It's been 2 yrs on the road since completing my BN1 restoration. We've put on about 950 miles and won a few local awards.
In the summer of 2023 I decided to get involved with planning the west coast Healey club Rendezvous event that would take place on Vancouver Island in Sooke, May 19-23 2024.
This event was to be big enough that we could host a sanctioned Concours judging - finally my opportunity to have the car officially judged, which had been my intention since day one...

With that in mind, I made a list of details to improve on my car over the winter in preparation for judging...

One of the first things I did was re-adjust the bonnet latch fit which had slowly begun to unscrew itself causing the bonnet to sit up at the back...

I decided to add a badge bar and some original Lucas 700 spot lamps, with an original Lucas switch...

The badge bar needed to be cut down so it doesn't cross in front of the side lamps... strange that they make them so long like that!

Jolly Rogers Motors was able to provide me with all of my Healey's NOS lighting, including this Lucas 'Long Range' light switch, plate, and indicator light...

After wiring it all up using some matching cloth wiring to my harness, and some inline fuses and an old SD40 overdrive relay, I switched it all on and was delighted by the look! I made sure to use all original bulbs in the lights - replacing some of the LED bulbs I'd had.. so they all match and get full points for originality...

Rogers Motors was able to provide me with an NOS Lucas single bulb licence plate light too, to replace the new repro one I had. Here you can see the difference between the NOS one on the left to the modern one on the right.  The original ones has LUCAS inscribed on the glass too.

I put some calls out to various members of the concours committee to try and source some of the rarest pieces that I hadn't yet been able to find, and luckily some friends in the committee were able to help me!  I got an original/rebuilt oil flex line, and a fuel flex line - with the agreement I would return it after the judging...

Here you can see the difference between my repro oil line on the left with a rebuilt original on the right...
The end fitting of the original were simply heated, removed, and reinstalled onto a new inner flex hose - along with the original yellow tag...

I also added some textured coverings to the heater and rocker cover rubber hoses, and added the correct clamps to the rocker vent hose...

I replaced the right rear fender beading which I had originally cut to clear the cockpit rail and ruined... Now the new factory finished edge is neatly butted to the cockpit rail as it should be.

I also sourced some taller turn snaps behind the doors to correct the shorter ones I had there before...

I replaced the door shut plates with some Kilmartin ones that come without any holes drilled yet.
The ones I'd originally put in already had holes, but they were too big for my early/smaller door latches. Now the holes are the proper size and there's no visible holes behind the latches...

I sourced a good set of original knock-offs and had them re-chromed. There's a few notable shape detail differences between steel originals and the brass repro's I had.,

I prepared my tool kit, and added the wax paper grease gun instructions to complete it...

My exhaust tail pipe had always been slightly too short and was turning my bumper black after every drive...
So I removed it and had it lengthened by 1.5" to set it right...

While I was at it, I addressed a few leaks I had underneath... replacing the rubber o-rings on my overdrive actuator cross shaft...

I replaced the red tape on my fuel pump with black tape, and added the part number plate I sourced through a friend in the concours committee.

I had accumulated a number of paint chips on my steering wheel, so I decided to give it to my painter for a stronger more professional urethane finish.  This also allowed me to realign the steering wheel so it was perfectly on center.

I installed my set of original Champion NA-8 spark plugs that I'd been saving for concours judging...

I made a new left side screen that allowed me to fill the gap at the windshield I'd had with my old one. So now they both fit properly and seal as good as they can..

I rebuilt my top latches, replacing the hook parts with some that have the PAT number on them, and adding the correct style acorn nuts to the inside...

Finally, I even re-did my seats, in Connolly leather with soft cotton in the pleats, new foams, and white linen tacked to the bottoms - as was correct for early BN1's only.

The Saturday before Rendezvous was to begin, we drove over to Vancouver for the huge All British Field Meet. Over 700 cars in attendance and over 1500 spectators.  At the end of the day I won 'Best in Class' for the Healey 100's,  and -
the 'Lew Lewis award' for 'Outstanding contribution to the automotive industry' recognizing my business Rightway Heritage Trimming!

Finally, beginning on Sunday evening we drove down to nearby Sooke BC and checked into our hotel for the Austin Healey West Coast Rendezvous 2024.
The 4 day event were very busy! 
Besides being concours laison, and a judge, I also did an hour long tech session on the Wednesday that drew a lot of interest and positive response.

Unfortunately though, our car show on the Tuesday at the Airport Museum was mostly rained out, which significantly interfered with the concours judging schedule...
We ended up doing the judging in the underground parking back at the hotel much later than anticipated.
However the judges were all understanding and did a great job!  My car was judged first, and I watched diligently as it took 4 judges about 2hrs to judge my car following the detailed score sheets. 
Then I was on a team judging another car, which was a big learning experience for me as I'd never officially judged before.. I learned a lot from our experienced Judge Robert Wilson!

I wouldn't know the results of my cars judging until the following evening when results were read aloud at the closing banquet for the event...

Some of the judges on my car had been pulling my leg, saying how much they enjoyed judging my car and hinting that I'd made a strong bronze, maybe even a silver!...
Being new to this, I really wasn't sure how strict it might be.. I had mentally prepared myself to accept whatever the results were...

"And the results for the concours judging:.... Geoff Chrysler's beautiful BN1 has earned a well deserved Gold level in the concours!" 
 
I was overjoyed and shocked!
All of my hard work and attention to detail had finally been recognized. 
Not to mention, this entire restoration process for me has been a way of remembering, and connecting to my late Father Rich Chrysler - who was one of the earliest members of the concours committee, and put the same level of detail and accuracy into his restorations over the decades. He'd taught me most of what I know about these cars. 
This Gold achievement is as much in honour of him as it is for me..

Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way with essential details, parts, and information - you know who you are!
And a special Thanks to my beautiful wife Cat who has supported me, and this time & money consuming passion over the past 6yrs!
It's nice to finally be done the restoration, I've earned a gold, and now we can just drive and enjoy the car as it was meant to be enjoyed... 

I sincerely hope this blog & YouTube series has been helpful to other restorers as it was always intended to be.

Until next time -

To start off, I will mention that this is an ongoing article that will be added-to and updated as I progress with the model.
So please come back and check for updates every few weeks or so...

I have always had a huge interest in building model aircraft and especially the Avro Lancaster.
I grew up in Hamilton Ontario, and lived just down the street from the famous Canadian Warplane Heritage museum which has one of only 2 flying Lancasters left in the world.
I remember the day in 1988 when they finally finished its 10yr restoration and had it's first flight around our neigborhood.
To this day I recognize the sound of those Merlins from miles away.

For my model I decided to build a model of Lancaster B1 ED331, KM-Z from 44 squadron.

Here's a video that shows my progress with the cockpit and fuselage detailing -  but it also covers a bit of the family related history of the aircraft I'm modeling:

My family has a lost relative Reg Harding who often piloted this aircraft with his crew throughout the spring of '43. I found record of 6 sorties that he and his crew flew in this very aircraft which is just a few more than they flew in other Lanc's from that squadron.
The aircraft itself was eventually lost in operations in June of '43 by the squadron's Wing Commander VC John Neddleton, and his crew.
John Neddleton was famous for having earned the Victoria cross just a year before flying Lanc's in a daylight raid on Augsburg U-boat engine plant.

This is my previous attempt (using the HK models kit) to build Lancaster ED331 of 44 "Rodesia" squadron:

Just my luck a year after completing the HK model, I discover the newly released (ex Wingnut Wings) Border models Lancaster in the same 1/32 scale!  
Literally twice the price, twice the amount of parts, and twice the quality, accuracy and exquisite detail...  looks like I'm going back to the modelling bench to make an even better model of ED331...

