[Healeys] amazing cars

Thu May 9 15:42:07 MDT 2019

Very nice cars.  The fuel filler mod on the 'M' is intriguing. You can 
get a nice 120deg spoke wood wheel, if you're willing to wait for Mike 
Lempert:

Bob

On 5/9/2019 11:43 AM, Michael MacLean wrote:
> It's heart warming to see my late friend Tom Rocke's cars maintain 
> their value.  I was at his shop many times during the construction of 
> both of these cars.  As to the question of the wood rimmed steering 
> wheel.  Tom actually did not like the look either.  He much preferred 
> the look of the original spoke steering wheel.  He installed the wood 
> rimmed wheel because of the customers at the typical auctions he sold 
> these at.  He said it make the car look toy like.  Most of the people 
> buying an Austin Healey BJ8 or 100M were not Healey lovers like you 
> and me.  A lot of them were investors, as in the case of the 100M or 
> first time buyers that just liked the look of the car and could afford 
> the artificially inflated auction prices. The customers were the ones 
> that liked the wood steering wheel.  To be clear, these were not 100 
> point cars.  They were close, but Tom would do small things to improve 
> the longevity of the car.  Such as, the bracket at the edge of the 
> engine bay  that the hood prop would key into when you opened the 
> bonnet. That bracket would be chrome plated in Tom's cars.  He 
> explained that it would get scratched the first time you opened the 
> bonnet if it was painted as original.  The bumblebee sparkplug wire 
> was not factory original, but looked good when the bonnet was open to 
> the customer that did not know the difference.  Tom knew his 
> customer's at Barret Jackson or RM auctions.  Sometimes he would get 
> the self proclaimed Healey expert  come along before the auction 
> during inspection telling him that he was ruining the hobby by over 
> restoring the car. Funny, these experts were never buyers. Tom would 
> paint some of the cars non-original colors and they would still sell 
> for high prices.  He was the only seller at these auctions that would 
> guarantee the car mechanically for one year.  Tom built the engine for 
> my BN2 restoration I am proud to say.  Without his help my Bugeye 
> would not have come out as well as it did.  He was frequently just 
> giving me parts I needed or selling them to me ultra cheap.  Tom gave 
> me a set of carbs for my Bugeye that were missing when I bought the 
> "basket case" car.  He sold me BN2 transmission with only 10,000 miles 
> on for only $1100 for mt BN2 project..  That was a gift as far as I am 
> concerned.  It could have been sold for much more.  He had a great 
> sense of humor too.  I miss him dearly.
> Mike MacLean
>
> On Thursday, May 9, 2019, 10:29:31 AM PDT, Bluehealey 
> <bluehealey at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> I have to agree they are both lovely looking cars. Why, oh why though, 
> do restorers who purport to know what they are doing insist on using 
> MGB style wood rim steering wheels (‘T’ spoke configuration)? It is so 
> wrong! The correct AH configuration is at 120deg spacing as all you 
> fine people will know.
> It is as crass as putting the fender spears on backwards - an abomination.
> JM2C
> Rant over.
>
> Alan - from my iPad
>
> On 9 May 2019, at 17:02, i erbs <eyera3000 at gmail.com 
> <mailto:eyera3000 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>> https://paulrussell.com/rSales/classicsNew/180404_67_A-H_3000MKIII-42773/index.php 
>>
>>
>> https://paulrussell.com/rSales/classicsNew/180405_56_A-H_100M-231370/index.php 
>>
>> Ira Erbs
>> Portland,OR
>> _______  _______
>> (______ \____1959 BN4____/ _______)
>> (_________________________)
>> BT7 engine and disk brakes
>>
>>
>> 1967 MGB MG
>>
>> A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments. Mario Andretti
>> Please excuse random auto corrects and misspelled words
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