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so i'm kinda having second thoughts about my car..

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This has been a great thread for an enthusiast who has yet to make the leap to ownership. I've joined the AH clubs, bought every book I could find on Austin Healey's, and have read just about ever post on this site. I'm probably at least a year away from ownership, but when a good one comes up for a fair price, I think I will be ready.

My biggest fear is exactly what has been expressed, Thanks to all the owners who have put it in a new light for me. Owning an Austin Healey certainly sounds like an adventure I am looking forward to someday.
 
part of the enjoyment of owning these things is figuring out
how to fix them and passing that information to someone with
the same problem. it is almost impossible to come up with a
problem that someone on this site has not experienced, and overcome. it is a whole lot easier for me to ask a dumb
question than spend weeks trying to figure something by trial and error. been there-done that. hang in there!!
gregg
 
i guess i can relate to that - i logged thousands of posts and spent many helping people figure out their macintosh computer woes... i imagine its similiar (so let that be a hint to all you guys: i'll trade you computer information for car information any day! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif)


[ QUOTE ]
part of the enjoyment of owning these things is figuring out
how to fix them and passing that information to someone with
the same problem. it is almost impossible to come up with a
problem that someone on this site has not experienced, and overcome. it is a whole lot easier for me to ask a dumb
question than spend weeks trying to figure something by trial and error. been there-done that. hang in there!!
gregg

[/ QUOTE ]
 
as an epilogue to my original post, i just got back from a nice ride - if only i had hair for the wind to blow through, it would've completed the picture!
 
joeq,

One thing is sure when owning any kind of older car...they will break and usually at the worst of times. It is part of the fun of owning these things.

I have a small amount of mechanical knowlwdge, can get by with electrical issues (got a degree in electronics), but when it comes to body work I am lost. Tonight I just finished banging out my 1st major dent. A lot of work, a lot of fun, and a great learning experience.

The point being, relax and go with the flow. Things will need to be worked on. Grab a neighborhood kid. Chances are he or she is a motor head and can teach you a lot.

By the way, I can relate to the hair (or lack thereof) remark. Just drove 1100 miles in a spitfire with a top that couldn't be put up. Thank goodness for hats.
 
My two cents is to join a Healey club both national and local. Along with some basic tools, carry thier member lists. Healey people are always willing to help or guide you if they cannot. You make misfortunes in to fortunes by meeting new friends and getting new knowledge.
 
[ QUOTE ]
...join a Healey club both national and local. Along with some basic tools, carry their member lists. Healey people are always willing to help or guide you if they cannot.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's exactly why, several years ago, we organized the Healey Travelers Network. Members of the Austin-Healey Club USA volunteer to serve as local resources for traveling Healeyists, providing assistance and/or advice on local sources for parts and service, and then their names appear in bold in the membership list that is included within the Austin-Healey Resource Book, an annual club publication. That way you can quickly see which members are the most apt to be willing and able to assist you.
 
joeq,

looked over all of the replies, the one the one additional item I will add is terrific people! This is a community with simular interest who want to share the good, the bad and the ugly about these great cars.

I have formed some lasting friends through clubs and road side assistance. . .

Enjoy!
 
" i might need to have a better knowledge of these things to be able to enjoy it more."

I've found this to be true regardless of how much someone knows, its just that the gremlins become more elusive....

Its a learning experience for everyone at some time or another, and that is part of the satisfaction.

The Healey isn't just a car to jump in and drive, it also requires a little care and attention.

The suggestion of a basic car maintenence course is a good one. And joining a local club good too.
 
Do these things speak to bald guys with no mechanical experience? I'm another one. My BJ8 is my unrepentant attempt to recapture a youth I never had, just wish I had had.

Having had some British cars of lesser pedigree (minis,Marinas) when I was younger, I didn't have any illusions about total reliability when I bought the car. I prepared my then six year old daughter for "adventures", and the first time the two of us were out on our own, we broke down. She still talks about thumbing a ride to a gas station to borrow a screwdriver to bang the fuel pump, and thinks trips in the Healey are adventures, even if it's just to and from her soccer games.

My plan has been, and still is, to write cheques until I reach a point in life where time is not a luxury and I can take a basic auto repair course. I had the engine and overdrive rebuilt over the winter, and this summer the car has run great. We have done up to 100 mile trips without incident. In September, my wife will be away for a few days, and I am going to take my now 8 year old on a four day "Healey adventure", probably to Montreal, with two or three hours of driving per day. I don't have a network of Healey owners or repair shops to connect with, though I'm sure the local club could give me one, but I have a phone and a CAA card, and if we knew for sure we could get home on our own steam it would be less of an adventure. She can't stop talking about it. The guy that rebuilt my engine drove his '62 to San Antonio, 5400 miles round trip, without incident. Reason for confidence in these cars, I think.

Sometimes when I am driving around and go over a bunch of bumps and feel as though the car is about to fall apart see "rattletrap", I imagine the lower cost (ultimately) and greater confidence of a Boxster or a Z4...but on a smooth road, that exhaust sound is too incredible. You can't put a couple of third graders in the back of either of those, can you...and they never stop talking about riding around in the cool car. Those raised up little seats in the back (I put belts in) are an adventure in themselves for the kids.

My wife can drive the Healey and looks great doing it...she says it makes doing errands something to look forward to. She hates showy, flashy things, and the Healey is the perfect answer...the fun and performance of a roadster where only a few know the value and the envy is always also admiring, an appreciation by others of the touch of history you are preserving and the memories of more carefree times, when driving was not always about knowing what roads to use at what time to avoid being stuck in gridlock, and everyone wasn't ensconced in a giant armoured SUV.

Like some of the other contributors to this thread, I get no visceral pleasure from the thought of driving a Miata or some teutonic testament to reliable engineering. Yes, it's a disease, but how can you really have a relationship with something without flaws: may you never be cured!

Chris
 
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