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healey truths and myths

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tri_carb_healey

tri_carb_healey

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i'm 24 and aside from my old man i've never met or seen anyone else who owns an austin healey!! with that said brittish cars have their reputation. i want to know your thoughts it's never been my daily diver and i can't imagine it so i'd like to hear from others who own this wonderful car and their opinions of it mechanically compared to its contemporaries?as far as an overall sports car for that era.
 
I was using my Healey as a daily driver as recent as the mid 80s.

Honestly, the MORE you drive them, the more reliable they become, assuming standard maintenance practices.
 
Hi TriCarb, I'm 35 and only wanted a Healey because I had a dream about one when I was four. It was a silver one with wire wheels and as it drove past the sun flashed off the spinners making the wheels look not-quite-round from the view of a small child. I only found out that there was actually a car called an Austin Healey and the one in my dream was a very real representation of one when I was a teenager looking through car magazines. I've also never met anyone owning another Healey or even seen another in the flesh.

I have a fascination for things from 1957 and so while working in Sweden earlier this year found a NZ new 57 BN4 on the local NZ auction website still with valid original license plates but in need of restoration, and couldn't resist. Probably I'll find it quite impractical and surplus to requirements once it is back on the road but that is all good. I like fiddling more than driving.

As far as comparison to other vehicles of the era, the other half of my garage is occupied by a 57 Zephyr Farnham estate and the only major difference is that the Healey bodywork is a complex series of rust traps compared to the Ford's monocoque. The mechanical components are much the same as each other, with surprisingly quite a few identical parts such as the braking system and heater.

Andy.
 
The Austin six was and is a very reliable and durable engine. There are hundreds of stories of people finding an old, rusted Healey, spending a day installing a battery, fresh oil and spark plugs and after a little fiddling the engine starts and runs strong. The overdrive is probably the most troublesome part of the entire drive train, but if that fails you can still drive the car. Once the body is restored using modern techniques and materials, the cars are much less likely to rust, especially if you wash the underside occasionally. As compared to other sports cars of the 50s and 60s, I'd say they rust about the same, but the real difference is in the cost to replace the rusted elements. I'd have to say the Healeys are on the high end of this particular cost. All English cars of the era had troublesome electrics and Healeys had their share, but in my experience they were more reliable than the Sprites, Midgets and MGs of the same era. A very large percentage of the electrical problems were caused by poor maintenance and owner modifications.
 
The key you said is "wonderful". There are very few cars that you could say that about back then and people are still saying it about them 50 years later. Who reminisces about a Toyota Corolla or Ford Pinto? It was all of our dream car and although it may have taken a while to attain, it still is our dream car. No disappointment there. What surprises me is that you have not seen other Healeys before. Probably half made are still drivable. Go to the LBC shows and check the national clubs. Check their magazines.This is really a fun hobby and a way of loife.
 
I've owned my Healey for almost 40 years. I can say it's a great collector car, quite compatable with modern roads and traffic. We have driven ours across the country many times. She cruises easily at freeway speeds, we can go 500 miles a day without much problem. And it's the most reliable collector car I have. It is surprisingly comfortable with great seats. It's much easier to get in an out of than an XKE.

The Healey is, of course, a very old car. To be honest, the handling, acceleration and especially braking are pitiful compared to my ordinary Toyota RAV4. I really don't use mine as a daily driver, it would be too much to deal with. But spend some time with a Healey and it grows on you. Take a trip with it and you realize what a nice design DMH came up with. How it looks is so classic, a timeless design. It still looks contempory to me, hard to believe it was designed in the 50's. Yet it is functional and practical.

Too bad they've gotten a bit pricey, they probably aren't worth what one needs to pay for one today.

Bill S
 
You asked about the Healey machanically compared to its contemporaries, I am not sure if you meant all or other british cars of the era, MGs and Triumphs, etc. For the most part they all have robust engines, solid cast iron units that will go on an on if maintained and not abused, I have driven british cars of the 50s and 60s for over 30 years, the 10-12 of those as my daily driver, I have never had a major engine mechanical failure (broken crank, bent valve, etc., they wear out eventually, but they tend not tobreak if you don't abuse them too bad). The Healey transmission is very robust, maybe even more so than contemporary Triumphs and MGs. The carbs and electrics and overdrives are the same design and manufacture across the board for all old LBCs, they can be finicky, particulalry if old and not well cared for, the best thing as mentioned is to drive the cars and work out the issues until you achieve a good degree of reliability.

