Hi Guest!
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Offline
A few of you are already aware that Kent Lambert (Hood River OR) and I recently bought another project together. I've mentioned it several times on my blog.
This one is a BN2 that was purchased as a used car at the Donald Healey Motor Company showroom in London in 1962. The man who bought it there passed away in December and we bought the car from his widow. The car was partially disassembled and on jack stands, and the widow reported that it had been right there, off the road, the entire time they were married, which was since 1990. As near as we can determine, it had not run in probably 33 years.
We have found several odd things in going over and through the car, and here are a few:
We drained TEN quarts of oil from the engine. The previous owner (PO) had reshaped the oil pan to eliminate the forward vertical edge, making it a slope so that, presumably, it would merely ride over anything it encountered, rather than getting torn off or badly damaged. Perhaps this was in response to a nasty incident? On the recommendation of a local engine shop, we added Joe Gibbs break-in oil (conventional oil, 10w-40) for our start attempt, and it took TEN quarts. Here's a pic of the old, drained oil, looking remarkably good actually - at one point we were beginning to worry that it would overflow the drip pan:
And then there are the spark plugs. These look very good (and we re-used them - more on that later), but I'd never seen this three-prong variety. Maybe they were the equivalent of the infamous Fish Carburetor in their day? A special high-performance option? Gapping them was interesting.
And lastly, for now, is the oddest one of all. One of the rocker cover studs is very creative. (Sorry about the focus, but perhaps you can still see what you need to see):
Arrow 1 points to a passage at the top of the stud. Arrow 2 points to a "branch" of the stud, welded on, that is threaded for some reason, and Arrow 3 points to an opening for a passage through that branch, and it connects to the passage from the top (arrow 1). Arrow 4 is the oil feed line for the rocker shaft. What possible purpose could there be for that passage from the top of the stud and down and out the side extension? Someone went to a lot of trouble to make this special stud, with no apparent reason for this passage. A plain stud would do nicely.
More later on some very unusual features of this BN2.
This one is a BN2 that was purchased as a used car at the Donald Healey Motor Company showroom in London in 1962. The man who bought it there passed away in December and we bought the car from his widow. The car was partially disassembled and on jack stands, and the widow reported that it had been right there, off the road, the entire time they were married, which was since 1990. As near as we can determine, it had not run in probably 33 years.
We have found several odd things in going over and through the car, and here are a few:
We drained TEN quarts of oil from the engine. The previous owner (PO) had reshaped the oil pan to eliminate the forward vertical edge, making it a slope so that, presumably, it would merely ride over anything it encountered, rather than getting torn off or badly damaged. Perhaps this was in response to a nasty incident? On the recommendation of a local engine shop, we added Joe Gibbs break-in oil (conventional oil, 10w-40) for our start attempt, and it took TEN quarts. Here's a pic of the old, drained oil, looking remarkably good actually - at one point we were beginning to worry that it would overflow the drip pan:
More later on some very unusual features of this BN2.
Last edited:
