hood louvers

[rustynuts]

I was thinking about punching louvers in my'55 100 B1 hood . But am not sure of the sizes and locations. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I just purchased the car from an 86 year old friend who has owned the car for 30 years, he was the second owner, the car came from California. I have always wanted and admired the car for the last 24 tears and finally got it!! Here's a pic the day I brought it home.

 

[Bruce Bowker]

Do you have the tools to do this or were you thinking of having a body shop or custom shop do it? There is someone who does Austin Healey bonnets professionally. He used to advertise in the Healey club magazine.

If you want this to be exact to an M style bonnet best to get it done by a Healey person or you will need to get some really exact measurements.

You can also buy aluminum bonnets with louvers but fit may not be so good.

Bruce

 

[rustynuts]

I met a fellow through my work that has the equipment and expertise to do the job. Just need the measurements if possible.

 

[Michael Oritt]

[ QUOTE ]
I was thinking about punching louvers in my'55 100 B1 hood . But am not sure of the sizes and locations.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you want the job to look right you are going to have to get not only the correct pattern of the louvers on the hood but the pattern for the proper louver itself. There is a fellow named Paul Schwartz whose email is or was Lucashly@comcast.net who advertised in AHCUSA magazine claiming to have the right pattern, etc. Whether he was selling a pattern, a die or a source I do not know, but I can tell you that I have seen cars with incorrect louvers and they look....INCORRECT.

 

[Bruce Bowker]

That was name I was lookimg for. As I undertand it, you send him your bonnet and he does the work. He said it is exact. No idea about the paint. Forgot to ask him about that when I emailed awhile ago.

He also had a short reply to questions asked about Healeys in a magazine. One was that some people who had louvers put on the car wished they had not because of the heat coming out over the windscreen. I NEVER had that problem up or down.

Bruce

 

[Keoke]

Hi RN, There is one on ebay now no info as to authenticity. Additionally, Paul Swartz mentioned by Michael is certified by the concours commitee to instaall proper louvers in the 100 hoods.---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[curtis]

Rustynuts
"Here's a pic the day I brought it home".

Where???
I can't see the attachment
Curtis

 

[JamesWilson]

I opted for a set of "incorrect" louvers.

I have a 3000 and have no wish to try to mimic an "M" type 100, and someone with an earlier model may not particularly wish to do so either.

I've seen cases where the leather strap has worn the paint- one real detraction from having it I'd say. I also find that the gap between the louvers on a strapless hood looks odd to me. I'm more interested in the cooling and while its important that I think they look good I'm much less interested in the correctness of the look.

Does it matter on a car not intended for concours? I think not. This was a common modification for the cars in the 50s and 60s and a variety of louver patterns were used then. Even on the wings for some of the private rally cars.

If it is intended for concours, wouldn't the better advice be to leave it alone????

 

[rustynuts]

here let me try the pic again.

 

[rustynuts]

athanks Keoke but this car is not intended to be of concours quality although it is in amazing condition for any car of its age IF it was from Canada. As an example I removed the drivers seat assembly by simply loosening the nuts under the floor and turning them out by hand. The phillip head screws that hold the tunnel covers on just needed loosening and I removed them by hand. There is a little rust under the seats beneath the floor covering and also in the trunk area at each end of the fuel tank. The mileage shows 22,000 !!!! I plan on going over all the mechanicals since the previous owner was a little laxed in that department. Then it needs a new paint job. Probably red since the interior is red. I bild cars to drive and enjoy. I also live in the country and have about 5 miles of gravel roads to travel on till I hit the black top. Would you care to see some more pics I took ?

 

[JamesWilson]

If it is in untouched original condition you may have a real gem there- one worthy of a proper restoration.

Mine was a literal basket case needing a new chassis and a lot of work and its still not done yet, so the issue of restoring it to a concours standard was well beyond my means or interests. If I'd wanted a concours car I'd have started by looking for something like what you seem to have. But I want a big Healey to modify and blast down a few country roads in rather than show.

You might get a knowledgeable opinion about the car before you start doing anything to alter it. It may be worth more than you think....

 

[rustynuts]

The car is all original. The only thing I can see thats diferent is a wire going fom the the fuel pump, along the floor under the seats and connects to the firewall fuse panel. Thats because the wiring harness thats run along the frame had been crushed and some of the wires are broken. This was a half assed attempt to repair a simple problem if only they had looked under the car. Here's a pic I took today that shows the condition of the trunk area.

 

[rustynuts]

I'm not having much luck with the attachments !!LOL

 

[rustynuts]

Here's another pic. Even the top's rear window is like new. Also note the back end of a 34 chevy window coupe hot rod that I'm building.

 

[anthony7777]

rustynuts,i think they look very cool,but i dont know if they are punched throught the hood,i would think they would assist in cooling the engine,my bj-7 ran hot till i put a 6 bladed fan in,it helped alot,is that why your considering the louvers to help cool the beast?or because they look realy cool?tthanks anthony7777 1963 3000 bj7.

 

[rustynuts]

well I guess the reasons are , I like the looks of louvers, they will help to keep the engine compartment cool since the car will be driven in the hot summer months with temps to the high 30C, I do have a fellow that can punch them and my other cars don't really have any place to put them.

 

[curtis]

I have never had a problem with overheating and it is hot here in S W France.
Just a point it looks like the brake drums are red and they should IMHO be silver.Good luck with the car and thanks for the pics.
Curtis

 

[rustynuts]

Hey Curtis, You're right they are painted red. I can see that I will be on this forum quite often with questions. I will keep all original parts removed and replaced with ones that offer more reliability while still maintaining the original look. I live in central Ontario and have to travel over 30 miles ( one way) to attend any car shows . And driving home in the dark watching the shoulders for deer or moose that are ready to jump out in front of you is not much fun. Just a week ago I was coming home from a cruise nite with my 57 Pontiac. A small car passed me then a deer ran out from the ditch in front of the other guy. He hit it broad side sending front end car parts flying in front of me along with the deer flying in a 20 foot arc as I drove under it. I was lucky !!!! LOL

 

[curtis]

Was the barbecue good?
Curtis
PS. Many years ago in England I was in my Aston Martin DB5
and a deer jumped out in front of me. I hit it and the noise of scraping was dreadful. I thought the radiator had been pushed back;
When I stopped and looked the number plate had dropped down and was dragging along the road.That was all!! Phew.
PPS The deer was not too good

 

[tahoe healey]

I'd put the flame throwers (lights) on a badge bar and scare the buggers away. We have bear problems here. They don't bounce being 1/3 the weight of a Healey. (And only 30 miles would be a pleasure).