Have I mentioned that I've always admired the British roadsters?
This is the story of how that admiration turned to .... well, we're not
sure yet.
We won't discuss how I came to own the Jensen-Healey. Suffice it to say that after looking at multiple MG's, Alfa Romeo's, and other assorted sports cars, the '73 Jensen-Healey appeared, just 5 miles from my home. Must've been fate.
I looked it over, test-drove it, bartered a bit, and drove it home. The apparently loose wheel bearing turned out to be just that; a breeze to patch up. That minor repair, along with some air in the tires, made the thing pretty driveable. But what's this? The tachometer (I'm sure!) worked during the test drive, and I could've sworn that it worked on the way home. Sure enough, a light tap started it up again, until I switched the engine off. Haven't yet gotten it to indicate a single RPM.
No problem, I can fix that. A simple matter to get the thing out
of the dash, get the 2 thumb-nuts off the shafts, take the mounting
brackets off, and ....
A slight problem; the previous owner bent one of the shafts.
4 hours' work (and several days) later, I have the thing loose enough
to turn it and reach that shaft with a pair of pliers, and bend it roughly
back into shape.
So now I can hold the tach in my hand, but 3 disassemblies/examinations/test sessions later it still doesn't work. Hmmmm, all the current paths and resistors check out, the transistor shows the normal PN junction resistance characteristics, but....
That's OK, I plan to go easy on this car, especially since I see evidence of a respectable oil leak in the front main crank seal. The weather's still nice, my truck's in the shop due to an attack by a deer, and the JH is really fun to drive.
One evening, while switching the brights on or off, the lever ceases that satisfying click, and flops between brights, normal headlights, and "flash" mode. Did I mention that I can fix anything? Except broken plastic -- turns out that the mechanism includes a plastic rachet type of thing, which has broken off. 5 glueing sessions later, I give up and return the switch (also turn signals and horn) to the vehicle. Remarkably, every thing works. I stuff the elastic part of a sock into the steering column cavity, to keep the "flash" mode from staying on all day.
November 18, obviosly the last sunny day of the year, and I'm taking an impromptu vacation day. At this point I've had the JH for a week and a half, put about 350 miles on it, and taken it through the spray wash twice. Time to get it into the air again.
Rear brakes off, it's easy to see that all my driving has contributed to the grooves in the drums. I blame myself. In the process of taking the drums off, I managed to break the bolt holding the RH drum to the hub, then break off the Easy-Out in the bolt. Fortunately I had drilled all the way through the bolt, and was able to drive the broken hardened steel out with a punch. Drilled the bolt out, but no luck yet in getting the scraps out of the hub's threads. No hurry, it's time to start working on this car.
I removed the driver's door (now I need new hinge bolts), pulled the mats out of the front areas, and started on seat removal. Sprayed the penetrating oil on the first 3 allen bolts holding the driver's seat in place, and -- what's this? The 4th bolt has some sort of steel shield around it! Can't even see the bolts on either seat. Time to ask the mailing list...
Overall, after nearly 2 weeks with this vehicle, I'm pleased with it. Got the Excel spreadsheet going with all the parts required and price alternatives, and I should be able to keep the total cost under my $5,000 ceiling with a little inventiveness. It's a lot of fun to drive, and it seems that I'll soon have the only Jensen-Healey in Indiana. A mixed blessing, as this is reflected in the total absence of parts in the local junkyards. But I'm pumped! There's a little evidence of some well-done fiberglass in the door ledges, but aside from that the metal's not seriously deteriorated. Paint looks good (too bad it's not yellow), and I see lots of heads turn when I drive by. Engine runs good, only spewing a moderate amount of oil, and I can actually shift without grinding gears if I pay attention to the engine sounds. A little evidence of bottom-scraping which may mean a new transmission support.
My current task is to get the seats out and repair the surface rust on the floorboards. Body integrity is critical to this sort of vehicle, so that's the priority. If I can take care of that, get the tach working, replace the brakes (front pads nearly as thin as the rear shoes), fix the brights switch, and get that oil leak stoped, the only thing left is to stop the minimal rust scattered around the body. Looking forward to much frustration this winter, with a good chance of a nice ride in the spring.
Updates as the occur....