Here's the interior cockpit & nose sections being painted,  I used a lot of different techniques like paint chipping with hairspray, using washes, and pre/post shading with an airbrush..

Here's a selection of detail pics to show the cockpit, wings and landing gear coming together...

Now to help bring this model to life, like my HK model, I decided to incorporate the Magic Models electronics kit which adds realistic start-up sound, lighting and motors for all 4 engines.

Here's a video showing the engine & motor build up:

Incorporating the motors, lighting, and speakers into the wings and engines was a trick! requiring a lot of careful planning and modifications of the kit parts to hide & fit the electronic components...

Here are the engines coming together with electric motors hidden inside to spin the propellers...

On the other wing I decide to have the engines closed and so used the kit's "dummy" engines - which actually had provisions for electric motors in them already!

These pics also show the exhaust sections being painted, weathered and added to all 4 engines...

Then came time to start painting the fully assembled wings. Starting with pre-shading all the panel lines in Mr.Surfacer 1500 - black - diluted 70%...

After pre-shading came the paint. I used AK Real colours for the camouflage, and I used AK nato black and more Mr. Surfacer black to do the undersides...

Here's a video showing the wings painting & lettering:

For all the lettering I decided to try 1 Man Army airbrush paint masks instead of decals. This is my first time using these masks, and they're amazing!  - So much better than a decal which looks shiny and sometimes shows carrier film...Plus I can get the colours just right!

Here's how the wing lettering was sprayed using the masks:

Then came some weathering...

Next it was back on to the fuselage, starting with masking all the windows using the ASK window masking set...

I also assembled & detailed the canopy area adding some cockpit placards from Airscale before sealing the cockpit closed with the canopy...

Here's a video showing the canopy and nose assembly, as well as the main fuselage join..

I assembled and detailed the bomb sight, adding some more placards to give accurate detail.
 Then I added the perspex pieces after first painting the nose surround cockpit green - (not black like I first thought it was in some of these pics!)

Finally the main join of fuselage halves and wings with all of the wiring and plugs. What a rats nest!

I carefully plugged everything in and test ran the system before finally gluing the fuselage and wings together...

While I had the Airscale placards out, I added a few into the landing gear bays along the firewalls...

Next it was on to the fuselage painting.
I started by spraying the insides of the canopy frame in the cockpit green,
Then did all the pre-shading using Mr. Surfacer black,
Then did all the camouflage using AK Real colours, then finally the black using AK nato black and more Mr.Surfacer...

Here's a video of the painting and lettering of the fuselage:

Next it's on to the fuselage lettering... I thought I would have to either make my own masks out of tape, or use decals to do the KM-Z, ED331...
But then as fate would have it, I was contacted by a local fellow who found me through my YouTube video's of this build.   
He actually offered to make me a set of masks for free using a program and cutting machine he has.  
He also just happened to live in my same town on Vancouver island and delivered the masks to my door the next day after talking to him and sending him the dimensions!  Amazing!!  Thank you SO MUCH Doug! I'm still in shock at the synchronicity that lined up here...

Here's Doug's clear/grey paper peel & stick masks going on for the lettering...  Of course I'm still using the 1 Man Army masks for the roundels...

Masking tape removed, the roundels and lettering look fantastic! - a proper "painted on look" we modellers are always trying to achieve..
Next steps will be to weather the fuselage, and build up the turrets...

I decided to build and install the front turret first because it has fairings that need to be fit, blended and painted with the nose area..  
Great detail in the turret, the kit uses 36 parts to build the turret - That's a lot of little pieces packed in there!   but the end result is stunning.

I painted mine in the earlier cockpit green with aluminum coloured frame work.. later Lanc's had this all painted black..

I finished weathering the fuselage with chipping paint, panel liner washes, then sealed it all with a satin clear coat before removing all the ASK window masks...

Here's a video showing the turrets and final details being added to the model...

Next I got into building and painting the mid-upper, and rear turrets... Again doing them in the earlier green/aluminum colour schemes before they too were eventually all painted black...

Finally I added the final greeblies like the pitot tube, nose camera, bomb door actuators, radio antenna's, and nose gun barrels to basically finish the aircraft itself...

The next step is to build a display case for the model,.. I decided to build a custom new coffee table/ display case with a wood frame, plexiglass sides, and a 1/4" thick tempered glass top.   It has a round mirror in the bottom and LED lighting inside the top perimeter. Turned out to be a great addition to our living room!

As I can only fit one of these Lanc's at home, I moved the old HK model in its wall mounted case from our home to my workshop, and put the new coffee table/display case at home...  Moving day was probably the only time I'll see both models side by side like this - big birds, require lots of real estate!

In recent days I've just purchased some sets of figures, bomb carts, accumulator, and a tractor to add to the new scene:

Finally I've added the crew, tractor, accumulator and bomb carts to finish the scene. With all the lighting, and start-up routine included this has turned out to be quite a mesmerizing scene!

As a final reward, I entered my Border models Lancaster display into our local IPMS model show and won a gold in the larger scale multi-engine aircraft category, and also 'Best in Show' for the entire event!  - I was truly shocked and honoured!

Until next time...

Well it's been a long while since I last posted about my BN1, but now that we're well into the winter season with snow and salt on the roads, she'll be off the road for several months which gives me time to go through my list of improvements I want to make for the next driving season...

It just so happens that we landed on exactly 1000 miles on the odometer now that she's done her first season.  So without further ado - let's get into it!

I've attached a YouTube video below that has all the same topical parts as this blog article.
If you'd like to skip ahead to the video parts that interest you, the times in the video are as follows:

- Replace axle seals - 1:24
- Replace noisy tappets - 7:05
- Install a PCValve - 16:30
- Rebuild leaky brake reservoir & MC - 22:32
- Replace upper kingpin Nylocs with Castle nuts - 31:48
- Check all electrical connections & replce plug wires - 36:41
- Install a cooling fan - 38:46
- Install a brass chain on fuel filler cap - 45:22
- Install a BMC accessory fire extinguisher - 46:07
- Cleaning up wheels, splines, & tires - 48:26

I removed the wheels, splined hubs, octagonal nuts and washers and finally pulled the inner hubs..
I used a piece of solid oak to press against the inner axle tube and tightened the splined hub on against the wood to pull the hub assembly off the tube..

Then it was just a case off tapping out the bearings and replacing the inner seals, and reassembling...

I reinstalled the hub assemblies and tightened them down with the octagonal nuts and tapped down the safety washers.
Then I installed new hub gaskets with gasket sealer, as I reinstalled the axle shafts, followed by the brake drums, and finally the splined hubs which were torqued to 65 lbs each on the tapered lug nuts...

After 1000 miles, the tappets are still louder than they should be - and after hearing several horror stories about some bad batches of tappets on the market that were improperly hardened during manufacture, I decided to get in there and replace them just to be safe...
So, off with the carbs, throttle linkage, exhaust, manifolds, side cover, rocker shaft etc..... 
I replaced the old tappets with some new 'lighter and better lubricating' tappets from AH Spares, which will hopefully be much better and quieter. 
I'll keep you posted in future articles with how the newer tappets sound...

Following an article Michael Salter featured on his blog, I decided to install a PCV valve to help reduce the crank case pressure and hopefully alleviate my oil leak from the rear scroll seal.
I actually had Mike provide me with the machined parts including a pipe fitting being added to the intake manifold cross pipe, and a pipe linking that to the tappet cover vent with a PCV valve in that..  I also put a plug inside the rocker cover vent tube...
Now the vacuum created at the intake manifold will help suck the excess pressure out of the crank case rather than it pushing oil out the rear scroll seal.

Of course it's also time to change the oil and filter, but I figure while I'm at it - I might remove the oil pan entirely and see if I can get some more of the dents out of it, and have a good look at the cam shaft and bottom end...

