “base time” for the stage. One makes target time for an overall win but you only have to make trophy time to get the coveted Targa Plate.
With the precarious condition of the car we were granted permission to start the stage as last car. This removed the necessity for me to watch for cars catching us as we weaved and wobbled a wounded “12” through the stage and meant that we wouldn’t hold anyone up..
As luck would have it the start of the stage was delayed which resulted in the last cars starting in the dark which in turn resulted in the stage being downgraded to condition 2 and our just making our trophy time.

We limped back to the service point at the Gander Arena to see what could be done to repair the rear suspension. This was achieved with the help of the good people from the Gander Arena and in particular Andy Gillingham who took our 2 broken rod ends, and a third which was cracked, and welded them back together to get us through the event.

Thanks again Andy and the team at the arena; that’s 2 years in succession that you have saved our bacon.
Although we were still in the running for our Targa Plate the 11 seconds in Glenwood and then the 2 minutes 45 seconds in Gander had dropped us back to 32nd place overall. This was starting to look like a repeat of 2007!!

The rest of the event was relatively uneventful for us, but some entrants had their moments!!

With dogged determination and the usual attrition we managed to work our way back up to 23rd by the end of day three,  15th by the end of day 4 and then finished in 9th place overall just ahead of Frank Sprongl 3 time North American and five time Canadian Rally Champion in an awesome 1983 factory prepared Audi Quatro Coupe.

When we got back home I pulled the rear suspension apart to see if I could determine what went wrong. It didn’t take too long to figure it out. The problem was my choice of parts because, in my efforts to economize, I opted for less expensive rod ends and careful examination of them and their specifications revealed that their ultimate tensile strength was only around 7000 lbs, plenty for normal driving but when subjected to the loads that the Glenwood pothole provided they just couldn’t take it.

I have changed them all and “12” now sports 8 new QA1 XMR rod ends good for over 16,000 lbs. definitely a case of “racing improves the breed”.

ROLL ON 2009….

No Comments »

There are many definitions of “handicapping” but Wikipedia states:
Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning.

I’m sure with the best of intentions the organizers of The Targa Newfoundland have, for the last 7 years, used a system of “Targa Factors” or handicaps in an effort to give every entrant a chance of winning the coveted Christos Targa Award, which is presented to the overall winner

Obviously in the early days of the event assigning appropriate handicaps, or for that matter even establishing classes, was by necessity a very “hit and miss” exercise. I understand that the organizers based their system on that in use in Targa Tasmania and applied “local content” as required but exactly how these factors are calculated is something of a mystery.

It seems to me, that with seven events now completed sufficient data has been accumulated to assign handicaps based upon actual performances and by so doing the real aim of a handicapping system could be achieved.

There are several sports which use handicapping but the best known is golf wherein handicaps are assigned by calculating an individual competitors playing ability from his recent history of rounds with the intention of giving every competitor an equal chance of winning. I thought I would try to apply this method of handicapping to Targa.
The results are very interesting and go a long way toward explaining why there have only ever been three Modern Division cars in the top three placings at Targa Newfoundland in seven years of competition.

The method that I used to establish the “results based” handicap is explained below***.

In the five days of competition the fastest cars take around 180 minutes to traverse all the stages and the following list shows the difference between the two handicapping systems expressed in minutes in 180 minutes.

Just to be clear this list shows the disadvantage that the current system applies to each class of car.

Class 3 Standard Large Capacity 0.0 minutes

Class 4 Modified Large Capacity 3.3 minutes

Class 6 Modified Large Capacity 5.8 minutes

Class 4 Modified Small Capacity 6.7 minutes

Class 9 Standard large Capacity 7.2 minutes

Calss 3 Modified Small Capacity 8.6 minutes

Class 8 Modified Large Capacity 11.0 minutes

Class 5 Modified Large Capacity 11.0 minutes

Class 7 Standard Large Capacity 11.3 minutes

Class 9 Standard Small Capacity 11.6 minutes

Class 5 Modified small Capacity 12.1 minutes

Class 5 Standard large Capacity 12.1 minutes

Class 2 Standard large Capacity 12.1 minutes

Class 9 Modified Large Capacity 13.9 minutes

Class 4 Standard Large Capacity 14.1 minutes

Class 8 Standard large Capacity 14.8 minutes

Class 2 Modified Small Capacity 16.1 minutes

Class 1 Unlimited 16.5 minutes

Class 5 Standard Small Capacity 16.7 minutes

Class 7 Modified Small Capacity 17.3 minutes

Class 2 Modified Large Capacity 22.2 minutes

Class 7 Modified Large Capacity 28.7 minutes

Class 8 modified Small Capacity 37.4 minutes

Class 9 Modified Small Capacity 44.6 minutes

Class 6 Standard Small Capacity 47.0 minutes

As I mentioned above, the results are very interesting.

