[Healeys] asbestos lookalike insulation sheet

Richard Collins gonnagitcha90 at hotmail.com
Thu Jan 14 15:49:48 MST 2021


Back in the 60's and 70's when I was a Merchant marine ship officer we would load bulk and bagged asbestos in east Africa and discharge in ports on the US gulf ports; dust everywhere, etc. Some longshoremen wore handkerchiefs over their faces but not much; When done we'd go sweep the bottom of the hatch and load whatever on top for export. Knock on wood ( I think), my exposure to asbestos, fiberglass dust, mahogany dust, agent orange in Viet Nam, etc. hasn't hit me yet. But I do wear masks now for paint, Covid, sanding wood and fiberglass etc but no white suits so far.

Regards,
Richard C

________________________________
From: Healeys <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net> on behalf of simon.lachlan at alexarevel.plus.com <simon.lachlan at alexarevel.plus.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2021 2:03 PM
Cc: 'Healeys' <healeys at autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Healeys] asbestos lookalike insulation sheet


When I was a student, various of my friends had Healeys, TRs and similar. Also an E-Type which proved to be lethal. I wanted a Healey. At about the same time, my father made me an offer. Same offer I made to my kids… “If you want a car, get a job and earn some money. I’ll match whatever you earn and you’ll be able to get something half way decent.”

I replied that I wanted an AH3000 to which he, quite sensibly, said, “OK. You’re on your own”.

We lived in Surrey so not many places where a student could make any serious money. “Temple Tubes” was the top choice. Manufacturer of sewage pipes to the gentry! Basically, they took old paper and minced it into a pulp with water and the magic ingredient. The pulp was then rolled out on to 8 ft rollers which were dried in a long oven and then soaked in boiling pitch. The magic ingredient was, as you’ve guessed, asbestos powder. Students were often given the bum jobs and one of my tasks was to unload the 100lb paper sacks of asbestos powder from trucks onto a kind of mezzanine above the mixer. The stuff came, I think, from Canada and was in a shocking condition. Bags all split and powder everywhere. Masks? Gloves? You jest.

There was some consciousness that asbestos was “a bad thing” but we gathered that our stuff was “Blue”, which was OK, not “White” which was not OK. Or was it the other way round? Anyhow, wish me luck!

Oh, and I did get my 3000. £400:00 if I remember it right. It was a MkII BT7, sideshift. Colarado Red. Lousy gearbox, rotten interior. But I loved it. It didn’t appear to be a mutual love affair. It caught fire as I was driving onto the Holyhead to Dublin ferry. And a rear wire wheel collapsed big time whilst cornering too fast.

As to Steve McQueen, I recall various RN warships of the era, asbestos lagging everywhere. I recall Dad saying that the ships galleys ran on “super-heated steam” from the engine room. Which is why they had cold food when closed down on action stations. Rather them than me.

Simon



From: Healeys <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Bob Spidell
Sent: 14 January 2021 17:45
To: healeys at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Healeys] asbestos lookalike insulation sheet



Steve McQueen (the actor) died of mesothelioma. Urban legend says he contracted it from working in a brake shop--Healey content: I believe he campaigned a Sprite for a while--but it's more likely he got it in the Navy. True to character, he was a 'bad boy' and for punishment was assigned to clean up parts of the ships that were insulated with asbestos. It wasn't an intentional death sentence; it was before the dangers of asbestos were widely known.

I caught a news item years ago about a city in Russia that got its entire revenue from a nearby asbestos mine. The city is mostly abandoned now, for good reason, but a few stragglers stuck aroun. One was an octogenarian who had worked in the mine most of his life but never got sick from it. Do they have lotteries in Russia? If so, he should buy a ticket.


On 1/14/2021 8:42 AM, m.g.sharp at sympatico.ca<mailto:m.g.sharp at sympatico.ca> wrote:

I believe it is a bit more than just “dust” as if you were cutting it.  Asbestos is fiberous and the fibres are composed of microscopic components that will shed with any abrasion, even simple handling.  The microscopic fibrils become airborne and are easily inhaled.  They can also adhere to your skin and clothing and be transferred later, after the job is finished.  I am no expert, but suspect a short, once-in-a-lifetime exposure are probably not a risk, but why take even a small risk when exposure is easily prevented.



What worries me is when I look back to when I was a kid working in a gas station in the 60s and when the mechanics did a brake job, the first thing they did after removing the brake drums was take an air hose and blow the brake dust off the shoes and backing plate etc.  Of course brake material had asbestos fibres in it back then and these clouds of black asbestos-filled dust would fill the shop for us all to enjoy.



Cheers, Mirek



From: Healeys <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net><mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Jean Caron
Sent: January 14, 2021 11:16 AM
To: simon.lachlan at alexarevel.plus.com<mailto:simon.lachlan at alexarevel.plus.com>; 'Perry Small' <healeyguy at aol.com><mailto:healeyguy at aol.com>
Cc: healeys at autox.team.net<mailto:healeys at autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Healeys] asbestos lookalike insulation sheet



I have always been told that it is the dust of asbestos that is dangerous, not the board itself. I recall many years ago helping a friend with these on his Austin-Healey and he was totally afraid of even removing these panels, he was wearing a mask, and then a shield and gloves, that’s even before they had these “hazmat” suits. Meanwhile he smoked a pack to a pack and half of cigarettes daily which eventually and unfortunately took his life.



Jean



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From: simon.lachlan at alexarevel.plus.com<mailto:simon.lachlan at alexarevel.plus.com>
Sent: January 14, 2021 8:47 AM
To: 'Perry Small'<mailto:healeyguy at aol.com>
Cc: healeys at autox.team.net<mailto:healeys at autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Healeys] asbestos lookalike insulation sheet



Thank you to everyone regarding the sheet.
I gave it a gentle pry, per Perry's advice, and then one rather less gentle.
It just popped off. Intact and without cracking or breaking.
I wonder if it is asbestos. It looked to be in really good condition, but it
was there when I bought the car back in '96.
Anyhow, I was able to easily put the slide's 3 T-nuts in and reinstall the
sheet. All suitably masked of course.
Simon

-----Original Message-----
From: Perry Small <healeyguy at aol.com<mailto:healeyguy at aol.com>>
Sent: 11 January 2021 19:11
To: simon.lachlan at alexarevel.plus.com<mailto:simon.lachlan at alexarevel.plus.com>
Cc: healeys at autox.team.net<mailto:healeys at autox.team.net>
Subject: asbestos lookalike insulation sheet

Simon
Notice the square blocks attached to the big sheet. They have been known to
bond themselves to the bottom of the floor pan. Gentle pry them loose.
Perry



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