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Austin-Healey 100-Six Down On The Denver Street
Engine Of The Day: BMC A
Joe Lucas, Prince Of Darkness, Continues To Haunt 20R Sprite Hell Project
20R-Powered Sprite Wiring Hell Nearly Complete: It Lives!
Fill Your Neighborhood With Affordable Rootes Group Machinery!
Super-Clean Miata Seats At The Junkyard... But There's A Catch
No Prince Of Darkness Jokes, Please: British Vintage Race Cars In Action
Half Price Sale Day At The Junkyard Means It's Time To Stock Up On Hell Project Parts!
Jaguar XJ12 Wheel Adds Touch Of Class To Sprite Hell Project, Keeps Budget Low
Murilee Goes A Little Funny In The Head, Buys 20R-Powered '67 Sprite From PCH Matchup #1

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tonyola
11/15/09

In reply to Austin-Healey 100-Six Down On The Denver Street
The pictured car is beautiful, and I love the wine-red color. If I wanted a big Healey, I'd go for a later Mark III. It's got the nicer interior, and I'd gladly trade roadster authenticity for roll-up windows - side curtains are a pain in the ass.

My older brother owned a tidy '59 Mk. 1 3000 for a few years in the early '70s. It was a dark metallic green with the factory hardtop and big Marchal driving lights. The machine was gorgeous, but my brother was the wrong person for that car - his very limited mechanical knowledge was seriously overmatched by the evil gods Lucas, BMC, and SU. As a tallish 15-year old, I once rode in the back-bench penalty box (only masochists would call it a seat) for 150 miles with my face above the windshield (the top stayed home that trip). I learned what "bugs in the face" meant that trip.

Older Bro's A-H adventures came to an abrupt end one day when, on the way back to college, he saw a front wheel detach itself and roll into a nearby gas station. Fortunately, he was only going 20 mph after just leaving the off-ramp from I-75. No-one was hurt, but the car suffered badly in the resultant noisy mess. Turns out that somehow a mechanic had installed a knockoff hub so that it loosened while driving instead of tightened. Mom and Dad said enough was enough - no more sinking money into the Healey. Big Bro silently fought back tears as the Healey was swapped for a more-reliable (if much duller) used Mustang convertible.
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Edited by tonyola at 11/15/09 2:07 PM tonyola was starred tonyola was unstarred

metal face eagle premium is not from So Cal
11/15/09

In reply to Austin-Healey 100-Six Down On The Denver Street
Nice. My father owns a '67 3000 BJ8 but I prefer the spartan interior and lower door lines of the 100-6 and Mk.1 3000's. They're torquey enough to get out of their own way but the brakes had better be working well, because it takes BALLS OF STEEL to drive one of these through a curve at speed. #austinhealey
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Evil_Genius
11/15/09

@metal face eagle premium is not from So Cal: I agree that the early cars are much better looking.. As for the second part of your statement... I modified mine with 6" Cobra wire wheels and negative camber... did I mention the 4 piston Wilwoods on each corner? Mine only requires brass balls for serious Hwy 1 carving.. #austinhealey
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Armand
11/15/09

@metal face eagle premium is not from So Cal: I'll always love the smiling face of the early 100-4, even if it's powered by a truck engine with a stroke as long as my forearm. #austinhealey
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metal face eagle premium is not from So Cal
11/15/09

@Evil_Genius: ok #austinhealey
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JC Whitless
11/15/09

In reply to Austin-Healey 100-Six Down On The Denver Street

I'm usually a car ass kinda guy, but this car has an ugly rear. Amazingly, like 1983 Loni Anderson, lack of a nice butt is totally made up by the front end and the headlights.

Now the MGB, that is the Jan Smithers of the british car world. Not that flashy, not that great of curves, but nice all around. #austinhealey
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skaycog was here
11/15/09

In reply to Austin-Healey 100-Six Down On The Denver Street
Sweet. That excites me in a car excitement kind of way. #austinhealey
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Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
11/15/09

In reply to Austin-Healey 100-Six Down On The Denver Street
Who do I have to kill to get this car? Seriously, I'm on my way. #austinhealey
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Novaload
11/15/09

@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: Don't do it! Every time I see one of these, I know that it is really a mid-to-early 60s Barbie car, because my sister had one. They came in orange with an aqua interior, just like the old Howard Johnson's colors. Even as a kid, I couldn't understand why Barbie didn't have a Vette or an MG--because Barbie was not a motor head, how would she even know about Austin-Healeys? Who was in that marketing meeting!?

So don't do it, man.
You'd be committing murder for a Barbie car. #austinhealey
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Evil_Genius
11/15/09

@Novaload: Never saw an orange one, ever- I've looked at the list of colors and while there was a goldish metallic that was hideous, Orange was never a stock color, from 53 til the end of production in 67. Maybe you're thinking of a Sprite or Midget? I have to work on my Barbie car.... #austinhealey
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Novaload
11/15/09

@Evil_Genius: Well, it was Barbie! So it was an orange that I'm sure Barbie called "Tangerine Frost" or "Dreamsickle Treat"--certainly not Competition Orange. #austinhealey
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Novaload
11/15/09

@Evil_Genius: [cgi.ebay.com]

Everything is on the internets, apparently. #austinhealey
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Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
11/15/09

@Novaload: Hey Barbie! Hey Skipper! Who's your friend? Wanna go for a ride? #austinhealey
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Murilee Martin
11/15/09

@Novaload: Barbie had a British car? Get a few Long Island Ice Teas into her and she'll trade that thing in for a goddamn Corvette, ASAP! #austinhealey
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Novaload
11/16/09