As far as performance, Healeys and Triumphs are generally faster than MGs and will keep up with modern traffic, MGs on the other hand have a little more solid body/chassis and arguably better chassis and handling. From a fit standpoint Triumph TRs and MGBs do have a little more leg room than Healeys, if you are long legged (and I have heard some say big around the middle as well) the Healey can be a tight fit.

jaguars are another deal entirely, the carbs and electrics are basically the same, but a lot of the cars are based on 50s cutting edge (at the time) design, instead of the MG/TR/AH, which are all based on contemparary plain jane British sedans and such.

The dirving experience of the old MGs and Triumphs and MGs is great, direct mechanical feel everything instead of the insulated capsules that new cars generally are, much fun, but as mentioned, by the numbers the neighbors mini van not only is faster, but probably brakes and corners better by the numbers.

The cars are great fun to drive, work on and look at, you can work on them yourself if you are mechanically inclined, and, unless you are monetarily blessed you may not want to consider ownership unless you are inclined to work on them yourself, that is part of the fun for many of us.
 
tahoe healey said:
The key you said is "wonderful". There are very few cars that you could say that about back then and people are still saying it about them 50 years later.

It was all of our dream car and although it may have taken a while to attain, it still is our dream car. No disappointment there.
Click to expand...
:iagree: Well said my friend!
 
I grew up with a 64 BJ8. We lived in Milford CT. My dad drove it everyday. Rain, snow, summer and fall. It was his daily driver to work. He had it for about 8 years. Sure he worked on it, to keep it on the road. But he also worked on the Mercury station wagon keeping it on the road.

I drive my BJ8 almost everyday. I did a full restoration. It's a pleasure to drive and that's what it's all about. Expect to tinker on it from time to time to keep her on the road. And as others have said, that's part of owning and driving these cars. The nice thing is we can work on our own cars. And we have a network of knowledge right here on the BCF to thank for that.

Cheers,
Roger
 
Big Healeys are relatively simple--crude, maybe--compared to the higher-end sports cars of the era (Jags, Ferarris, etc.). However, they are roughly equivalent to a typical American light coupe of the period. For instance, my '67 BJ8 is mechanically similar to my dad's '66 Mustang, although the Mustang has some 'niceties' like PS, AT and AC (if the Big Healeys had had IRS and rack-and-pinion they would have been cutting edge for the period). The BJ8, at least, has much better brakes than the Mustang's 4-wheel drums (my dad has had lots of trouble with the Mustang brakes--the BJ8's are reasonably reliable though you'll need to do routine R&R and the servo will need work eventually). You still see quite a few early Mustangs used as daily drivers, but of course many more were built and sold than Big Healeys.

The maintenance requirements for a Healey are basically continuous, i.e. you should be greasing, oiling, checking, replacing or fixing <span style="font-style: italic">something</span> at any given time. As others have said, the more you work on it and drive it the more confident you will become--I don't think twice about taking my Healey on long stretches of deserted desert roads (but I make sure it's ready).

The show stoppers I've encountered are: fuel pump failures (an electronic SU has largely addressed that, but I carry a spare) and there are some bad distributor rotors out there (I had one fail at Mesa Verve in CO; I had a spare and after a quick diagnosis we were off and running again). You'll likely get an occasional backfire through the carbs--I had one blow out the soft plug in the back of the intake manifold requiring a tow. Was able to fix in situ when I got the car home. You'll probably have coolant temperature issues if you drive in stop-and-go traffic on hot days.

In my experience the O/D is robust (170K miles on mine and still going). Usually, it's a problem in the electrics (switch, relay, solenoid or wiring). The transmission and/or clutch will likely need work by 100K miles or so.