For example, under the current Targa Factor system, the minimum Modern Class disadvantage is 7 minutes and 12 seconds  when compared to a Class 3 Standard Large Capacity car. It is hardly surprising that in seven years of competition Modern Class cars have only ever placed 2nd once and 3rd twice.

*** Methodology

In my study I have used stages for 2005, 06, 07, and 08 where 10 or less competing cars “cleaned” the stage to minimize situations where a competing team “backs off” to save their car when they have plenty of time in hand.

From those stages I have taken the fastest car in each of the competing classes and compared its time to that of the fastest car through the stage. By dividing the competitor’s time by that of the fastest car I was able to establish a factor for each car for each of these stages.

Once all these factors were calculated I eliminated the fastest (smallest factor numerically) and the 3 slowest (largest factors numerically) for each car (to eradicate miracles and “screw-up’s’) and then averaged the remaining factors.

Using this method establishes a factor for each class within which there has been a competitor since 2005 and from this a true “Results Based” handicap system can be developed.

Targa Newfoundland Forum discussion on this subject can be found here:

3 Comments »

I hesitate to say this, but I think the time has come where I have to admit that I have more projects than I’m ever going to finish and more cars than I’m ever going to drive. I always dreamed of having a decent sized shop at home where I would be able to work away on these projects and get them restored to the condition I wanted but circumstances have changed as, to an extent, have my interests. So, after some sleepless nights thinking about it I have decided to find new homes for some of my cars.
Over the last few years I have whittled things down to more manageable proportions; there was a time when I had about 12 projects either awaiting work or on the go but now some have been finished and some have been sold so that number has dwindled to five.
Now that I have made that decision I have to wrestle with which cars have to go.
First there are the two minis which have been in indoor heated storage for years. These two are the last of the 22 minis that I imported from New Zealand in the early days of this millennium.

This picture is proof positive that 8 minis will fit into one 40′ shipping container. You have to remove the wheels and build a fairly substantial trestle to support the top layer, but it can be done.

The whole exercise was prompted by the numerous inquiries that I received from customers of Precision Sportscar who were looking for minis to restore. Because minis in their day were the cheapest cars available in Canada they were all driven in the winter and as a result rotted away to the point where they were well beyond economical or safe repair. On the other hand however, cars in New Zealand never see salt and therefore rust is virtually unknown.
The two I have left are ones for which I had plans. One is an 1971 Mini Estate. I bought this one in Christchurch and it had been a competitor in a local fun event named the “Undie 500″.

These are somewhat rare in North America and my intention was to restore it as a Mini Traveller, the model which is affectionately known as a “Woody” like the one in this picture.

I don’t own this one sorry to say. 

The problem with the original Mini Woodies is the wood. This timber, which is purely decorative, has a tendency to absorb water and rust the metal beneath it. The Estate is a Woody without the wood and the wood, which apparently is ash, is available as a kit.  A great project that I’m just not going to get to.
The other mini is a regular 1978 sedan completely solid with a few minor battle scars but again a great starting point for an easy, inexpensive and fun restoration project.

Next on my list is my 1970 MGBGT. I always loved the BGT as a model; it was a brilliant design for its day and I have owned this one since 1975. That’s 33 years!! I’m the second owner and I haven’t used the car since about 1982 which is long before digital cameras so I don’t even have a picture of it but here is a site that describes the model. The car started life as a right hand drive with wire wheels and overdrive and was imported into Canada by a chap who immigrated from the UK. He traded it in on a Jaguar XJ6 at our local British Leyland dealer and I remember him calling me not long after I had bought it, when he was suffering from a bout of sellers remorse, and asked if he could buy it back. I converted it to left hand drive using all the correct components and drove it for several summers before I bought my first Healey.. just never seemed to get back to it.
Reluctantly I think my Bugeye Sprite race car has to go as well.

The Bugeye Racer at Mosport in the mid 80s

This is a photo of Tom Haubert racing it at Mosport with a special fiberglass nose in the  ’70s.

I’m also considering selling my 1992 Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4. This model was never imported into Canada but this one has been legally imported and licensed.

I have really enjoyed this VR4 but Winter Storage Space has become a problem.

This has been my occasional summer driver for the last few years and, unlike most VR4s, is in remarkable original condition. From the time I read the first Road and Track road test of the VR4 I decided that one day I was going to get one for myself. This 320 BHP, twin turbo, intercooled, all wheel steering, all wheel drive grand touring coupe was, at the time, the fastest road car that they had ever run through their slalom test course and even today its performance is impressive. It now has over 100K miles on it and is fast, comfortable and reliable

How much you ask. Well I’m open to reasonable offers but they would have to be close to these. The $us prices were the the equivalent at the time of writing but should be taken a a guide only.

