During my time at Austin Healey West, I don't think I ever saw what was under the hood of the Princess. Went for a few rides in it, but that was about it. Do you happen to know what year it was?
I had two (2) numbers pop into my head, '64 & '67; it could be neither one, but I do remember that it was "newer" that I expected it to be.
My first experience in the Princess was at the annual west cost Austin-Healey meet (Rendezvous?) in 1978. Ray & Jo-Anne, Doug Rossi/Sharon Flaherty (secretary at AHW), Ray's crazy lawyer friend (Dickie?) from Sacramento & his wife, myself and a date were cruising some backroads around San Rafael on our way to the banquet dinner. We were all dressed up and the theme from "The Sting" was playing in the cassette deck. Heady stuff; we were in an altogether earlier time.
I wound up using the Princess to commute to the shop for about a week, while piecing my '67 MGB back together (26th & Dolores to Shipley St). I got pretty good with its 4-speed column shift & RHD, but what I most loved about it was the lever-operated driver's window__you could chop someone's arm off with that sucker!