[Healeys] Healeys to Japan

[Editorgary at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/28/09 4:27:47 PM, healeys-request at autox.team.net 
writes:


> Actually it was two 3000s and not 3. Whether they used them for study I 
> am
> not sure, but given the Nissan (Datsun) connection beforehand I wouldn't 
> be
> surprised.
> 
Can't remember where I heard the story, but my understanding was that there 
were two prototype Healey coupes built from BJ8s, and after the whole 
Healey relationship fell apart and British Leyland discontinued production of the 
big Healeys, these two coupes were sold to Nissan/Datsun. Pictures in the 
standard Healey books of these cars do look a lot like the 240Z. It is quite 
true that a 240Z six-cylinder engine can be installed in a Healey 3000 
without changing any of the engine mounts or clearances, which many people say 
points to Nissan's reliance on the Healey engine for design of the 240Z 
engine.
Cheers
gary