Why Would Anyone Butcher a Healey with a V8?

[pan]

G’day Michael, I attended the Goodwood Revival in September 2017. I was really impressed by the way the cars were driven.....hard! The racing of old machinery is well supported by a thriving industry and the attitude is they are racing cars, so let’s race! Walking through the area referred to as “Over the road” where many suppliers display their wares was an eye opener for a bloke from the Antipodes. “A new cylinder block for your 1958 Ferrari, Sir? Step right this way”.

 

[maxwedge5281]

i butchered this one with a chevrolet six cylinder 250 cubic inch engine and a tremec five speed transmission. with modifications it make about 200 chp and with the five speed overdrive transmission cruises the interstate very well. the car maintains the healey appearance with somewhat improved performance...I will admit that the exhaust note is a bit deficient!

 

[vette]

Looks like nice work Max. I'm curious in wondering if the Chevy six had a split manifold and exhaust like the Healey would the exhaust note be similar to the Healey's? I'm also wondering if the Healey had a carburettor and intake manifold like the one you show would the Healey run differently, better or worse?

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Max, what year is the engine? Did you consider a Vortex 6?

 

[maxwedge5281]

the engine is early 80s I believe. when i got the car it had a very tired chev 6 so I bought a rebuilt one with v8 pistons, comp cam, hei distributor and a couple of other mods. the intake would not work on a healey motor as it is specifici to the chev intake ports. the same is true for the exhaust headers...three into 1 times two with dual exhaust. the carburetor is a 390 cfm four barrel. it is a nice combination for my needs. I did not consider a vortex 6.

 

[Randy_Gay]

A Chevy 6 with dual exhaust sounds identical to an Austin engine. An x-pipe helps.

 

[HealeyRick]

Max, what year is the engine? Did you consider a Vortex 6?

There's a Vortex 6 powered Healey running around in upstate NY. Very cool all-aluminum motor with about 300 hp, He had to do some modifications to the inlet manifold to get it to fit under the bonnet. It runs through Healey mufflers and sounds very Healey-like.