Jegs Coughklin(spelling?) raced a Healey with a Chrysler hemi back in the day. It was called the Hemi Healey.
My first job after high school (1968) was at Montgomery Wards. I had a manager there with a small block Chevy in an old AH. Not sure what year but it had leather straps holding the "bonnet" down. He took me for a ride one day and we were rolling along about 70mph and he yelled, "You ready??" I looked over and he punched it..... YOOOOOWWWWW.......... It took my breath. We got back and he showed me the engine. It had 3 deuces. He said that when we were "cruising," we were on one carb and when he kicked it, the other two kicked in. I still don't know if he was ********ting me but I never rode with him again. Just found this: http://www.britishv8.org/Other/HowardMacken.htm
I remember reading about a sbc swap in Hot Rod back in the 60's. I think, someone made a "kit" to make the swap????? Rich
In the late '60's, I had a rich friend who had a Healy with a 260 Ford in it. He said the guys that installed it initially wanted to put a SBC into it, but ran into some clearance problems and went with the SBF because it was a lot easier. If I remember correctly, it had a home made adapter made from an aluminum plate that allowed them to bolt the Healy transmission to the SBF bellhousing.
There is a swap article in a old Hot Rod, I just had the issue out the other day. It seemed pretty easy. It might be a late 50's Hot Rod.
When I was in College, there was a guy that had moved here from Minnesota and he had a Healey with a 289 Ford and a top-loader 4-speed. Never rode in it, but we could always hear him coming.
I'm doing one now! Guys have been doing this swap since the '50s.SBFs are easier to swap than SBCs because they are narrower. Depending on how much your willing to hack up the car, you can swap in a SBF and keep the car relatively stock or stuff a Rat motor in there, with a new ****** and rear end. Lots of ideas here: http:\\www.modifiedhealeys.org Be forewarned, some Healeys are rarer than others and worth a good amount of money in stock condition. PM me and I'll try to answer any questions you have Check out my build here: http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,8264
I've had four AH/sbc cars....if you don't dump the clutch, the o/drive ****** will serve you well, if you just gotta keep your foot in it, you're going to need a Gringo ****** and a beefier rear. An sbc requires you to get creative on distributor clearance, but you don't have the water pump problems that the early sbfs had. Actually, AH/sbc is what Shelby originally had in mind, but Donald Healey turned him down flat, and so did GM....thus, history was made in another way.... dj
Of course if the car is intact, Big Healeys can bring between $50-$150K in #1 restored condition. And most of the parts are still available. I like hot rods and restored cars and it's your car so do what you want, but if it's all together and not badly rusted, I'd at least look at selling or restoring.
I bought a 100-4 in the 70's for $35.00 for the rims. Used them on my TR-3. Put a 265 in the healy with a 57 Chevy rear. I still have it stored away in a "Barn" at my folks house. " Gonna fix fix it up someday"
Check out: http://www.modifiedhealeys.org/ That's what they do. I'm a member over there because I have a 59 Sprite project, but I think I'm going to move it on and make some space.
I put a 283 in a Bug Eye Sprite in '68. It was yellow with a black racing stripe. Called it the Hornet, and no it wasn't mine. So when I got to drive it I drove it like it wasn't mine, if you catch my drift.
Healeys occasionally and MG's more often receive the old Buick 216 or the Rover V8. It's a pretty common swap and maks an excellent daily driver. Have seen BBC in an MG B but it wasn't a very attractive swap for the street and he couldn't hook at the track. Mazda rotary is becoming common too.
There is a local guy running a supercharged SBF in one. Looks like an original car until you open the hood. I will have to find some pics. I guess he found it in Detroit and it was street raced there in the 60's.
I've got a 53 100-4 with a small block Ford in it. I'll have to take some pictures next time I'm at the warehouse.
Here is a Healey photo colloge that I have in my garage, the 4 "yellow" Healey photos are mine, 365hp 327 in a 1959 1006 2 seater. The other Healeys in the photo were inspiration. This was my first engine swap back in 1971, Peterson Publishing had an engine swap book out and I followed the Chevy-Healey swap instructions. Very easy swap to do, no significant clearance problems. Tried manual and auto trans before settling with an aluminum powerglide. Wish I would have started with that. Stock rear held up with no problems. G-60's were the widest tire that would fit and I already had the rear rims. Later, car had a new hood, 2 4 barrel setup, Ansen "ground grabber" traction bars, (cut down to fit), new paint. Girl friend at the time on the hood, now my wife of 37+ years still putting up with me and my cars... '22
I put a 12A rotory in a '61 bugeye a few years back. That's an easy swap. I measured up a 215 and SBF just for kicks. They are a real tight fit but doable with an auto trans. My big ol' feet needing room to work may influence that thought. No Healey is stiff enough to resist torsional deterioration with a bunch of V8 tourque. A six point bar would be smart if you use it the way it ought to be.
QUOTE: "This one will piss-off the purists. It's cool as hell!" Bit of a purist myself actually but this is absolutely stunning !
was that an ida's car? i think that is there address let me know if you want to swap a rover v8 in it.
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