I gave the cam and bottom end a thorough inspection and everything looks beautiful!
I also took the opportunity to tap in the rear dowel seals a bit deeper and pressed in some new sections of dowel seal (with fresh sealant) to fill in the gap - hopefully this will help alleviate the rear oil leak I've had.

I also spent a few hours pounding out the dents in the oil pan, and got it looking much smoother than before. Then I primed and repainted it along with the rocker cover, and reinstalled it with a fresh gasket and sealant...

After reinstalling I waited a week to let the sealant cure properly before refilling the oil and touching up the paint...

I've noticed a very slow leak of brake fluid coming from the bottom of the reservoir, trickling down the feed line, and potentially soaking the MC or there's also a leak from the master cylinder...So of course this will not do!
- I drained all the fluid, flushed the system and removed & rebuilt both components.

Then I reinstalled them and re-bled the system myself using gravity this time...
I simply cracked all 4 bleed screws, filled the reservoir and let gravity do the work... After about an hour I had a steady flow of fluid at each wheel, so I shut off the bleed screws,
did a final bleed of each wheel individually, and finally adjusted them tight.  Then I clamped the pedal down overnight to allow any air to escape back through the system to the reservoir...Voila - I now have good solid pedal!

I have always wished I'd installed the proper castle nuts with cotter pins on the tops of my new king pins, but all I had at the time was the Nyloc nuts they came with..
Recently however I've noticed a slight bit of play in the kingpin if I lift the wheel up when the car is in the air.
So I decided to take the opportunity to take apart the suspension and add a shim washer to the kingpin as well as replacing the upper nuts.
This required removing the coil springs with some ready rod & nuts like I'd done to install them last year...
Now the nuts are corrected and the king-pins are solid with no chance of them loosening!

Like the title says, I made up a second set of plug wires, with better quality boots, and a new cap for my distributor. I'll just keep my fragile 'original spec' ones stored in the boot with the rest of my 'Concours Kit' of parts I'll only install for judging...

An issue I've found that may have been the cause for my previous overdrive issues, is that my batteries don't seem to be maintaining a full charge.
I've tested the generator and it's definitely putting out a proper charge, so my next step is checking all of my grounds and connections throughout..
Then I'll connect my voltmeter to the batteries while running the car to see what's happening there, if I have to I'll adjust the voltage regulator.
Failing that I'll test the batteries themselves with a load tester..

An original detail I'd missed before, I fit a correct size thick rubber o-ring joining the battery and starter cables just below the solenoid...

One issue with these Healeys is overheating in slow moving traffic. The 100's especially have an issue with the fuel boiling in the carburetors and causing sputtery running...
So I decided to add this neat little exhaust fan with a 4" hose and an adapter piece that I slotted to fit over the fuel line so it will blow directly onto the float bowls.
The entire unit can just slot in place with no need for fasteners or brackets.. furthermore, the 12volt fan only runs at 1.6Amps so I simply plugged it into the front side lights circuit so no extra wiring or switches -  It just switches on with the side lights!

I was able to easily plug the red wire into an existing harness connector where the front corner lights plug in. I turned one of the existing harness clips into a ground for the black wire.
Now the entire unit can easily be unplugged and lifted out for judging...

I did make a small bracket to help hold the reducer in position on the fuel line so it won't fall off if I hit any bumps. I just utilized one of the existing chassis screws to fasten it in place...

Details for Concours, - well this is one detail that's not even mentioned in the guidelines yet - though I have clear evidence that there must have once been some sort of chain attaching the filler cap to the filler neck - the eyelets for the chain are original, I only just added the chain.
I kept the chain length short enough that it only hangs down the length of the filler neck - not into the tank - so as not to create drips or mess when I remove the cap...

An old relic from my late Fathers collection of stuff. I found this old box in a drawer and was excited to find it was a period correct BMC fire extinguisher! So cool! So I decided to display it in my car, utilizing the factory blanking screws along the firewall over the parcel tray - almost like it was meant to go there - thanks Dad!

I cleaned and polished the wire wheels while they were off the car, and took the opportunity to clean off the old grease on the splines and replace it with some fresh silver anti-seize

I also cleaned the tires - first with some Super-Clean to remove any release agent film on the rubber, and then I polished them with some Tire Shine...

Now she's all freshly tuned, improved, and polished inside and out - just in time for the Holidays! 
I wish everyone a Happy Holiday - hopefully we'll see some of you at some of the shows next year!

Until next time -

-It's jobs like this that remind me of how much I love my job!  This rare 1961 AC Ace is one of only 10 that were imported into Canada -  A National treasure! 
It was a western car, that changed owners a few times over the decades, and was originally white with red interior. 
Finally it was completely dismantled in the mid 2000's so it could be restored, however the owner passed away and so it sat disassembled for quite some time before it was again sold to its current owner who completed its restoration.

Here is the original interior as I received it all carefully preserved in boxes...  Having all this original trim to go by really helped get the patterns and details right in my reproduction of everything.

On the right is the original in red, and left is my new leather covers in dark blue...

Each component was carefully documented, patterned and reproduced accurately...

The cockpit coming together from the paint shop, to installing the leather covered dash I trimmed...

Coachwerks did all the metal and paint, returning the aluminum body to its former glory...

I can't show this car without showing off its beautiful 6 cyl. Bristol engine - which was actually sent to England for machining and rebuild by a company that specializes in these rare Bristol engines...
Tom Munro, Richard & Michael Owen shared in much of the cars meticulous reassembly...

Finally the car came to me in a fully running state for it's full interior installation. I started with all the cockpit insulation and carpets...

I trimmed the doors off of the car with carpet inside, then leather pockets - skived to fit with the door hinges, and finally leather pull cords installed with the latches...

Lots of leather panels covering the rear wall and wheel arches...

Finally I fit my fully trimmed leather seats in with some vintage seat belts I made to fit...

The boot interior was made a little more luxurious than factory with the addition of carpet (instead of rubber) on the boot floor, and a vinyl spare wheel cover.

On the shelf the side-screen stowage bag snaps in place, with plenty of room for the tonneau and top to stack above it..

The original tonneau on the left - still fit!  And my new one on the right...

Again, the original top (someone had dyed black from red at some point) - still fits!!

With a good fitting original top, I was able to make accurate patterns for my new top in blue...

The original perspex side-screens, I was able to polish the plexi and re-dye the material in a matching blue to the top...

Well that's a wrap for this project -

It's an honour and a privilege to be a contributor to the restoration of this beautiful piece of local automotive history!

Until next time -

Since I started putting miles on my BN1,  I've been continually working to resolve some ongoing overdrive issues..
  
To start off, I should mention that my gearbox and overdrive were professionally rebuilt by our local expert here Tom Munro, and after purchasing another original donor gearbox from my friend Trevor, (for a better set of gears, and a better gearbox casing as mine was badly corroded and cracked around the clutch rods)..
Tom was  finally able to reassemble my gearbox & overdrive with some good quality original parts, replacing bearings, seals and gaskets with new.
Tom bench tested it, including the overdrive, and so far his work has been wonderful - it doesn't even leak!

However, when I first finished the car, and took it home from the insurance office for its first proper drive, the overdrive wouldn't work at all.
- Which I correctly assumed must be something electrical...
 
After checking the oil level, the first step I took was to replace the gearbox switch...
My original top gear switch with the screw in terminals, was already leaking a ton of oil from the front cover.
So when I replaced the switch with a new one, my overdrive suddenly worked!..  briefly...   until it started jumping out of overdrive on its own..

