Engine Swap: 3000 Engine Into a BN1

[healeyneil]

How about this for heresy. A 100 owning pal investigated fitting a BMW 2 litre turbo Diesel engine and box in his car here in UK . I don’t know if they are sold in US but they are good engines ( in BMWs ) About 190 bop, huge torque, very fuel efficient. But a diesel in a Healey? You may be relieved to know it didn’t happen

 

[HealeyRick]

I'm thinking about how it looks. I want an engine in my BN1 that has components that I can recognize and identify.... like carburetors, not a mess of plastic covers, hoses, wires, tubes and other unrecognizable stuff. You can put that Coyote engine in your Healey!

The Ford small-block is the answer. Mine is a 5.0L dressed to look like a HiPo 289 as used in the early Cobras. You can just remove all that fuel injection junk and bolt on a 4 barrel. Looks old school

Speaking of heat control, I have many times mentioned my fondness for Lizard Skin heat and sound deadening. I sprayed the whole cock pit area in my BJ7 and after about 40,000 miles I have never had a hot foot or felt uncomfortable heat while driving. Maybe it would be enough to make that 289 comfortable.

If you follow the link to my build below, you can see how I used a cheap version of Lizard Skin and other insulation to keep the heat out. It works great. Use cast iron manifolds instead of headers and it will keep the heat down more. Sunbeam Tiger manifolds will work but you'll need two pairs of them and they are getting rare. You should read about Kent Lacy's 100 here to see how he handled it: http://bighealey.org/NastyBoy/Issue_8_2016.pdf As mentioned above, standard 289 log manifolds can be flipped side-to-side and will probably allow you to bring the pipes around to the front. If you use manifolds instead of headers you probably won't need to remove as much of the footboxes. You can also have your exhaust system coated to keep the heat down.

 

[HealeyRick]

The 289 Cobras also had some interesting exhaust manifolds that could possibly work. They were cast by Fenton and are being reproduced now:

 

[BoyRacer]

The problem is solved. I recently bought a BN1 that was in a fire, but the engine was spared, that is, only relatively scorched. I'm told it was in good running condition before the fire. It turns over freely and the oil looks good.

 

[Guido36]

The most awesome swap I have seen for a Healey 100 is a Honda FC20 VTEC complete with 6 speed transmission - 240 hp 9000 rpm redline and it is a 4 cylinder.

 

[Healey Nut]

I have a buddy who does hot rods , he put a C2 Corvette motor in a Triumph Herald ……it’s totally insane