[Healeys] [Fwd: County]

[Bob Spidell]

Another actual, substantive data point about County parts:

Hi Bob,


          I rebuilt a spare engine for a friend of mine after his 
original engine came apart twice. The first rebuild, by a race shop, 
came apart after 200 miles when two County rod bearings came apart. The 
bearing material slid off of the steel shell. They rebuilt it again with 
two new rods and a different crank. 1800 miles later my friend showed up 
at mine door with a bad oil leak at the real seal kit. Thinking the seal 
had failed we pulled the gearbox to get at the seal and found the 
crankshaft moving back and forth 3/8 of an inch. We pulled the pan and 
found the County thrust washers in the oil pan. They turned out to be 
very soft and wore quickly. The rear seal kit had been destroyed by the 
movement of the crank as were the crank and the main webs from rubbing. 
When we rebuilt the spare engine we used all Vanderville bearings, AE 
pistons, and Payne gaskets and the engine has 15k miles on it now with 
no issues. I think the County problem is a quality issue and the sources 
they use to make parts. Some might be fine and others are crap. I might 
use a County water pump in a pinch but, not County bearings made in Israel.


                                      Wayne


  

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Bob Spidell         San Jose, CA        bspidell at comcast.net
'67 Austin-Healey 3000             '56 Austin-Healey 100M
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