So I rigged a test light to the overdrive power feed, coming off of the c2 of the R1 relay that feeds the solenoid, so I could see that when the overdrive jumped out - so too did the power to the solenoid...   A-ha! 
So that meant that the issue was definitely electrical and not a hydraulic/mechanical issue... Good news!

My next step was to test and readjust my throttle switch to open at 1/5 throttle...

When that didn't seem to make much difference, my next culprit was the Centrifugal switch on the back of the gearbox (BN1's only) - 
This switch closes when the wheels are spinning approx. 30-40 MPH, thereby enabling the overdrive to be selected...
Most owners of BN1's that I know just bridge this switch off as it's a bit redundant and tricky to adjust properly ...

As each switch seemed to slightly improve the situation, the overdrive would still disengage after a prolonged period of driving...   

My next culprit was the relay switches, the BN1 uses 2 of them, whereas all later Healeys used just one.
I replaced both relays which seemed to solve the issue for a little while... until it started happening again!!

So I decided to disassemble my original relays and, clean and compare them to the new ones I'd purchased...

As it turned out the new ones actually showed signs of arcing at the points & had soot around the points, so I decided to clean and retry my originals, which worked, but still didn't solve the problem!

Finally I decided to replace the solenoid itself - it's the only piece other than the dash switch that it could be.

It struck me that because the solenoid completes the circuit to ground when it's engaged, perhaps my test light going out with the overdrive could also be a symptom the solenoid losing it's connection to ground and not something feeding the solenoid..

The solenoid actually has 2 windings in it:
-one that engages the overdrive,
-the other is to hold it engaged... I suspect the holding winding is what's failing...
So I replaced it with a new solenoid and voila!
I'm very happy to say that after a nice long test drive today along the coast and up and down the highway, the Overdrive finally seems to be working beautifully now! 

With that sorted, I've decided to go back and rebuild my original gearbox switch and get it back into service.
It was an easy restoration of just cleaning and resealing with a new rubber O-ring to keep oil sludge out of the switch and off the contacts...

So that finally seems to have solved it!
What a good (though sometimes expensive) learning experience, I feel like I've learned a lot, and have replaced and/or rebuilt every electrical switch on this car by now!

At least it's now functioning as it should...Now the driving gets even more exciting!

Until next time -

Well it's been several months since my last post, life has been very busy - but also very good!    

I've been driving and enjoying and improving my BN1 more all the time...

My first issue was to resolve some noisy tappets/valve train that I believe was caused by my aftermarket push-rods not having the correct profile in the dish that makes contact with the rocker arm adjustment screws.
I replaced the push-rods with a good set of originals with the correct profile and the valve chatter does sound much quieter now,.. though still not perfect -  
I've had a few experts tell me it's likely the poor quality tappets themselves, so I'll be adding it to my list of winter projects to replace them too.

The next running issue I had to resolve was the overdrive, which would intermittently disengage itself at speed - especially once it was warmed up/hot..
After many tests that showed the solenoid losing power at the same time as the overdrive disengaging, I replaced the centrifugal switch, and eventually even bypassed the switch all together!

Unfortunately that still didn't solve the problem! So I replaced both of the O/D relay switches under the dash.
I had to fill in the 'C3' on the new switch that should read 'C1' on original switches...

I replaced the condenser because the condenser was starting to fail causing some really rough running!

I still have a significant oil leak from the rear scroll seal -
I may eventually pull the engine and have a proper rear seal machined & installed into the block,. But for the time being I'm considering installing a PCV valve to relieve crank case pressure...
As you can see in the pics below, here's a good way of doing it, utilizing vacuum from the intake manifold cross pipe and routing a PCV valve into the existing crank case vent pipe to give it more effective venting.
A plug would be installed below the new PCV pipe entry..

Beyond those issues, my wife Cat and I have been thoroughly enjoying our drives in the Healey!  Getting out to lots of local car shows and driving every sunny day we get...

I did make myself a small lumbar cushion to give me some better lower back/tailbone support... I made it in the same materials as the seat so it doesn't look too out of place.  Makes a big comfort improvement for longer drives!

I replaced the wiper and headlight switch knobs with original Bakelite ones I got from my friend Richard - so now my dash has a complete set of original instruments in the same patina. - Thanks Richard!

I detailed the rearview mirror by having the brackets engraved with the correct 'Eversure' lettering and part number, I also replaced the adjustment screw with a correct cheese-head screw...

I replaced the cover of my voltage regular with another original that's in better condition - my old one was cracked in the corner...

My friend Blair sent me a stencil he'd made for etching the windscreen with the proper logo and date code for 1953. I was able to etch it myself using a small sandblast gun set at 70psi spraying some fine aluminum oxide for 6 seconds - I practised on some scrap pieces of glass before finally masking and doing my windscreen...  - Thanks again Blair!

I replaced my rad cap with an original one that my friend Mike sold me. I had to restore it with a new rubber seal, but it came out nicely - a very hard piece to find! - thanks again Michael!

Here's a neat pic of my completed and detailed engine bay...

It's only just now turned August and there's still months of good driving season ahead, with each improvement I'm getting all the more comfortable and thrilled with the car.  
Every drive is an exciting experience I feel grateful for...    could this be love???  - luckily my wife is into it too!   lol.

Until next time -

Last month marked a momentous occasion for me. 
After 4.5 yrs of costly, highly detailed, & labour intensive restoration: My Austin  Healey 100 restoration has come to near completion, as I finally had the car safety inspected and insured for the road.
As any restorer knows, there's nothing quite like that first real drive with the first full tank of gas on a freshly rebuilt chassis and drive train... Knowing that I rebuilt and restored every part of this machine to the best of my ability - Hoping with confidence that I got it all right - It's as anxious as it is exhilarating  as you experience the cars  sounds, smells, and eccentricity's for the first time.

But how did I get here?   Why would a 42yr old guy like me want to spend all my money and time restoring a nearly 70yr old car to such accurate & pristine concours level?  
Well,.. for me it's quite literally a life long dream, and a family tradition that I've spent my whole life preparing for and now finally fulfilling for myself .

As I'm sure many of you might know by now, I grew up around Healey's in a big way!
My parents each had one when I was born, and our family vacations generally revolved around Healey club events.
My father Richard Chrysler was one of the founding members of our local Southern Ontario Healey club chapter, but also was one of the founders of the National Concours Committee and Guidelines.  
Growing up, Dad had a steady side business that he ran from our home garage restoring Healeys to the highest standards for people from all over North America.  
His restorations were renowned for their high quality and faithfully accurate to original specs in every detail.
His specialty was the earlier 100's and he was even lucky enough to do some of the earliest cars around including the first production car.
 
Growing up around these cars was captivating - I've always dreamed of having my own to restore some day!
And watching the camaraderie & respect that Healey owners shared, especially for my father's vast knowledge & craftsmanship.. It was hard not to admire his passion and craftsmanship - even as an angsty young teenager. 

In fact by the time I was a teenager I'd begun to work for my Dad in his Healey restoration business. 
He taught me just about everything I know about Healeys,  auto  mechanics, and the various methods and practices involved with meticulous restoration. 
I even half restored an early MGB that I started when I was 13, however I wasn't able to keep up with the financial demands required to complete it back then, so I eventually gave up on the dream and sold it.

As a young adult in my early 20's, I decided to venture out west as the West coast had always held a strong place in my heart.  
I eventually found my calling doing vintage auto upholstery - and inevitably specializing in Austin Healey's.
For over a decade I was living in Vancouver on the west coast doing all the upholstery and trim for all of Dad's projects back in Ontario - as well as for customers all over the world.  
Towards the end of those Vancouver years, Dad and I were in serious talks for me to move back East and go into full time business together restoring Healeys together, along with our long time metal and paint experts  Colin Bailey, and Ron Allman.
We were even searching for the right size shop, when out of the blue we were struck by the devastating news: 
Dad had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and within months he would sadly be taken from all of us at the young age of 59.

