[Healeys] MORE texas cooler

Fri Jan 2 17:42:59 MST 2015

G’day

Radiator fans can be very dangerous things.

A few months back I wrote an article for Vintage Racecar Magazine on a racing Studebaker Commander (popular in Australia during the 1960s being one of the few V8 powered cars available). Some years after the owner retired the car from competition he was tuning it and on revving the engine the fan blade broke and hit him in the head. He spent a few weeks in hospital before he died as a result of the accident.

Hoo Roo

Patrick Quinn

Blue Mountains, Australia

From: Healeys [mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Alex
Sent: Saturday, 3 January 2015 11:18 AM
To: Gary R. Brierton; healeys at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Healeys] MORE texas cooler

Back in the day, my 1967 BJ8 lost the original fan blade one day when I was aggressively revving the engine under load after a tune-up. Suddenly there was a bang! The windscreen was covered with coolant. 

The blade exited the wheel well sheet metal. It destroyed the radiator and water pump.

The next day I borrowed my mom's car and drove to a new job for my first day. There I met a gentleman and I told him of my incident. He said to stop by his house after work, which I did. His garage was filled with  many Austin Healey 3000 parts. I bought a new rad, water pump, and fan for chump change. Boy, was I a happy camper. 

== Alex in Maine
     "The Blue Mainie," 1960 Austin Healey 3000 BT7
     "Conkling," 1946 M.G. TC #1321
     Former owner 1957 A-H 100-6, 1967 A-H BJ8, 
     1965 MG Midget   ‹(•¿•)›
      <http://ai2q.org/> http://ai2q.org/

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Gary R. Brierton <mailto:gbrierton at hotmail.com>  

To: healeys at autox.team.net 

Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2014 1:02 PM

Subject: Re: [Healeys] texas cooler

In the late 60’s, driving my original BJ8 across the western US Deserts at an unreasonable speed, I lost one blade of the original 4 blade-2 piece fan.  Me being a very lucky SOB, the blade went straight down and buried itself in the chassis cross member!  Had it gone anywhere out of about a 45 degree arc, it would have taken out a front tire, the bonnet or the shroud with disastrous effect.  I removed the broken blade from the shaft, completed my trip and took the car back to the selling dealer in Rockford, IL for replacement. This was an original car, purchased new by me from the dealer.  I probably had 4-5,000 miles on it at the time of the mishap. 

Another club member here in the Triad has lost one blade, twice in succession, on his BJ8.  Don’t know if they were originals.

GaryB

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