Pay close attention to fluids--modern lubricants, IMO, extend the life of all mechanical components. If you do drive your car a lot, even daily, consider some of the things that make maintenance much easier. One is a bleeder extension kit for the clutch slave cylinder which makes bleeding a snap. I've had to do emergency bleeds twice. The first was in a motel parking lot and I had to pull the transmission cover--no fun. The second, after I installed the kit, I did in 5 minutes in a parking lot waiting for a restaurant to open. The other I can think of is an electronic ignition--I use Pertronix--so you can spend less time on tuneups and more on other maintenance items.

In my 100K miles I've assembled a custom tool kit and spare parts collection that covers most routine and emergency roadside repairs (I itemized these in an article for a club mag a couple years ago).

Otherwise, drive and enjoy.
 
its funny how everyone here said the same thing my old man used to tell me
"the more you drive it, the more reliable it will become."
the triple su setup is what worries me the most im sure ill post many topics regarding them. i hope with time i can preserve it the way my dad did, thank u everyone for being so helpful!!
 
Triple SUs are not that bad with today's technology. There are dynos that you can use to really dial it in, or you can install an O2 sensor and tune it after reviewing the data from an LM1 from Innovate. Of course, even doing it the old fashion way takes less than 45 minutes, and that includes driving it to get it warmed up. Main thing is to get the timing correct first for both idle and fast speed (4000 rpm), then worry about any tuning on the carburetors and you will not have any trouble. If you can not get the timing correct at both ends, then a simple shipping to distributer rebuilder (advanced distributors is my preference - https://www.advanceddistributors.com/) is all that is needed.
 
With LBCs it is said 95% of carburetor problems are electrical. Once set the carbs stay good where the timing and points may vary. Have fun with it and experiment if you mess things up these guys on the forum can help. and parts are available. Get the Moss catalog for the schematics and the Bentley or Haynes repair manuals. This is "cook book" mechanics.
 
Randy says it all :

¨¨¨¨Honestly, the MORE you drive them, the more reliable they become, assuming standard maintenance practices.¨¨¨


In 2009 Line i did a run all over USA for 10,ooo mi. and i just did some oil change and drive it. As other may say you will find the Healey a pretty good car if you take care of it and not wait before troubles but instead do the maintenance to prevent them.

A driver who will make another run next summer Alaska-California and back home , we wil let you know how it went .The boot will be full of .....anything .

Drive and have fun meeting interesting people that the purpose of these journey.

Just push the gas pedal gently and the Healey will fly far away.

The driver

Gilbert
 
i know a mechanic who works on old cars and when he saw my healey he said i could easily take a 356 of the same era..is that true or was he just trying to get me to take it in to his shop (which i would never do, its hard to find someone trustworthy).
 
I drive my Healey to work at least twice a week....and I agree with you. I have not SEEN a Healey on the road here in Columbus, Ohio in over 3 years. I find it odd you have to go to a "show" to see a Healey? Don't get it!

My other "work" car is a 70 OTS E-type. STrange enough have seen several on the road the last year...

THe cars are fun and shouild be DRIVEN!


Pete
 
I would say if both cars were bone stock on a road with long straights and sweeping turns or a mountain road with a good incline the big Healey would have the edge. A tighter winding road requiring hard breaking I would give the edge to the Germans. On the track however, the Porsche crowd are the worst cheaters I've encountered with engines, brakes, tires, etc. upgraded way beyond the "point in time" vintage race regulations. The bottom line is the 356 is a much easier car to drive fast, that said the above scenario still holds true. A longer race track with good elevation changes Healey wins, shorter tighter track goes to Porsche.

Dougie
 
57 BN4 - I see you have a 1957 Zephyr Farnham Estate. Quite a rare car. The December 2010 issue of Classic and Sports Cars Magazine has a great article about those cars. Have you seen it?
 
Hi Rob,

No haven't but thanks for the headsup.

As far as rarity, they produced 5643 estates of which about 1000 were like mine. So far I think it is the oldest surviving Mk2 estate and I have only found three other early cars, of which none are presently roadworthy. Quite a number of the later style cars survived and regularly feature in magazines. I made a website a few years back when I was learning how to use computers about some of the things I have done over the years if you want to see some resto pics which is archived here if you want to have a look

Andy

ps sorry for the thread hijacking
 
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