In the aftermath of losing one of my greatest friends & hero's, I eventually decided to pick myself up and relocated my life west again, this time to  Vancouver Island.
With all the tools and Healey literature I'd now inherited, I decided to launch my own business doing the Healey Upholstery I was already so good at.
I even named my company Rightway Heritage Trimming  - in honour of Dad's business which had been Rightway Restorations.

A few yrs later, I received my portion of the inheritance money we got from the sale of Dad's early BN1 (body #156) after he passed.
I had always wished we could have kept that car, but it was his final wishes that we sell the car and divide it amongst us.
I decided to invest my share into purchasing and restoring an early MGB just like the one I'd started and never finished as a teenager.
The MGB restoration proved to be my first full restoration that I completed myself to the highest standards I've ever seen on an MGB -  I proudly won best debut restoration at the All British Field Meet in Vancouver!

Then one evening I started casually browsing Healey 100's for sale, just to see if I could find anything reasonable.
I came across my 100 as a complete but derelict Southern barn find that was being sold through the Beverly Hills Car Club.  
It was a long shot, but I thought if I could sell my beautiful MGB for a good price, I could afford to get this barn find Healey and at least get the restoration started.. surely with my knowledge and passion for Healeys I'd find a way to see it through..
So after much nail biting & deliberation - I did it!
In fact a good friend through the Healey club (that shall remain anonymous) actually offered to lend me the money up front to purchase the Healey, so I could take my time finding a top buyer for the MG. - Without which I probably wouldn't have been able to make the Healey purchase happen.

Coincidentally the Healey I purchased had the body number 1221 - which just happens to be my Birthday!
It was built on December 28th, 1953 which also makes it one of the last cars to be built in 1953 that we have on record. 
Being built at that time, the car still features most of the common "early BN1" details I'd learned so well, while having just a few of the later "upgrades" like adjustable sliding seat tracks, and the rarer style 2 side curtains.
The car was even originally Healey Blue - which was by far my Dads favourite and most commonly chosen colour over the many Healeys we'd owned over the years.

I approached this restoration with a strong level of intention and determination to make it as good as, or possibly even better than any of the Concours winning cars Dad had restored over the years.. and like him, I intend to have it judged for concours, but also drive it like it was meant to be driven!
The way I see it, I have a lifetime of knowledge and reference material to draw from, countless articles and pics that Dad had written and documented over the years.
This project would be my greatest tribute to my father, and an example of our shared passions for Austin Healey's and accurate details and originality.

As with any restoration, one key to getting it right is detailed documentation.
Every part and fastener was photographed and documented before being removed, bagged & tagged, and finally restored. That way there's no doubt as to how things fit together, and any missing or broken pieces can be noted as they happen so there's nothing lost, and no surprises.
Hardware was all individually bagged, labelled, and then re-plated or refinished in whatever the factory finishes were, like zinc, or black oxide.

Of course all rubbers and softer materials were generally replaced with brand-new, but when it comes to replacement of parts, I always seek out good quality original or NOS parts rather than aftermarket reproductions, because original generally almost always fits, works, and looks better!

Of course having a current copy of the concours guidelines was an essential resource, as well as the factory workshop manual, and hundreds of photos of other original unrestored cars built in the same time period.  Being able to follow and cross reference this information was invaluable.

Once the body and chassis were completely stripped, I delivered them to Jetstream Auto & Custom to have the chassis sandblasted, and then have the metal and paint done professionally.
Luckily as their acting upholsterer/trimmer I was able to negotiate much of their labour as tradeable hours.

Meanwhile with the chassis away in the body shop for the better part of 2 yrs, I proceeded to restore all the parts.
I meticulously cleaned, restored, refinished and reassembled each component one at a time and then assembled some sub assemblies such as the engine, axle assembly, front suspension, dashboard etc..

I replaced all the wiring with a new harness, and had the starter, generator, and dash gauges sent out for professional rebuild and calibration.

I rebuilt the engine myself after sending the block and components out for machining and balancing. The block was even re-sleeved with all new pistons, valves and tappets with all machined surfaces re-trued.

The chrome was also sent out to our local plating companies here on the island.

Finally in the midst of the pandemic, the freshly painted chassis returned from the body shop.
I worked every Saturday -  carefully reassembling all my freshly restored parts to the car, and checking and rechecking that I'd got the finishes and assembly details correct. 
I blogged about it, and even started my own YouTube series covering the restoration reassembly.
There were many exciting milestones along the way: putting her down on her wheels for the first time, installing the engine, the dash board, testing the wiring, starting the engine, getting the brakes working, and of course driving it for the first time!

Once I'd completely assembled the chassis to a fully running drivable state, I sent it back to the body shop to have the outer body panels assembled and finally painted.

Then the car came home for final assembly of chrome, lighting, and of course my favourite part - the interior and weather equipment.
For the first time, I actually made my new top from scratch following an original for pattern details.

Finally last month, we had our first real - fully licensed and insured drive - the first of many - and now all that's left is to continue driving and getting the car dialed in and fine tuned.
With each drive the car feels better, my comfort with driving it improves, and my smile is growing impossible to hide!

Recently my wife Cat and I booked our tickets and hotel for Enclave 70 at the Poconos in September. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the debut of the Healey 100.
It will be my first time attending a Conclave since 2010, not to mention my first time ever attending without my parents. 
Most excitingly it will be my first time ever having my very own Healey 100 - and it will be officially judged for concours there too! -

I feel like there is a small part of my father in every piece of this car. He was in my thoughts throughout every step.
His Healey legacy continues on in this, and all of the dozens of Healeys he restored over the decades that still exist in various corners of the globe.

Until next time -

Well after 54 months of detailed restoration, last week I took my BN1 in to have its safety inspection done.
After getting it certified, I went and got my insurance and licence plates all sorted out, and then proceeded to fill her up with gas for the first time, and set off on our first real drive all the way home to my shop.
I decided to take the scenic route so I could take my sweet time - nearly an hour- driving home while feeling & listening to the cars eccentricities & performance.

It was a brisk top-down drive through beautiful early spring Canadian countryside, and the sounds and smells of the car felt absolutely visceral.

Upon a safe and successful arrival to my shop and shutting off the car, I noticed a small puddle of oil drain from the rear of the engine,
However upon further observation it seems that I had overfilled the engine originally and once the car had a proper run in to full temperature, the excess oil was spit out the rear scroll seal - as these typically do!  - The engine has since maintained its full level.

The next day I decided to go through a thorough series of checks and adjustments to keep a close eye on the cars performance as I'm braking in a freshly rebuilt everything. 
Using my original factory workshop manual, I went through all of the post delivery checks and adjustments one would make to a brand new Healey back in the day.
I checked each spark plug one at a time and found them all to be burning evenly, without any signs of oil or coolant.
Though the evidence shows the carburetors could be adjusted to be a little richer...

I checked the gearbox & overdrive oil, which was slightly low from an old leak I'd previously resolved,..
It's important for the function of the overdrive that this oil level be properly maintained!

I checked the carburetor dashpot oil, and adjusted the slow running speed down a bit...

I checked the generator lubricator wick which should only be checked every 9-12k miles, but good to know it was properly lubricated with grease..

I checked the distributor points, gap, and rotor, and adjusted the spark advance slightly too in order to get the car running smoothly.

After a proper hour long run, I  re-torqued all the head studs...

I adjusted the clutch and brake pedal travel,

The fuel gauge wasn't working properly, so removed and synced my fuel sender unit with the gauge in the dash, and then reinstalled it with new copper washers to make good ground contact with the tank,

I checked all of the cars lubrication points, and tightened the steering wheel play by removing one of the 4 shims at the steering box.

