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V8 Healeys in the mid 1960s

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CurtisJ

Jedi Hopeful
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Quite a few Austin Healeys were converted to V8 power in the 1960s. During the mid sixties, Art Eatman of Austin Texas was making a business of it. These were mostly all-around street cars but at least one of Eatman's conversions was actively road-raced in period. My question is: Can you guys help me gather any additional information about Art Eatman or about his Healey conversions? More specifically: How many did he complete? How many still exist? Who were his customers? Etc.

At least one of Art Eatman's V8 Healey conversions still gets a lot of use! Here's a new article about it:

Since 1966: Richard Wright's Chevy V8 powered 1960 Austin Healey BN7

RichardWright-AA.jpg


Two interesting things to know about this car:

1) Richard was the Healey's second owner - he bought it in 1971.

2) Richard actually had a V8 Healey BEFORE this one. After it was totaled on a rainy night by a careless driver in a big American sedan, he purchased THIS V8 Healey with the insurance money.
 
CurtisJ said:
Can you guys help me gather any additional information about Art Eatman or about his Healey conversions? More specifically: How many did he complete? How many still exist? Who were his customers? Etc.
Click to expand...

Curtis,

Why not ask the man himself. Here's a quote from a post of his on The Firing Line in 2002:

"About the only thing worth having out of Yurrop was the AC Bristol, after Shelby Cobra-ized it, and the Austin-Healey, after Art Eatman stuck a 'Vette motor in it and named it "Mongoose". And VW buses ca 1970-1974...Maybe the BMW 1600..."

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118822

If you click on his screen name, you can see he's posted today. Shoot him a pm.

Interesting he lives in Terlingua, TX. Wonder if he and Ol' Shel' had any Cobra v, Mongoose races?
 
Here's another quote:

"327? Oh, yeah. I built up one with the 098 Duntov cam, a Carter AFB (Awful bleeping Big) and 13:1 compression. Headers. Stuck it into an Austin-Healey. Called it the Mongoose, 'cause it ate Cobras. Zero to 75 mph in first gear at 7,500 rpm...And that was before the good Holleys and before slant-plug heads. I built four of those; three customer cars. I had a Borg-Warner T10 close-ration tranny; wish we'd had these 6-speeds, back then. But, then, the aerodynamics of a Healey at 160 probably weren't really all that good. Smiley

Art"

https://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?action=printpage;topic=1787.0
 
HealeyRick said:
Interesting he lives in Terlingua, TX. Wonder if he and Ol' Shel' had any Cobra v, Mongoose races?
Click to expand...

Not sure if anyone else caught the significance of the choice to name his car the "Mongoose" but for those of you unaware, the mongoose is one of the very few mammals that prey on cobras and other poisonous snakes because they are so damned quick.
 
61TR3A said:
HealeyRick said:
Interesting he lives in Terlingua, TX. Wonder if he and Ol' Shel' had any Cobra v, Mongoose races?
Click to expand...

Not sure if anyone else caught the significance of the choice to name his car the "Mongoose" but for those of you unaware, the mongoose is one of the very few mammals that prey on cobras and other poisonous snakes because they are so damned quick.
Click to expand...
Story goes that California tried Mongooses to take care of the rattle snake infestation but the snakes took care of the Mongooses. Don't know if it's true, but it's a good story.
 
The part I like the best is the shortened windshield in the photo above and the 'chopped' top in Cottontop's link. Very subtle job. Gives it a seriously sinister look that I really like.
 
Re "Mongoose": The De Tomaso Mangusta of the sixties was a Ford V8 powered Italian "supercar". It was called that because it "ate Cobras".
Apparently in India, the mongoose is the cobra snake's only natural enemy. Mangusta is Italian for mongoose.
 
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