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Do these Cobra wheels fit an Austin Healey?

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I dunno. Save yourself some problems and get some new Cobra laced Dayton wheels through Allen Hendrix. https://www.hendrixwirewheel.com/wheels.html Painted or chromed, they'll be less expensive than these and you won't have to battle the original Cobra guys for them as they peel Benjamins off their cash roll. While you're at it, buy some tires from Allen, have him mount them, shave them and balance them and your scuttle shake will disappear (you may have to have your rear brake drums balanced, too). Like divorce, it's expensive because it's worth it.
 
Thanks Rick,
Good prices there for sure. Do you have any great ideas about converting the front drums to discs?
Happy New Year.
Chris...
 
stuntflyr said:
Thanks Rick,
Good prices there for sure. Do you have any great ideas about converting the front drums to discs?
Happy New Year.
Chris...
Click to expand...

Not my area of expertise, but I think the easiest (although not cheapest) is to get a conversion kit from Denis Welch racing: https://www.bighealey.co.uk/category/catalogues/austin-healey/brakes/girling-brakes Otherwise, it's finding a later set of used set of spindles, rotors and calipers from a later car. If I'm wrong, others will jump in and politely beat me into the ground. Send me an air ticket away from this winter hellhole and I'll be happy to figure it out with you. Happy New Year to you, too.
 
Yaaoowww! Oh well, it's looks very nice. Mine is supposedly a 1958, think that kit will fit? Happen to know the TPI knock-off's are on the '58?
 
Here's what I think will work and Steve Gerow could chime in for sure. A pair of BJ8 spindles with matching BJ8 discs. Add some Toyota calipers and appropriate master cylinder/booster and you should be good. See here: https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf...ion-now-complete-photo-essay&highlight=toyota PM Steve. He's been refining this and will know better than me. Can you still send me a ticket to the warm weather?
 
Stuntflyr,
BJ8 spindles are pretty hard to come by. Another option is to use the early 3000 disc brakes and you won't have to change spindles. I just happen to have for sale a set of caliper mounting brackets for an early 3000. Send me a PM if interested.
Richard
 
Thanks Richard,
I'll see if I can round up some early disc brake stuff from a source this week. Will PM soon.
Chris...
 
HealeyRick said:
Here's what I think will work and Steve Gerow could chime in for sure. A pair of BJ8 spindles with matching BJ8 discs. Add some Toyota calipers and appropriate master cylinder/booster and you should be good. See here: https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf...ion-now-complete-photo-essay&highlight=toyota PM Steve. He's been refining this and will know better than me. Can you still send me a ticket to the warm weather?
Click to expand...

Hi Rick,
Happy New Year,
I meant to respond to this and ended up elsewhere. I'm checking out all possibilities and thanks for the link and ideas. Anytime you want to try non-rev travel it's yours, it's 70 degrees here tomorrow and will be probably for some time! Drop a line, great B&B down the hill in Santa Monica Canyon about a two minute walk from the beach. You can have your pick of projects on my MG or we can saw up the old 100 frame.
Chris...
 
Denis Welch has an alternative to the BJ8 spindles:
https://www.bighealey.co.uk/content/bj8-stub-axle-conversion-0

This includes their 3-1/2" on-centers bracket to accept the later BJ8 caliper and thicker disc, or the Toyota caliper per my site:
https://www.pbase.com/stevegerow/

Welch also sells larger BJ8-sized calipers which will work with Richard's brackets. I believe these come from early '70s Triumphs. Moss tech could probably hook you up on these.
A friend installed Welch's kit which includes the brackets, the above calipers and a set of older-style thinner discs.
Moss sells ceramic pads to fit these later calipers, which will give lighter pedal pressure if properly broken in.
 
I bought a booster but did not install it, as the ceramic pads required the same or less pedal effort as the drums. I stayed with the 3/4" Master and the stock rear cylinders.

Have since done a panic stop and the rear got a little squirrely. Would suggest installing a proportioning valve between the 5-way connector and the rear brake pipe.

Or replace the master cyl and rear wheel cylinders with the pre-BJ8 disc brake items.
 
Thanks Steve,
Much to think about and get straight before acting, I'm sure.
I remember a teenaged panic stop in Dad's first S1 E-Type, I stood on the brakes and instinctively made a steering input at the same time but then took it out knowing it was the wrong thing to do. After the long slide backwards towards our famous 8-10 inch near vertical curbs, the car stopped short and was undamaged, I restarted and got out of the traffic unscathed. Well I'd always thought it was all me and I'd must've made the Jag get unsettled with my mishandling. Fast forward 40 years and my brother-in-law swaps ends with his very well sorted SII E-Type and under very similar circumstances except he was going straight as a string and the upset was all about the rears breaking loose because of the brake bias. I went out and practiced on a skid pad (airport ramp, upsetting the airport manager no end) and found it was **** near impossible to modulate the brakes in an attempted threshold braking stop and unless you just got lucky you would lock the rears and directional control was iffy at best. Dave was sure his other 5 E-Types acted the same he just accepted it and told of two or three other instances of the same type. I was pretty sure I suck as a driver, but dave is an accomplished FF racer and he had the same results. My MGB isn't near this weird but it isn't something I'd call great, and now that you've mentioned it on the Healey I'm going to add a proportioning valve for sure! Spirited driving is fun but at my age I don't want to add any more hairy stories of great saves, or worse.
I'm also adding Healey Rick's mature driver option; An exhaust sufficiently loud to satisfy me whatever speed while warning others of my approach.
Happy New Year,
Chris...
 
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