I checked all of the wheels & hubs for play, adjusted tire pressures, and removed each brake drum to check for straight & even brake pad contact.

Now she's fully licensed and running beautifully, and I couldn't be happier with the results!
I can't wait to start putting on the miles on this summer with lots of driving to various car events to look forward to! 

Until next time - I'll leave you with a series of before & after pics of the car:

I've been working away finishing off all the final details on my BN1 and resolving any final issues or deficiencies as I prepare the car to be inspected and safety certified for the road.

To start with I restored and repainted all 5 wheels and then had new Michelin XAS tires and tubes installed on the wheels...

The spare wheel fits nicely in its compartment and nicely fills the early BN1 style spare wheel pocket..

Next I began test fitting the early BN1 style boot seal, which glues in the shroud gutter.
This took lots of careful sanding down to get the seal thin enough so it doesn't interfere with the boot lid fit...

I also decided to hand paint the inner boot perimeter lip in dark blue as has been found on several early BN1's - presumably for cosmetic reasons..

Unfortunately I discovered contamination in the brake fluid - presumably from rust forming in the fluid reservoir that also harmed the master cylinder seals..
I sent the reservoir to be vapour blasted and then plated inside & out to protect from any rust.
I also decided to flush the rest of the system and replaced the master cylinder, flex hoses, and wheel cylinders just to be safe. With the minimal cost of these components, it seemed like the simplest and safest option.

This time around, I decided to remove the drums and shoes and used some C-clamps to hold all the wheel cylinders closed, making it much easier to bleed all the air out of the system...

My NOS Lucas headlamps were not making good contact where the bulb plugs in the back, so I had to modify the plugs to make a better fit.
I also installed some new LED bulbs that I sourced through "Dynamo & Regulator Conversions"

Thanks also to Michael Owen for supplying me with a replacement light switch - as mine turned out be faulty.

Now all the lighting and signals work correctly! 

With all those things checked off the list, the next few weeks will see the car go in for inspection, safety, registration and insurance - Then, finally we'll be ready for the road - just in time for Spring!  - I couldn't be happier!

Until next time -

So, to start off I had already made and restored my BN1 style#2 side screens last year. All that was left to do was to adjust them to fit the door and pop them in place...

Then I erected the top frame and installed & trimmed the front wood header rail...
These early style rails used a combination of Everflex on the outer faces and matching interior vinyl on the inner faces.
-Later BN1/2 the rails were instead just wrapped in Everflex.

I decided to make myself a new top following an original pattern I'd made last year from an original 100 top:

I decided to test my new pattern first by cutting and sewing a practice top out of some cheap vinyl.
Then I could make any alterations & adjustments to my pattern before cutting the actual new top out of English Everflex:

The new top being cut out of English Everflex...

Installing the proper aluminum front corner stiffeners in the side flaps that these 100 tops all had...

The completed top fit beautifully!  - and now that my pattern has been verified, I can now make these tops available to anyone through: rightwayheritagetrim.com

Here is my new early BN1 style tonneau cover with the correct original hardware and 'Lightning' zipper...

Notice in the front corners early BN1 used Tenax snaps, and did NOT have any grommets over the spring rest studs like later tonneaus did.
-Later tonneaus were more squared off in the front corners and used turn-snaps in the corners instead of Tenax, and had grommets over the spring rest studs.

So that about completes the car!

I'm very happy and proud of how she turned out - I can't wait to start putting some miles on and getting her well adjusted and broken in so we can start to do some real touring in it!

We just registered for 'Enclave 70' in September - the 70th anniversary show of the debute of the Austin Healey 100 -
There will be lots of beautiful early Healey 100's there, including the first production car and some pre-production examples.
We'll be in good company, and will have our car judged for concours as well.. so wish us luck!

For now, here's a few more pics of the finished car:

Until next time -

Last weekend I put several days of gratifying progress on my BN1, installing my interior.
Each day I'd arrive to the shop bright and early, make some fresh coffee, put some great tunes on, and immersed myself in my chosen craft,..   and wow is the car ever looking good!

Here's the YouTube video I made of the process:

As always, here's some pics of the interior progress:

Of course this is one of my Rightway Heritage Trimming complete interiors that I made completely myself by hand.
It features all the correct original materials in the proper colours, using original patterns and trimming methods.
The seats are even made of Authentic Connolly Leather -

The car is looking great and very close to finishing off with a new top, tonneau and side screens, but that will be another week - another blog post, another video...

Until next time -

Well it's been a very busy and delightful winter holiday since my BN1 returned from the paint shop, I took a full week off between Christmas & New Years and have been happily working away on reassembly of all the chrome and body hardware, I put together 2 new videos covering the progress:

So in addition to the videos, I've added some more pics of the progress: - I'll be adding more before & after pics here later on -

I wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy, Safe and Prosperous New Year!

Until next time -

Just in time for my Birthday, my BN1 has finally returned home from the paint shop!
The guys at Jetstream Auto & Custom did a beautiful professional job of pre-assembling and prepping the body, getting it all perfectly smoothed and primed.
Then they dissasembled the body and painted all the insides and edges of the body panels.
Then they reassembled the body, leaving the doors, bonnet and boot lid off...
They took care to use my original spec hardware and even filled the visible pop-rivets to make them into solid ones...
Finally they masked and sprayed the complete body and panels...

After paint and a week or so of drying and final polishing, we assembled the doors, hood, and boot lid at Jetstream, and then loaded her into a trailer to bring her back home to my shop...

A close up of our Healey blue BU2, a super fine metallic that's almost undetectable - more of a sheen than a visible flake...

I couldn't be happier with the paint - I'm so grateful to have been able to find some of my late Fathers actual mix of Healey blue that he diligently researched to get right back in the 90's!

Now that the body and paint is finished, I can start to show some rewarding before & after pics:

I've got lots of delightfuul assembly work to keep my evenings and weekends busy over the winter - I look forward to each and every step..

I wish everyone a safe Happy Holiday & New Year!

Until next time -

Well as the rain season has begun here in the Northwest, the guys at Jetstream have been busy prepping the outer body panels and getting the car close to final paint of the outer body.
Here's some pics of the outer body panels painted on the inside before assembly to the chassis...

This week Jetstream skilfully assembled the shrouds and rear fenders... I've been fussy with them in making sure we're using all the correct original hardware throughout, getting the rivets looking just right etc..   -  thank you Jason for your patients with me on this! - It's so nice to be working with professional craftsmen who are used to the level of accuracy I'm trying to achieve.

I know that 99% of the population would never notice or care if some hardware was a little different than factory, but the way I see it, this is a personal passion project for me -  a therapeutic endeavour I've been relishing in as each step brings me closer to the memories of my late Father, who originally taught me how to do this work and appreciate these cars.
I'm enjoying getting the details right now because I can.
I have a lifetime of knowledge that I'm finally getting the opportunity to put into practice and it gives me a tremendous sense of satisfaction and accomplishment - and hopefully will earn me a Gold when the car is finally judged next year - just like Dads restorations most often did!

Throughout my progress on my BN1, I've also been quietly following the progress of a similar early BN1 being restored in Europe by a fellow named Karl who hosts 'the Austin Healey Channel' on YouTube.
In recent episodes Karl has run into some major fitment issues with his assembled windshield not lining up to it's lowered position feet. 
His nail biting dilemma prompted me to prioritize finishing  my own windscreen sooner than later so I could test its fit and function before assembling the front fenders next week...

Sooo,..

The first step is to assemble the corner brackets to the  chrome post channels, and then assemble the channels to the painted posts. I used some clear silicone to seal these joins from water, and used my original brackets with new screws ground down to the proper length (as shown in my last video e13)...

