I attended a car show yesterday and there was an Austin Healy 3000 with a
Ford 289. I kept studying it trying to figure why there seemed to be so much
more space in the engine bay when compared to the Tiger.
First, the front wheels on the Healy appear to be set more toward the front
of the car by a good 6" when compared to a Tiger. Secondly, there appears to
be less needed supporting structure elements under the hood of the car in a
Healy. It appears that the strength of the body comes from the outer shell.
It has a very small hood opening area and the more massive body shell around
this area appears to provide the strength. Pulling the valve covers on this
thing would be a breeze.
Of course, this was a conversion into a V8 and who knows how good the body
strength and handling actually are.
On another note...I saw a few Studebaker Avantis again. I am still puzzled
by the series of 5 or 6 half dollar sized holes that are punched in the metal
between the engine compartment and the wheel well. It seems that they must
be for cooling, but are unusual. I wonder if there is any Tiger application
possibilities there.
Mark L.
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