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Bad Healey Day

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H

Healey 100

Jedi Warrior
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On my way to Las Cruces for British Car Days, my Healey decided to lose it's left rear wheel -- at 70 mph on I-25. I was able to keep her between the shoulders, but a 360 spin and a shower of sparks in light traffic kept the drama level right up there.

Amazing that there was no body damage to me or the car. Just a flattened backing plate and brake shoe. Quick post mortem shows the Whitworth studs on this early spriral-bevel axle pulled out. I put new lug nuts on this hub a few months ago. I guess I overtightened them, though I sure didn't feel any slippage from those threads. I think I can rework the hub carrier using modern lugs but I'm not sure.

Does anyone have a early BN1 brake shoe (narrow drum)? no repros out there for these. How about a hub carrier and backing plate, as per the pix below?

We are still looking for the wheel and hub. It bounced off into the mesa and is still hiding.

HealeyWheel.jpg

Hub.jpg
 
This what you're looking for? These came off of a Florida car so have some surface rust. If you're interested, I'll bead blast them to see what they really look like.

Marv J
 

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Marv:

Those look perfect!!! I'd be very interested in them, e-mail or call Sullivan.W@att.net or 505 265 8113.

A friend and I went out today and found the wheel. It was 600 ft from where the wheel detached. It had crossed the median, two NB lanes on I-25 and a fence to reach the sagebrush mesa where it finally laid to rest.

I always enjoy seeing you and your fine 100 at most SW british events. Las Cruces always does a great job, I love going there. Too bad to miss it this way, I lost so much time recovering the poor Healey that it was not practical make it after my little problem.

Happy Healeying!
Bill.
 
I thought a lot about what happened to you and yes, you are certainly lucky nothing happened to you and the bonus was that nothing really happened to your car. Karma was with you that day.

That episode also brings me back when I had a TR-6 and the rear hub center nut sheared off while driving and all I was riding on was the brake shoes on the drum.

Not fully realizing what had happened, I did drive it into my garage and actually had the spare part in the car (I was always looking for spare parts).

Took me twenty minutes to replace using a 5/8" wrench. I was lucky in more than one way that day.

My most recent episode with the Healey was one stud sheared off while two others were loose, a blunder probably caused by me, but not sure. This makes me wonder what is going on with the tightening of these nuts or if I now should consider replacing my outer wheel hubs, after seeing how some of the stud openings are more larger than others. Not a pleasant thought how often this seems to be happening.

Paul
 
Bill--

It looks like you have it covered but in any case you can always have a machinist chuck up the brake frame (shoe) into his lathe and narrow them up a bit.

I have to do this on for the front brakes on my Courier: I start with a rear brake frame for a TR3 and take about 1/4" off of the width (1/8" off of each side) so that they will clear the 240Z Alfin brake drums.
 
No extra drums (they come up on E-bay now and then) but just wanted to say hey, that looks like my old car, glad you came out without too much damage,always liked the white top:

000_0844.jpg



Healeyatpp.jpg
 
I have found some modern 7/16 studs with heads on them. A machinist friend is going to try to rework my stripped hub carrier to take them. If this works out, I will document the rework here. I will also use it on the right side of this car.

The problem with those threaded studs is there is no way to inspect them: They are staked at the factory, you can't back them out to check the threads. Any gorilla, even the owner, tightening the lug nuts can unknowingly damage those threads.

I have not heard of an epidemic of rear wheel losses on these early Healeys, but you only need one to ruin your day -- I was very fortunate, if there was a truck passing me at the time it would have been very dicey indeed.

PS a friend and I spent another morning searching and finally found the wheel. It was more than 600 ft from where the car lost it. It had rolled through the median, the NB lanes, and bounced over a substantial right of way fence. All four studs remnants were there, hanging onto the hub.
 
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