Mini Estate : $CDN8500 ($US6800)

Mini Sedan : $CDN 4800 ($US3840)

MGBGT : $CDN7500 ($US6000)

Bugeye Racer : $CDN11500 ($US9200)

Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4 $CDN16500 ($US13200)

If you are interested in any of these please contact me.mailto:magicareprotect-usedparts@yahoo.ca

No Comments »

When we were in Victoria in March 2008 we stayed with long time friends Steve and Helen Pike in Bacchus Marsh. Steve has a Healey shop which specializes in Healeys with a particular emphasis on 100Ss!!!

He has restored many Healeys and the quality of the work he produces is second to none.

While we were there Steve showed me a prototype of the reproduction factory hardtop which he is now producing. I felt that it looked very good and Steve says that the production versions will look even better as they have done some more finishing on the mould since this prototype was produced.

Steve can be contacted at mclassic@bacchusmarsh.net.au

 Here are some detail pictures. I will look for some more and add them when I find them.

1 Comment »

Does anyone recognize this heater valve. I have several of these, acquired with a pile of Smith’s stuff  bought when they closed down their Toronto operation. They are brand new and I am loath to throw them out.

They look vaguely familar to me but I just cannot remember what car I’ve seen them on. Unfortunately there is no part number on them anywhere and the lettering on the body reads:”USE SPANNER AS NEAR THREAD AS POSSIBLE”.

No Comments »

So Judy and I have decided that the time has come to sell the old homestead and move to the sticks. We have pretty well had it with the traffic and the way our neighborhood is changing. We are only about 150 meters from Yonge St in the middle of North York which is one of the suburbs of Toronto.

I just went out to the street and took these two photos of the signs on the first buildings I came upon.

I must say I have a better understanding of why the French in Quebec have their “French Only” sign law although, I vehemently disagree with that. However…I digress….

As we have only ever owned one house and therefore never sold a house this is all a new experience.

The GMDS has commanded that the house has to be emptied out and all the junk disposed of so the house can be “staged” for sale. Of course by “all the junk” she really means all my stuff. Now I admit I do have a tendency to be a little bit of a “pack rat” but hey, when someone needs something I’ve probably got several, in various colours, in fact several in each colour but, if you need it,  …….. I’ve got it.

This of course means I have to sort through all my “stuff” and I have a lot of pretty neat stuff.

For example I’ve got a little cannon that someone gave me which is actually a pencil sharpener; now I don’t actually use pencils any more but ….. well….it just to good to throw out.

I’ve got a tin whistle,

I always wanted to learn to play the tin whistle, but ….well…..frankly I’ve got a tin ear and it doesn’t work with the tin whistle I guess. 

I’ve got some old tobacco tins,

and a piece of Cherub MkIV log

, I’ll bet you don’t even know what a Cherub MkIV Log is… well you can find out here: I’ve got another piece of the log as well but I’m not quite sure where that is. My Dad was the commander of some mine sweepers around New Zealand during WWII and he scored this log when a Panamanian freighter tried to cut across their bows out in the Hauraki Gulf. I can’t throw that out!!

I’ve got a pivot pin from the clutch in AHX12, my good friend Ian mounted it on a block of wood and presented it to me because this little part cost us a class win on the 2003 Targa Newfoundland.

I’ve got a “KING OF THE ROAD” car lamp, in fact I have 2 of those

and there is my Durant hub cap,

and that phone jack adaptor that I meant to take to New Zealand this winter to give to my brother in law Ian who lives in Abingdon U.K. because I’m pretty sure it fits a U.K. phone jack…he must need it.

Did I mention the genuine NOS Wipac reverse lamp from a Mini

or the wooden Yogi I bought on the beach for less than 1 cent on my first trip to Bali,

and then there is the spare battery for my first video camera.

The camera is long gone so I suppose the battery should go too but …you see….. you aren’t meant to put them in the garbage so I haven’t quite figured out what you are meant to do with them.

And then of course there are the heater valves. ….. Oh yes; the heater valves…

These are genuine Smiths heater valves, I have about 3 dozen of them……but I’m not actually sure what they fit.

Fortunately I found a solution on where else…. eBay …yes, I found and bought an old Smiths catalogue which, I should mention, is so big it almost takes up more room than the heater valves, so that I can identify the heater valves, then sell them on eBay, and then sell the catalogue and be RICH!!!!

Well, one of the types of heater valves was in the catalogue and I actually sold the one I had; another was in there as well but, it only fits a Commer Cob II, if you don’t know what that is don’t worry, you aren’t alone, and there aren’t a lot of people out there restoring Commer Cobs, let alone the Mk II version which, by the way, uses a different heater valve from the MkI and the MkIII. Mind you I did find a picture of a Commer Cob in my Dumpty Book of Motors which is on my bookcase.Whoooo …37 HP…I think I know why no one is restoring one!!!

Unfortunately the other types of heater valves, each of which I have about 30 weren’t in the book!!

Now all this s