Austin Healey Spares Limited in England has a new item some of you may be interested in. The catalog item is:
MSC195-GEARBOX/OVERDRIVE DRIP TRAY

Thanks to Dennis Saxon

If you have ever wanted one of those fancy Aston Martin style racing gas caps you can go to  http://64.202.180.37/files/cap2.pdf  for many choices of styles,finishes and sizes.  JC

I needed a custom length speedometer cable made for my BJ8 the other day and started looking around online for a shop. There is one called Speedometer Service in NW Portland that has been in business since the 30’s. They made up the cable while I waited. I then found out that they say they can repair Smiths instruments!I just sent one to the east coast to be repaired. They also saved me $100 by making me a new speedo angle drive for my Toyota 5-speed. The person I worked with was Andrew Fink. He did the work and was very cooperative and helpful. The address is: 3551 NW Front Ave.,Portland,OR, 503-227-5567

Is the problem real? Yes, yes, yes it is a real problem for our flat tappet engines.  At the June meeting John Wilson reported serious damage to one of his engines not long after a re-build.  The failure was due to an inadequate amount of ZDDP in the oil.  This raised the question of how do we get ZDDP in our engine oil.  I gave a report at the club meeting some months ago after having researched the question.  I have several reference reports I can send to members if  I receive an me an email requesting them.  In the meantime the following provides a concise summary answering the question.   See the last lines especially.

How do I get oil with ZDDP in it?

•You can buy non-American Petroleum Institute (API) certified oil
o Look for ZDDP at 0.12% or 1200 PPM on label
o Viscosity 20W-50
o Appropriate for vehicles driven frequently

• You can buy oil formulated for classic cars (Moss 220-810, 220-815)
o Typically with ZDDP at 0.12% or 1200 PPM
o Viscosity 20W-50
o Addition rust & corrosion inhibitors
o Appropriate for vehicles driven less frequently

• You can buy API certified oil and add a ZDDP supplement (Moss 220-805, 220-908)
o API SM oil with 0.08% or 800 PPM
o Viscosity 20W-50
o Add 4 oz ZDDPlus to 4 quarts to get 0.14-0.15% (1400-1500 PPM) ZDDP
o    Add 4 oz ZDDPlus to 5 quarts to get 0.11-0.12% (1100-1200 PPM) ZDDP
o    Add 6 oz ZDDPlus to 7-8 quarts to get 0.11-0.12% (1100-1200 PPM) ZDDP
for a Healey oil and filter change

George Koeber came up with a source for a replacement headlight dimmer switch at Baxter Auto Parts. The part number is DS70. If fits in with a slight filing out around the mounting holes. It is $13.99 compared to around $50 for the Moss part. Let us know if you have sourced any other Healey parts at local stores and we will post them.

I ran across this site while surfing through my Bugeye Group posts. It has a lot of great general information even though the emphasis is on MG’s. Go to Facebook first and then search for “University Motors”.

Austin Healey 3000 Mk III BJ8 Overdrive Hydraulics by Mark Schneider

The heart of the Laycock de Normanville overdrive is the hydraulic system.  Inside the overdrive case is a small pump that is driven by a cam on the main shaft.  The pump produces 450-500 psi of hydraulic pressure.   If the system is not maintained properly or contaminants or dirt are introduced during a rebuild the car owner is asking for trouble.  Small dirt particles can foul and block tiny hydraulic passages in the system.

An important component in the hydraulic system is the accumulator piston and its housing (Figure 1). The piston and housing in the photograph were removed from  my BJ8 overdrive after 118,400 faithful miles.

I have owned the car for 39 years and in all those years   the overdrive has never failed.  It has always has engaged and disengaged smartly when the OD switch was thrown or when I depressed the accelerator to pass a slower Ferrari or Jag.  However, close inspection of these critical overdrive components during a recent tear down and rebuild of the driveline components revealed significant damage.  In Figure 1 the scoring of the inner housing bore and similar damage done to the piston are obvious.   Although I have routinely changed the oil and was careful to avoid introducing contaminants the accumulator items were badly worn.  It was clear that new units were required.

Note that the piston seen in Figure 1 has a series of metal rings located in a groove near the bottom of the piston.  The piston and rings were purchased from Moss Motors as separate pieces and require assembly.  There are a total of 6 rings cast iron rings.  The rings are brittle and can break easily.  Therefore the installation of the rings requires some care and finesse.  The ring set consists of two wide rings that are installed on the piston first and line the bottom of the groove.  These are followed by four narrower rings which rest on top of the two inner rings.  The next step requires great care and patience, that is, inserting the ringed piston in the near zero tolerance of the accumulator housing bore.  It is necessary to compress the rings so the outside diameter exactly matches the inner diameter of the housing bore.  It is also necessary to align the piston precisely in line with the longitudinal axis of the housing as the piston is inserted into the bore.  Failing this will ensure a binding situation that can put stress on the fragile rings and may result in breakage.  Trust me on this one.   Although the top of the housing bore is chamfered as an aid to compressing the rings and guiding the piston into the housing, it didn’t work for me.

