Slow like a snail

Recently I have been puttering on the car. You know cleaning, coating and repairing, some of it was easy, most was cheap and some was very difficult. The labours of my efforts is that I have gotten a lot done in a reasonable time. As the project progresses I know there will be problems but other than one broken bolt in a rivnut everything has gone well.

I have gotten the foot peddles all fixed up, all that is left to do is get the links for the carbs installed. As usual they are all powder coated for protection.



The master cylinders for the breaks are in and connected to the peddles


Some of the fire wall is still to complete , some is done and some will have to wait until other parts I don't have, are installed first.

The front right suspension is on and the left shock is on, as soon as the left bushings get reamed and fitted to the king pin it can go on as well.


Thanks for taking interest in the Healey and checking out my Blog

Annual vacation is over and the wrath of being away has been taken care of. I have had very little time to putter but I have done some minor things to the car.


One of the first pieces was the heater box since it had been rebuilt and was ready to go. The next was the fan motor and ducting for the heater and fresh air.



Then came the right front suspension, it was a bit of a challenge by myself but I was able to get it on and secured



In this picture you can see the installed wiring harness and the heat shield. The heat shield for the fire wall is not done, I still have to install some plumbing to the dash and install the break and clutch peddle box befor it can go on.

Christmas has come and is almost gone. Since yesterday was a quiet day I decided that I could do some work on the car, and got to it, ohhh not too early. I started with installing as many rubber grommets as I knew where they went , a quick look at pictures told me where the rest went. Next came the main wiring harness a bit of a challenge but not too bad. The last thing was to install some of the fresh air ducting and heat shielding. This was a very pleasant day and and I got some important things done

Ready to come home

Yesterday Jason and Shaun finished painting the chassis, just a few touch ups to complete the job. Hopefully today the chassis will make it home six months after the project was started I can hardly wait to start reassembling the car. Here are some pictures of the painted chassis

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Last summer when I started this project I thought just a quick trip to the media blaster then on to the paint shop. A little rust repair into primer then paint and home for assembly to a rolling chassis. HA! Was I ever dumb. As it turns out the way the car is built this is not an option. Now that paint is going on I am a happy camper with a much lighter wallet but ultimately I am far further ahead than had I done it the other way. I can thank Roy Moore and Jason Stoch for guiding me in a proper manner, thanks for the support and guidance I really appreciate the efforts of both of you.

Any way this is a picture of the beginning, lots of rust etc.

After a lot of work and skill the result is the following, with a good paint and of lot effort look what can happen


Yes that really is the original colour from the hidden parts of the chassis, and yes I am painting it that colour for real, with old english white coves. I think it will be very striking and unusual.

Latest update

The last week has been exciting. Jason and Shaun have been busy blocking and sanding the body. I have picked a colour and it is the original Florida Green, very bright but with Old English White coves it will be stunning. The fenders doors and cowls have to come off the chassis for painting , this should happen this week and the chassis and underside of the fenders and cowls will be painted this week also hopefully.


Once it is painted I will bring it home and start reassembling it, this will be challenging and rewarding at the same time. I have most of the front end ready to install and just a few things left to clean and powder coat. As soon as it is painted I will have more photos.

It has been a while since my last entry but holidays involving driving trips to Nebraska and to Seattle will do that. Since then a lot has happened. During the changes it was hard to see the progress day by day that Jason was making, but now that he is almost done it becomes obvious that he has accomplished a lot. The car body is going back together, and is recognizable again.


















While Jason has been working on the body I have been working on the other mechanical parts . I have finished cleaning, and powder coating the heater box and fan assembly for the interior, rebuilding the engine and drive shaft and the front suspension is almost done. I just need to ream the king pins bushings, then I can finish the assembly of the front end. I still need to powder coat lots of parts but most I will do as required. There are more parts to collect too, but there's time for that.
This week I have been out to see the car twice and we are talking about body colour and gloss. Sounds like its almost paint time. I have thought it through and have come to the decision that the original Florida Green with Old English White coves is what it is going to be. It is a colour combination that either you like or hate. I am still on the fence but it will go with my tropical shirts. I also from the beginning wanted to bring it back to as close to original as possible, including the colour. From removing the paint I noticed that the chassis and underside was almost a satin texture the rest was a high gloss. I will be trying to confirm this observation, the internet is so perfect for that, although there seems to be lots of misinformation out there.