Then with the posts assembled I fit them to the glass with the new rubber seal being evenly wrapped around the glass edge and pushed into the channel.
I coated the rubber with some clean oil to help it slide, but also the oil will slowly cause the rubber to swell and seal properly... 

With each post squeezed home, I fit the upper and lower channels the same way and screwed the corners together.
Then I carefully hammered the lower channel on using a plastic sand filled mallet, and also used some ratchet straps to help squeeze the channels home tightly.
The excess rubber was then cut away with a razor blade even with the chrome...

I then finished the screen by installing the new lower rubber seal, trimming the edges and fitting the chrome legs and link hardware...

With the windshield assembled, I can bolt up the mounting brackets and feet to the car  and check the fit and function of both positions before final finish and paint..

We took the opportunity to also fit the grill once again just to recheck the fit and eliminate and gaps...

Meanwhile I've been preparing the lighting, interior, and chrome on my end for when the car returns from paint.

I actually re-did my front seats over again with new covers I made using authentic Connolly leather that I'm now able to source and provide with a certificate of authenticity:

New door panels I made in baltic birch plywood with correct English vynide as original:

Final paint is just around the corner, I can hardly wait to install my new interior and finish all the outer chrome and lighting!

Until next time -

Well with the assembled running & rolling chassis delivered back to the body shop to be painted, my progress with other things on the car has slowed down temporarily..

The timing actually lined up perfectly because last weekend my lovely partner Cat and I finally got married in a beautiful small -fully vaccinated- wedding with all our best friends & family supporting us.. 
The wedding was amazing and I couldn't be happier!
We'll plan our honeymoon for next year, but for now we did take much of the week off to spend time with others who travelled out here to see us...

This morning however, I get did get back some items from chrome and anodizing which has given me even more reason to feel exuberant - as if I needed any more reason! - haha

As you can see, my original aluminum cockpit rails were pretty scratched up, but at least were all the original ones to the car. Notice the original anodized finish:

So a few months ago I decided to first send them out to be professionally polished to a mirror finish, removing all the scratches and sanding marks:

Then I delivered them to Altech Anodizing, here in Delta BC to have them anodized as original - the final results are stunning! :

My original grill required some careful straightening which we did while it was in it's bare brass state.
We made sure to fit it to the car while the front shroud was being fine tuned so that everything would fit together properly before any chrome or paint...

Then it was off to Victoria Plating to have the chrome done with satin chrome on the teeth and double high shine on the surround as original -  Once again, the results are stunning!:

The bumpers are an original set that I sourced through a friend in the Healey club.
Original bumpers differ somewhat to the repro's in that their curvature follows the bodywork a lot better. Especially the rear bumper, as repro's are too straight and create clearance issues.
The original overriders have slightly more pronounced flat tops compared to the more curved repro's.

After chrome I painted the insides of the bumpers and overriders silver and then pre-assembled them with new rubber joint strips...

I also have all new fender beading, and all my original re-chromed badges and smaller chrome bits ready to go - including the windshield pieces...

Now I am patiently waiting for the body to be assembled and finally painted in the Healey blue,
then I can get into assembling all this bright work to the car which I'm really looking forward to!

Until next time -

Well my BN1 is booked to go back into Jetstream to have the outer body assembled and painted, but before that I've been going over the running chassis with a fine tooth comb to get details and leaks sorted..

I made a part number stamp for the rad hoses to finish off their final appearance...

In addition to the rad hoses, I found some better looking oil and fuel flex hoses...
I also finally installed the throttle position switch lever which required making some fine wire cotter pins to install the rod...

I prepared the Burgess Wet type air filters by soaking the clean filters in engine oil and allowing to drain overnight...

In anticipation of driving her up the road (which never happened) - I temporarily fir the tunnel sections to cover the gearbox and driveshaft... Wow does she ever look good!!

With a pinhole leak discovered in the rad, I've removed the rad to have it re-soldered and sealed properly.
It's an annoying discovery because I'd already sent it in to be sealed and tested before all this,  but at least I've now found the leak and know where to repair it...

Until next time -

In the past several weeks I've been very busy doing upholstery work for several other Austin Healeys that have been coming in for full interior installs.
However I have managed to get some work done on my own project with each weekend...

Lately I've been running the engine and getting the timing adjusted, tuning the carburetors, and adjusting the valves as I break in the new tappets and push-rods..

Of course as things warm up and get seated, I've been chasing down some leaks...   The first of which I'm still trying to get perfectly sealed: The carburetor jets, I've now rebuilt 3 ttimes with new seals each time!
While they're not necessarily dripping, the bottom of one jet is still wet after each run.

The other big issue I had was the tachometer gear housing was leaking a lot of oil after each run.
I tried tightening down its bolts and one snapped off flush with the block.
So I had to get in there by removing the carbs, manifolds, exhaust and tappet side cover - which annoyingly has to assemble in conjunction with the Tach gear housing...

I carefully managed to drill out and re-tap the threads for the shallow bolt hole, making sure to seal off all the surrounding openings to the inner engine and used a vaccuum to eliminate the drill filings as I went along...
With new gaskets and fresh Permatex sealant, I fixed the leak and reassembled everything with some careful paint touch ups..

After letting it sit for a few days to fully cure, I started her up again and let her warm up to temperature.
I again re-adjusted the carbs & choke settings and got the idle to a smooth 700rpm...  and guess what - No more leaks!

Well, at least not from those areas... 
I still have the "to be expected" common drip coming from between the engine/gearbox -

These early 4 cyl engines have no rear main seal, instead they rely on a reverse scroll that funnels oil back into the engine, however, after the engine stops running and the oil is still thinner from being warm, a bit will always worms its way out past the scroll passage and inevitably creates a slow drip as the car sits - in fact I've never encountered a stock 100 that doesn't have this drip - I suppose we can call it part of their character?

In any case, I happy with how she's running and I've booked her to head back to Jetstream next week to have the body reassembled and painted.

Until next time -

It's been hard to find time these past weeks to focus on my BN1 restoration, however I've been slowly but surely diagnosing several small issues in preparation to get her started...

The carburetors had a few small fuel leaks so I rebuilt the jets with new rubber seals instead of the cork ones...

I re-set the timing by turning the engine to TDC (top dead center) and aligning the distributor to fire number one, and re-adjusting the point gap to .014"

I replaced both the fuel flex line and the oil pressure flex line as both originals were leaking - at least I tried -
I was able to get some replacement 'Smiths Petro-flex' labels for the new hoses from British Car Specialists...

I replaced the engine/gearbox mounting bolts with some proper BSF ones, including the 2 dowel bolts that I was missing,

I replaced the tiny leaf springs in my early BN1 door check strap assemblies - I made the new springs out of a street sweeper quill that was just the right size of sprung steel for making the tiny springs...

Finally, yesterday my friend Mike Owen was visiting to work on another car in my shop, and inevitably had a look at my car while he was there...
As it turned out he noticed my new points looked dirty and after a quick cleaning, we turned the key and she fired right up for the first time!    -As you can imagine I was absolutely elated that she fired up so easily after simply cleaning the points. 

Thanks again Mike Owen, I'm glad the issue was so simple,  and meanwhile I've learned a lot in diagnosing and sorting out several other small issues that I now feel better about..
Once my new set of push-rods arrive I'll be able to run the car some more and fine tune the adjustments..

Until next time -

Another busy few weeks with lots of little things being added, finished, and/or corrected as I prepare the car for operation..
I finally got some proper riv-nuts to use to install the passenger toe board blanking plates.
The black painted plates are screwed in place with some scraps of interior Armacord sandwiched under them to dampen vibration and create a better seal - as original..