When my gearbox/OD project arrived at this juncture I conducted a little research.  I read the workshop manual and studied the overdrive material on John Sims’ excellent website, www.healey6.com.  Unfortunately, there was no description of a technique for the installation of the ringed piston into the accumulator housing.  However, some automatic transmissions contain similar piston/housing components and face a like challenge during a rebuild.  A visit to a transmission shop produced the small piece of tubing seem in the lower left corner of  Figure 1.

The metal ring in the figure has an ID of   28.65 mm, slightly large than the 28.45 mm bore of the housing.   I used the ring to compress the piston rings and then to insert the piston and rings into the accumulator housing.  The following process works well and minimizes stressing the fragile rings.  First, I chamfered the inner and outer edges of one end of the metal ring.   Then I inserted the piston into the metal ring until the first ring touched the chamfer. Using two long needles I compressed the first ring until the gap in the ring was closed, then I applied a small amount of  finger pressure  to the bottom of the piston causing the first ring to slide into the metal ring.  I repeated this ring compression three more times and left a small portion of the piston bottom protruding from the metal ring.  The protruding piston bottom served to center the package directly over the center line of the housing bore and provided a visual clue to the alignment of the piston relative the housing.  Finally, pressure was applied to the piston as it slipped from the ring and into the housing without any of the rings being allowed to re-open and interfere with a smooth insertion.

Found this a www.healey6.com. Link is to the pdf. If you visit the site there is a lot of other technical articles. But turn off your speakers. The site is full of obnoxious sound effects (imho).

AUSTIN HEALEY BJ8 SMITHS
ELECTRONIC TACHOMETER
INSTRUCTIONS FOR REBUILDING THE
ELECTRONICS

http://www.healey6.com/Technical/Rebuild%20BJ8%20Tach.pdf

Saturday, February 14, 2009 was the culmination of a series of discussions between Richard Mayor and me.  Over lunch one day Richard was surprised to learn that my Healey has nearly 119,000 miles on it and has never had an engine overhaul.
As the discussions progressed we decided we could test the general health of my engine and present the testing protocols as a technical session for the club.
The diagnostics to be performed were a “compression check” and a “leak-down test”.  The former analysis consists of removing all six spark plugs and then with the transmission in neutral and the parking brake set, measure the ability of the piston in each cylinder to compress the volume of contained air.  Attaching a pressure gauge to each cylinder and then using the bump switch on the starter solenoid to turn the engine over 3-5 times accomplishes this.  All six plugs are removed so that the engine can spin freely.  At each compression stroke the pressure in the tested cylinder rises until it no longer rises.  The peak pressure is then recorded.  Each cylinder is similarly tested and recorded (see the data table).

The leak down test is a little more involved.  Again, the spark plugs are removed, one at a time, and a special pneumatic system is attached to the test cylinder.  The apparatus allows compressed air to be slowly added to the cylinder and the ability of the cylinder to retain 100 psi is then measured and recorded.  The testing of each cylinder requires that the cylinder be brought to a top dead center (TDC) of the compression stroke.  It is at this point of a four-stroke combustion engine that the intake and exhaust valves are both closed and the cylinder can be pressurized. With the car transmission in 3rd gear, the park brake off, and the strong backs and weak minds of the testers roll the car forward or backward until it is determined that the piston of the subject cylinder is at TDC on the compression stroke.  The leak down test requires a bit of precaution.  If the cylinder is not exactly at TDC when the compressed air is introduced the car may role as the piston is forced down and away from the TDC position.  To avoid surprises and possible injury or damage the park brake is set, the wheels chocked, and five of the spark plugs remain in place.

The table below presents the data recorded.  The reference point for the compression numbers is the found in the General Data of the workshop manual for the Healey 100-6 and 3000.  A fresh engine should deliver 175 psi in all six cylinders.  Therefore, my engine producing a compression ranging from 155 to 162 psi is not too bad.  However, the leak down numbers indicates there is a problem in cylinder number 3 with a reading of 26 %.  The question is, where is the leak?  The answer is usually fairly obvious during the leak down testing.  When the cylinder is pressurized and air begins leaking it is audible either at the carburetters (intake valve leakage) or at the tailpipes (exhaust valve leakage).  In the case of my car the major leakage was tracked down to piston rings.  The sound of leaking air was evident but no sound came from the tailpipe and did not seem to emanate from the intake manifold.  But, when the rubber hose from the crankcase breather was removed from the air filter of the back carburetter it was clear that air was passing by the piston rings in all six cylinders, especially cylinder number 3.

Cylinder #        Compression         % Leak Down
Measured                 Recorded

1                          161 psi                   10%
2                         156                         11
3                         155                         26
4                        160                         11
5                        155                          12
6                        162                          14

The conclusion of the technical session was that clearly there was measurable wear on my engine due to 119,000 miles of service.  However, we concluded there could be many more miles of reliable service yet to be enjoyed before major engine overhaul is necessary.  At the time that occurs there are many upgrades that can be done to improve the performance of the Healey six, e.g., lightened fly wheel, improved valve train, race grade exhaust manifold, etc.

Following up on Tom Monaco’s presentation on hubs and splines, I found this article from Classic Motor Sports Magazine.   Since Tom has been in the tyre business and has worked on more British wheels than he like to admit, I’m expecting him to read the article and tell us how accurate it is.