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A few more Questions from a new 100 owner

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Pizzi348

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I just got a 100 BN2. Had some questions.

The car seems to drive great. When I was done driving I let the car run as I opened up the garage. When I parked it, coolant/water spewed out ... I'm assuming from an overflow .. is that normal? Plus I noticed the temp quickly get to the max once the engine was off .. stayed around 190 or less when driving.

Also, when I turn the car off, the engine sputters for a second or two (almost sound like a rough start with a lack of gas or something). Any ideas?

Should side curtains be assumed to have with the car or no? This car doesn't and it wasn't a cheap car.

And finally ... how do I pop the hood?

Thanks!

-Matt
 
Matt -

"When I parked it, coolant/water spewed out"

This is normal if you've filled the radiator to the very top. You need about an inch of air at the top of the tank to keep it from overflowing when you switch the car off.

"Plus I noticed the temp quickly get to the max once the engine was off .. stayed around 190 or less when driving"

This is normal.


"Also, when I turn the car off, the engine sputters for a second or two (almost sound like a rough start with a lack of gas or something). Any ideas?"

Well, the BN1/BN2 shouldn't do this if you are running premium. If you are running normal unleaded, it may "run on" a bit. The best thing to do is to put the car in gear, clutch out, switch off the motor, then drop the clutch so that it won't run on. This is normal in the 6cyl healeys, and less so in the 4s, but it does happen especially if it is hot outside and also if your car is a little out of tune.

"Should side curtains be assumed to have with the car or no? This car doesn't and it wasn't a cheap car."

Matt, it is very common to buy a healey with no side curtains, especially on the 100 where the factory side curtains are pretty flimsy, but they do keep most of the rain out I guess.

Nonetheless, side curtains can be bought new from many sources such as www.ahspares.co.uk or www.cape-international.com or www.britishcarspecialists.com . I generally avoid Moss as they are less of a specialist in Healeys, but they are a relatively good outfit... they just can't answer detailed questions about your car.

"And finally ... how do I pop the hood?"

Just to the right hand side under the dash there is a black plastic T handle. Pull it and the bonnet should pop open. There is a safety latch you have to push in at the back of the bonnet to get it open.

Congrats on the new purchase, you will be very very happy.
 
Awesome thanks so much Alan. This car is fun!
 
Welcome to the world of Austin Healey ownership, they are truly rare and special cars, I would agree with all of what Alan said, except maybe about the running on, my 100 did it on premium with rebuilt motor and carbs, especially if run ro very hot temps, as have other British cars I have owned. In addition to killing it with the clutch turning down the idle speed can help the problem, but you don't want it so low that it stalls or runs rough.
 
Congratulations and welcome.... These are exciting cars to work on and drive!

Had a similar issue with run on and it seems much better after I did a few things.

1) Lean out the carbs as best I could
2) Switched to premium gas
3_ Allow the motor to idle for a few minutes below 1,000 rpm's prior to turning it off


Best of luck and I'm sure like many others you will find this forum invaluable.

Michael.
1955 BN1 - 4 years in to a restoration.....
 
Thanks again for the tip guys. I'll see about leaning out the carbs.

On another note ... What is car suppose to sound like? Mine is a very deep booming sound - is that right? I wasn't expecting such an aggressive sound - don't get me wrong, I like it.
 
The AH is supposed to sound like no other British car ever produced, and does. Deep, Throaty, Powerful, Torquey, Sexy, Thrilling, and on, and on!!!! Sounds like yours sounds just right!
 
Ok one more question. I know redline is at about 5k ... how close do you get to that?

Also, what is a good cruising RPM?
 
Pizzi348 said:
Ok one more question. I know redline is at about 5k ... how close do you get to that?

Also, what is a good cruising RPM?
Click to expand...

I never really challenge the engine in my Healeys. First of all, it is not a high-revving engine and you're on the wrong side of the power curve at high RPM anyway, and second, I don't want to break it. I shift more by feel and noise than by looking at the tach, but I'd say that anything much above about 4,000 - maybe 4,500 RPM max - is a waste and an unnecessary strain on the engine.

I have the tall diff gear set and so I cruise comfortably and quickly at around 3 grand.
 
Normal driving.... shift up at 3500 rpm and shift down at 2000 rpm!
 
in 1972 the head of vehicle maintenance for the silicon valley taught a class.
a 1/2 inch of coolant in the tank, cool, just enough to cover the tubes. when the coolant heats it will have room to expand. if you are spitting out coolant the pressure can far exceed the cooling system's rating. the tank is for expansion. air can escape from the tank much faster than liquid. the more coolant in the system the longer it takes to cool down. When i bought HER XKE it ran 240 normal driving the last owner used all antifreeze, no water. antifreeze is not a good coolant, water it a good coolant. the first equipment sent to the Alaskan pipe line over heated in sub zero weather, they had been filled with pure antifreeze. he also said not to use flex-fans at higher rpm the fan flattens to reduce drag if you pulling a hill at slow speed the fan is now blocking the need air flow. in my 50 years of hotrodding i have found the vw rabbit cooling system to be the best. it's used on most euro cars and Chevy trucks now expansion is done in a separate tank. all air is purged from the radiator all fins are used i have a vw rabbit radiator in my undefeated Bugeye it has a CHP ford 5.0 EFI & a 4 speed automatic it doesn't over heat. ford had a "run on" problem they put a solenoid to set the idle to when the key is on, when the key off the solenoid pops down closing the carb's and the motor starves out. retarding the timing will make most engines run hotter ! i set my timing by pulling a hill 1/2 throttle too far advanced with the motor pinging then i retard the distributor until it stops pinging. high octane fuel like propane need about 20 degrees advance to start and finish burning before going out the tail pipe low octane gas burns real fast and need to be sparked near to top dead center. it was a good class...............Jim Whitley
 
jyjim said:
... i have a vw rabbit radiator in my undefeated Bugeye it has a CHP ford 5.0 EFI & a 4 speed automatic it doesn't over heat. ...Jim Whitley
Click to expand...


Hi Jim,
I for one would love to see a few pictures of your bugeye with the 5.0 Ford crammed in. Can you post a few pics for us ?

Thanks,
Ed
:thumbsup:
 
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