[Healeys] 1959 100-6 Healey

Michael Salter michaelsalter at gmail.com
Sun Jun 23 16:43:34 MDT 2013


Hi Chris, welcome to the Healey fraternity.
I have a lot of experience on Healeys, as a professional so will try to
answer as best I can.

*1.  The car runs better with choke half out, high idle.  I put the choke
in,
and it eventually stalls.  Tonight, it may have flooded, or vapor locked
because I cannot get it restarted.  I will let it sit for a couple hours.
 Is
this a simple carb tune-up issue?*
This sounds like carb set up to me however before you start on them check
the ignition timing, if it is wrong you will never get it to run correctly.
The ignition timing should be about 5/8" BTDC static on the timing marks on
the front pulley.
As for setting up the carbs I would strongly recommend that you do some
reading. I would recommend this site
http://www.triumphclub.co.nz/?page_id=26

*2.  The clutch makes a howling noise intermittently when fully engaged,
and it
is hard to shift into gear--this in intermittent.  It is almost like the
hydraulic fluid may be low, so the clutch is not fully disengaging.  But why
is it so intermittent?*
I need a better description. By "engaged" do you mean pedal depressed
(clutch disengaged) or pedal released (clutch engaged). If the clutch makes
a noise when the pedal is depressed there are a few possibilities. The
carbon clutch release bearing may be worn down but that would usually make
a noise as soon as you started to press the clutch pedal. An over sized
master cylinder may have been fitted causing the clutch to "overstroke",
but I think the most likely cause is that the pilot bush in the end of the
crankshaft is dry and seizing or chattering. To fix that the gearbox and
clutch have to come out.

*3.  This newly rebuilt engine has only a few hundred miles on it--I have
the
build sheet from the specialty British shop that did the work.  But the car
has some mild oil leaks.  The seller says this is normal bbutecause of the
leather gaskets--I noticed the biggest leak is on the passenger side, where
the distributor assembly bolts to the block.  Is it normal for all Healeys
to
leak some oil?
*
The only leather gasket that I know of on a Healey is on the gauge end of
the oil pressure line. Some minor oil leakage (a couple of drops after a
run) would be considered normal. There should be a paper gasket between the
distributor pedestal and the block. Oil leaks there are easily fixed. There
is an oil feed pipe to the pedestal from the main oil gallery and the banjo
fittings on either end use fiber washers either side of the banjo. If those
washers are damaged or missing or either of the banjo bolts is stripped
there will be a significant leak around them.*

*
Hope that helps,
Michael S


On Sat, Jun 22, 2013 at 9:16 PM, Chris Scholz
<drscholz at visioncenterpc.com>wrote:

> Hello, I am new to this list.  Just purchased a 1959 austin healey 100-6
> which
> has a newly rebuilt engine, and underwent a full restoration in 1990.  I
> have
> some questions on things I found wrong on the car:
>
> 1.  The car runs better with choke half out, high idle.  I put the choke
> in,
> and it eventually stalls.  Tonight, it may have flooded, or vapor locked
> because I cannot get it restarted.  I will let it sit for a couple hours.
>  Is
> this a simple carb tune-up issue?
>
> 2.  The clutch makes a howling noise intermittently when fully engaged,
> and it
> is hard to shift into gear--this in intermittent.  It is almost like the
> hydraulic fluid may be low, so the clutch is not fully disengaging.  But
> why
> is it so intermittent?
>
> 3.  This newly rebuilt engine has only a few hundred miles on it--I have
> the
> build sheet from the specialty British shop that did the work.  But the car
> has some mild oil leaks.  The seller says this is normal bbutecause of the
> leather gaskets--I noticed the biggest leak is on the passenger side, where
> the distributor assembly bolts to the block.  Is it normal for all Healeys
> to
> leak some oil?
>
> The car is in great shape, but I don't feel comfortable driving it because
> of
> the worry it may quit or flood or vapor lock, or something.
>
> Looking forward to your opinions.
>
> Chris in Iowa.
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-- 
Michael Salter


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