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Chassis rigidity

750hp

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Is anyone aware of whether beaming and torsional testing has been undertaken on a Healey frame?
Similarly, have any racers found it necessary to brace or reinforce any areas to increase frame rigidity?
 
Donald Healey did torsional testing on the Healey frame during design. He had an allowable maximum stress in mind but no one knows what it was. If you can find a copy of the April 2000 Healey Marque Magazine there is an interesting article comparing the torsional stiffness of the original frame to the Jules frame. Of course the Jules is much better. Since there were no tests of dynamic and repetitive loading these tests are probably moot anyway. HealweyRicks references give some good points to check. I'll bet that Donald Healey never thought that these cars would still be on the road after fifty plus years.
 
Hi Craig,

If you are near Melbourne, drop in and talk to the guys at Kilmartin. They can tell you about the modifications they do to increase the stiffness of the chassis. There are about four mods- engine mounts, main chassis rails, rear spring mounts and inner rocker panels which are optioned as upgrades for strength on their repro chassis. They follow closely the 'rally' mods I believe. I chose all the upgrade mods for my chassis as I hope to still be driving my Healey in another 50 years, pending the end of the world and all that.

Andy.
 
Craig,The article they are referring to is called "Sure Foundation- A Comparism
of a Jule Frame to Original Frame by Dave Seib. Dave is a metallurgical engineer.
You can find this article on our web site jule-enterprises.com under articles.
The article will speak for itself. I believe all your questions will be answered.

With regard to the article referred to by Healey Rick,this type of modification does not address the torsional loading of the chassis. It does help to slow down the damage done by the lack of torsional rigidity.

Angle iron repair would offer no resolution to the torsional problems encountered on the Austin Healey chassis. If it had been that simple they would have done it at the factory. I know of no structural theories that support this modification.

The dynamic testing was done by the consumer. The structural failures were apparent early on.Road and Track wrote about the skuttle shake in brand new Healeys. There were different marketing concerns and liability concerns when these cars were built.


Martin Jansen
 
Thanks to you all for your responses. Very interesting reading!
 
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