While I was at it, I cut some little squares of Armacord to glue to the tops of the inner bonnet hinge plates - I found these on my car when I originally removed the front shroud, they clearly provided some cushion and vibration dampening to the front shroud...

I installed the original spec tar paper on the main floors and then bolted in the seat runners and tracks, so the seats are now properly mounted...

I finished off some electrical by adding the short white/black wire pigtail that goes from the coil to the distributor, soldering it in place to join to the coil lead, and then finishing the joins with some black heat shrink...

After hooking up the battery and testing some of the lights, I found that my original flasher unit from '53 that I'd spent so much time on restoring the outer finish - was unfortunately pooched inside!
So I purchased a brand new unit and proceeded to carefully pris open the 2 casings and swap the new internals over into the original printed casing.
Then I also had to drill and tap the new terminal ends to accept the original old screws..

My new fresh air hose arrived in the mail this week and I have decided to use it. I feel it looks closer to the original than any I've seen yet -

I encountered a steering issue when my car was on axle stands. I immediately assumed it was the steering box and promptly made a proper gasket/spacer for the end cap, which had been missing from mine..

However on further diagnosis, I discovered the RH steering arm was fouling against the top edge of the A-arms!
The LH side was close too, but not quite fouling..
- the foul is only noticeable in the jacked position where suspension is fully sprung open..
So, a bit of careful filing remedied the sharp corner that was causing the bind,.. had I not jacked the car up it probably wouldn't have been noticeable at all!

Also arriving in the mail was a proper cork seal for the gas tank sending unit and, a new friend David who follows this blog was nice enough to send me some of the correct style cheese head screws for installing the sender unit - several of my originals had broken or been replaced - thanks David!

I've now fully charged both batteries and installed them with the correct hardware.
I also ended up replacing the original shut off switch with a new one, I then transferred over all my original hardware to it including my original switch knob..
With the batteries now hooked up I've been able to test much of the electrical and I'm happy to say all the dash lighting works, the heater motor, the wiper motor, the ignition and starter - all working as they should!

I'm just waiting on a few more essential parts before I turn the key and press the starter button for the first time,..

Until next time...

This week I installed several items including the radiator;
this is my original rad that was hot tanked, flushed, and pressure tested by Townside Auto here in Victoria BC..

I installed it with the correct hardware and then hand painted the upper bracket hardware as original.
I also installed my original spec textured rad hoses with the correct type of early hose clamps, and finished them with a handmade part number stamp -
and inserted the water temperature gauge sensor and hand painted it black as original..

I've decided to replace the paper fresh air hose I had installed with a correct earlier style of hose - originals were an oil cloth (as shown below) -
I've found what looks to be a suitable match through a heating supply shop in CT - we'll see once it arrives in the mail -

After the hose arrived I decided to wrap it in black paper soaked in Elmers glue to give a better representation of the original material...

I was so pleased with the result I used the same technique to wrap the heater hoses with brown paper soaked in Elmers around an internal wire coil...

I hooked up my original/restored speedo and tach cables to the side of the engine and the back of the gearbox, adding (sparingly) some light lubrication to the inner cables, and new leather sealing washers to the ends fittings...

I installed a new stainless steel exhaust system which I'd painted satin black as original...

I filled the steering box and idler box with some fresh Dynolite steering box lube, then I proceeded to grease all the cars grease points with some light suspension grease..

Here's a factory lubrication diagram to show you where all the points of lubrication are:

In addition, I'd already filled the rear axle with some fresh 75w90 gear oil,  the gearbox with Castrol HD30,
and for the engine, I've ordered some Valvoline 20w50 VR1 Racing oil, that seems to be the new standard for high zinc content oil that's just right for our Healeys.

Anyway, that's all for this week as I check off more and more things from the cars 'TO DO' list, inching ever closer to the day I'll fire her up for the first time...  I do love this hobby!

Until next time -

This weekend we installed the drive-train, I recorded the entire process in my latest YouTube video:

It certainly helps having 2 pairs of experienced hands on deck, I've probably assisted my father a dozen or so times over the years doing this operation with chain falls hung from the ceiling.
Trevor, who owns a pair of Healey 100s is also a seasoned veteran to the process..

The one unexpected issue we had was that the rolling chassis was about 1" too low to clear the rolling hoist frame, so we had to roll the car up onto some 2x4 pieces of wood to give it the extra clearance.
Other than that, it was smooth sailing!

The car is coming along really well and I couldn't be happier with the entire process! 
Special thanks to my good friend Trevor Parker for coming by to help out with the engine install yesterday,
Trevor has been closely tied to Healey 100s since the mid 70's,  and has been a great help throughout this restoration.

There's lots more ahead as I continue hooking things up and preparing the car for her first start up...

Until next time -

As you'll see in the latest YouTube video, I made up the new battery cables, and also fit the under-dash parcel tray, fresh-air cable, and choke cables...

With the new shock links that arrived in the mail, I was able to install the rear shocks and finally set the car down on its wheels for the first time...

With the car now rolling, I decided to fill the rebuilt steering box and idler with fresh Dynolite steering box lubricant.
I used an old squeeze bottle like a syringe to fill them.

Next entry will cover the installation of the engine and gearbox, so stay tuned!

Until next time -

After another productive week of working just 1 hour each morning, I installed my 2 piece dash assembly and wired up all the gauges and switches, and installed my freshly restored steering wheel and horn/trafficator switch assembly...

One detail I forgot to mention in my video is the evolution of the Healey 100 dash and where mine fits in the chronology:

The first style of dash that was used on BN1's throughout much of 1953 was a 2 piece dash assembly (the gauge cluster being a separate piece), and the steering wheel was adjustable with a chrome trafficator switch:

Then in early December of '53 the adjustable steering wheel was replaced with a non-adjustable wheel with a black pointed trafficator switch.
This change also coincided with adjustable sliding seat tracks that had been fixed before this.
The dash remained 2 pieces, but the steering wheel cutout was narrowed to accommodate the non adjustable column..
 - This is the dash that my car has, and is actually the rarest of the standard production Healey dash configurations as it only lasted a month or 2:

Finally by the end of January 1954, the dash panel was changed again to a single piece and remained the same pressing throughout the rest of BN1 & BN2 production with only minor changes made to the instruments themselves and some switch locations (BN2's had the ignition switch and overdrive switch locations reversed - as well as a slightly different speedo and tach) -

Some later single piece dashes were painted a solid colour, however it seems the majority maintained a silver painted gauge cluster.
Leather covering on the dash was also a factory option but was extremely rare...

So with that brief history in mind,  here is my rare 2nd style,  
2 piece dash with narrowed (non-adjustable) steering wheel cutout being installed and wired up:

..And fitting my newly restored horn/trafficator unit that I purchased through Curt Arndt:

Also this week, I installed the fresh air hose.
Early BN1's like mine had this hose cut well short of the grill opening like this -
Whereas later BN1's & BN2's had the hose extended right up to the grill...

I also finished making & installing the new steel fuel lines under the car, and added my NOS Petro-flex fuel line:

With the wheels temporarily installed, the car is really starting to look like a car again!

Until next time -

I made new steering box & idler dust seals out of some 5/8" black foam rubber -

And of course, feeling accomplished that I managed to get the rear axle installed - by myself, in about 25min!  - using a couple of rolling jacks that I maneuvered and balanced it on...
The fully weighted axle made it easy to just jack the leaf springs in to position to secure the U bolts.

With the axle in place I continued with the hand brake handle and cable...

I had to replace the rear fuel line fitting with the proper female end so it would join to the flex hose (the set I got had it wrong!)

Finally I also modified and fit the pair of grommets for the heater pipes going through the firewall.
I had to punch out the centers of some smaller ID grommets that still fit the OD opening.

Next weekend I hope to install the dash, so stay tuned!

Until next time -