@Murilee Martin: I know! I have often wondered WTF went on in that marketing meeting! #austinhealey
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Iron coffin doesn't swerve for pelicans
08/17/09

In reply to Engine Of The Day: BMC A

Look what happens when you run it with extra hamsters....
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Novaload Wants the Jez 9 Back promoted this comment

If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
08/16/09

In reply to Engine Of The Day: BMC A
Well, that's BMC/British Leyland/Rover Group for you. If it works right, they build it forever. If it doesn't, they only build it for 15 years or so.
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Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
08/16/09

In reply to Engine Of The Day: BMC A
Extra bearings are just additional, potential failure points. It's not like the power production is ever going to start twisting up the crank. This piece of history is a direct link to the age of steam. And belongs back there.
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brianesser76
08/16/09

In reply to Engine Of The Day: BMC A
Where do you put the food for the 2 hamsters?
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HoonThatFerrari
08/16/09

@brianesser76:

Apparently, they just prefer to sit right on top of it... easier to access while pedaling that way.
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MushyHeirloom
08/16/09

In reply to Engine Of The Day: BMC A
It's amazing to think of a simple, reliable British engine.

Let down only by its wiring harness, it was.
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Big_Adam
08/16/09

@FP - Funny how it seems quiet around here, eh?:

Heeeey, I and my 1964 Hornet take offence. 40odd year old and I have yet to have an electrical problem.

Carbs on the other hand. Urgh, damn twin carbs.

Anayway, YAY A-Series engine and all the glory and horror it provides.
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skaycog misses lost friends promoted this comment Big_Adam was starred Big_Adam was unstarred

felis_concolor
08/16/09

@Big_Adam: Ah yes, the joys of tuning "a carb named SU"; one friend, after close to a year of continuous fiddling with a pair of them, determined he was essentially swapping between 3 different jetting configurations to match barometric conditions and obtained 2 more sets of screw-in shafts for his use. It was orders of magnitude quicker and easier to change jetting that way than to deal with c-clips and sliders in the field.
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Vintage Racer - with V-12 goodness promoted this comment felis_concolor was starred felis_concolor was unstarred

Vintage Racer - with V-12 goodness
08/16/09

@felis_concolor:
After dealing with the SU's on a Datsun roadster( and driving myself stark raving batshit in the process), I was let in on a little tip. The shaft that the butterfly's are on just runs through the carb body - there's no bushing, etc. The hole get's worn, and no amount of effing around with it will help you tune. Pulled the carbs, made seats/ bushings. problem solved...
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felis_concolor
08/16/09

@Vintage Racer - with V-12 goodness: Augh, I need to let my friend know about that alteration the next time I bump into him. It was his own experiences which kept me happy with my '72 510 sporting the ubiquitous 32/36 Weber atop the manifold. I spent so much time w/Q-jets after making a general shift to big American iron that suspecting a leaking throttle shaft bushing or pivot comes naturally there when tuning issues arise, but I never considered that as a malady for SUs as well.
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MushyHeirloom
08/16/09

@felis_concolor: What d'you expect from something with "Union" in its name?

(Obviously, I'm half-kidding - see Auto Union, Western Union, Union Pacific...)
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Edited by MushyHeirloom at 08/16/09 5:40 PM MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

powermatic
08/02/09

In reply to Joe Lucas, Prince Of Darkness, Continues To Haunt 20R Sprite Hell Project
A Kind Suggestion:

Permanently attach DMMs at various locations around vehicle-a Colossal time-saver when attempting to locate electrical Inconsistencies. In point of fact, an athletic Co-Driver might be utilized to invigorate Electrical Function-even while Motivating!

You're welcome.
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FlakJack promoted this comment powermatic was starred powermatic was unstarred

Plecostomus [Tyrrell]
08/01/09

In reply to Joe Lucas, Prince Of Darkness, Continues To Haunt 20R Sprite Hell Project
See, you got lazy and this is what happened.

It's only the taillights, you think to yourself, as you tap the brakes for the first time and cringe as the first of the glass-tube fuses pops and showers your leg with wee shards of glass.

"Shit." You think.
It's gonna take years for the shrapnel to work its way out of your leg this time.
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Novaload
08/01/09

In reply to Joe Lucas, Prince Of Darkness, Continues To Haunt 20R Sprite Hell Project
Yeah, well, we've all been there. "Well, I really should just remove that/cut that away/pull that out and replace it, but hey, I can't try this first, and then if it doesn't work, I'll go whole hog."

You almost always have to go find the hog.
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DoctorNine
08/01/09

In reply to Joe Lucas, Prince Of Darkness, Continues To Haunt 20R Sprite Hell Project
It is precisely the seductive 'This really should work...' logic, that makes the succubus of Lucas Electrics so soul consuming. See, it works JUST LONG ENOUGH to get the harness ready, then once installed, the secret shorts, and the cracked copper inside the retained bits, they crap out. Whereupon you, along with whatever barrel fuses that are in the system, melt down into an inert molten lump.
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Edited by DoctorNine at 08/01/09 5:33 PM DoctorNine was starred DoctorNine was unstarred

BRAWNDO_POWERED
08/01/09

In reply to Joe Lucas, Prince Of Darkness, Continues To Haunt 20R Sprite Hell Project
Murilee, you're not giving me much confidence with regards to my imminent XJS purchase.
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Murilee Martin
08/01/09

@BRAWNDO_POWERED: What could possibly go wrong?
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BRAWNDO_POWERED
08/01/09

@Murilee Martin: NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL. IT WILL BE A FANTASTIC SUCCESS!
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Mad_Science
08/02/09

@BRAWNDO_POWERED: It's already getting to him. He's showing the telltale sign of insanity: ALLCAPS
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