Adjusting the brakes and getting all the air out of the hydraulic brake system to produce a “hard†pedal can be particularly difficult when dealing with the all drum systems of 100 and 100/6 Austin Healeys. Here are tips that I have found make the job a little easier. CHECK THE ARC OF THE BRAKE… Continue reading BLEEDING AUSTIN HEALEY 4 WHEEL DRUM BRAKES
Category: The Restoration of Healey #174
At last I’m getting around to restoring my very early Austin Healey 100
IDENTIFYING BN1 GEARBOX GEARS
BN1 GEARBOX GEAR IDENTIFICATION There are essentially 2 types of gear sets for the BN1 gearbox because, in an attempt to improve durability of the gearbox, BMC changed the pressure and helix angles of both the input shaft gear and the 3rd gear (and of course their mating gears on the laygear) in later gearboxes.… Continue reading IDENTIFYING BN1 GEARBOX GEARS
Tire Truing (A Home Solution)
After the concours inspections at Enclave 2015 in Gettysburg, PA I managed to catch the last few minutes of a tech session presented by Ken Beck of K & T Vintage Sports Cars of Allentown, PA on the dreaded “Scuttle Shake†so common to Austin Healeys. The solution proposed in this presentation was to shave… Continue reading Tire Truing (A Home Solution)
Lucas 17L Tar-Top Battery Solution
During the final weeks of the restoration of my early Austin Healey 100 it became apparent that acquisition of original style batteries was going to become a major problem. The only “acceptable†batteries for a concours car are original “Lucas†6 volt 17L “tar-top†batteries. I had acquired a pair of originals with a view… Continue reading Lucas 17L Tar-Top Battery Solution
Smiths and Jaegar Fuel Gauge Solution
After having all the original Smith’s instruments in my latest Austin Healey restoration entirely rebuilt I was rather disappointed to discover that the fuel gauge reading was so erratic that it was difficult to know just how much fuel I had unless I stopped the car and waited for the fuel in the tank to… Continue reading Smiths and Jaegar Fuel Gauge Solution
Low Mileage Austin Healey 100. A Rare Opportunity to Look Back.
Recently Bob Yule of Autofarm Ltd was kind enough to allow me to take a close look at a very early 1954 Austin Healey 100, with only 5300 miles on it from new, that he had in his shop for service. One does not often get the chance to examine such an original car close… Continue reading Low Mileage Austin Healey 100. A Rare Opportunity to Look Back.
Early Austin Healey 100 Steering Wheel Detail.
When I was a little nipper back in Dunedin, New Zealand our family car, the first I remember anyway, was a 1948 Austin 16. I have 4 siblings so journeys in the Austin with 3 in the front and 4 in the back were cozy affairs. There was always a race for which of the… Continue reading Early Austin Healey 100 Steering Wheel Detail.
What is an Oakenstrong Washer?
I received a copy of an SU information bulletin from Earl Kagna during my research into whether or not identification tags were fitted to Austin Healey 100 carburettors. Our local SU guru Blain Hughes was good enough to send me pictures of what he had in the way of ID tags from SUs with the… Continue reading What is an Oakenstrong Washer?
Austin Healey 100 #174 Heatshields
The drivers footwell heatshields on #174 were original and somewhat different from those that I have seen on later cars. These heat shields are installed on all “Big” Healeys to limit the amount of heat that is radiated onto the driver’s footwell from the exhaust manifold and down pipe. The Original Heatshield on the Front… Continue reading Austin Healey 100 #174 Heatshields
Healey #174..Original Dash Paint…A Real Mindbender
In my continuing efforts to accurately archive as many details of this very early Austin Healey 100Â as I can I have spent time gently sanding through the paint on the dash in an attempt to determine its original colour. I want to emphasize that all I am doing here is cataloging what I’m finding… Continue reading Healey #174..Original Dash Paint…A Real Mindbender