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Engineering of "Big" healeys compared to "small" healeys

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Leo_Speichinger

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After todays battle with the front fender on my BJ8 to change the fresh air hose I have to wonder where the engineers head was at because it definetly wasnt on car engineering. Finally after removing all the fender bolts and screws what do I find?? Uhhh... you have to remove the windshield to remove the fender because a lip of it is behind a tab which can only clear if the windshield is off.... At this rate, it is begining to be easy to see how the majority of restorations get started on them because while attempting to do a relatively minor task you have to dissasemble half the car to do it. Is there ANYTHING on the "BIG" healeys that is simple?? I have owned 5 to 6 Bugeyes (still have one) and they are such a pleasure to work on as the engineer belived in the "kiss" theory and followed it when desigining the sprites. I love my BJ8 and really enjoy it more than the bugeye but **** I hate when it needs to be worked on.

ERant over lol now does anybody have any input on removing the fender without removing the windshield??

Leo









the car.
 
To go a little further afield - I remember by 1971 Alfa Spider. I could disassemble virtually the entire car with an 11mm, 13mm and 15mm socket. Great car to work on - especially the engine.
 
Bill, I thought Alfa did that all by themselves and a little humidity...??? :p
 
Hard to beat a bugeye for simplicity and the lift-up bonnet provides great access as long as you don't bonk your head on it. Part of the reason for the simplicity was to make the bugeye as cheap as possible, which wasn't quite the same for the big Healey. Having restored a bugeye and a big Healey, I'm often pleased by their similarities. If you know how to work on one, you'll find a lot familiar with the other. You have to admit though, even considering the windshield removal, R&R ing a big Healey front fender is easier than on a bugeye. :smile:
 
Leo,

There is no way to remove a front fender without removing the windshield. Unfortunately, the best cars are always more complicated.

Think of it this way. Removing the windshield of your big Healey is a learning/bonding experience. Bond away.
 
Like British cars work fine with humidity!

I will admit that the Alfa was only 3 years old when I owned it and it was starting to rust already in the sills, which on that car are structural. Still the mechanicals were well-designed.
 
AH100M said:
Like British cars work fine with humidity!

I will admit that the Alfa was only 3 years old when I owned it and it was starting to rust already in the sills, which on that car are structural. Still the mechanicals were well-designed.
Click to expand...

I owned and worked on a '67 Alfa GTV from 1973 - 1996. Would say generally the the BN6 is easier to work on. Not so much torque wrench, either.

Except for a handful of jobs - lower front suspension, rear spring bolts, throttle cross shaft, heater & fresh air setups, it's all pretty easy.

Can see where the BJ8 would be more complicated due to the increased complexity of the interior.
 
Got to remember too that no car is engineered with a guy in his garage 40-50 years from now in mind. They're designed for the professional mechanic with the proper factory type tools and knowledge and the idea that many parts will never need replacing as the car will have passed to a secondary market wher eventually the value makes it not worth fixing. You either live with it or junk it depending on your budget.
 
I'd reckon it is the difference between "form follows function" and function following form. The big Healey was definitely created as a visually appealing object first, then the necessary 'functions' added wherever they'd fit best and using whatever was available at the time. The Sprite has a more utilitarian form with slightly awkward panel breaks that detract from the overall look (IMO at least) in order to make things easier to manufacture and work on.

If having clean, unbroken body lines means a ten hour ordeal to change the blower ducting then that is definitely a good compromise IMO.

Andy.
 
It's been a while (> a decade...) but at least with the roadster, the door needs to come off to get the fender off...
 
Comparing the body engineering of the Sprite to the 'Big'Healey is a bit unfair. The Sprite is a later design, using lessons learned with the Austin-Healey 100. The Donald Healey Motor Co. would have wanted to re-engineer the 3000, if only BMC had allowed the investment funds.
Look carefully at the design of the Sprite and it is clearly a development from the earlier Austin-Healeys. With its monocoque body/chassis it is a much more advanced design. Yes, the Sprite was built to a price, but then, so too was the 100.
Donald Healey caused quite a fuss when he visited Australia in 1977. He was asked which of the Austin-Healeys was his favorite and without hesitation, he named the Sprite! From an engineering point of view, it is a better design, but couldn't have been without being based on the earlier cars. Profit might also have had some influence on his reply. He was a businessman, after all!
 
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