Rebuilding Austin Healy Sprite Engine No 9C-U-H 619
Interlude

In the meantime, at the bat-cave:

My youngest daughter admiring the bodywork ready for paint:


(Click here for larger version)

The car back from the paint shop



and on its way ! (Son in law driving, oldest daughter enjoying herself)

Final notes on January 5, 2004

I finished assembling the car in late June 2003. The engine started on the first try and I immediately kept it at high idle for 20 minutes. I got only a minor oil leak: the filter cannister was not screwed on quite as it should have been.  Well, some of my budies in the office thought this was pretty funny when they first saw this site.  I had a couple of good leaks.  I needed to glue the side cover and rocker cover gaskets, fix the filter cannister as noted above, and fix the timing chain cover gasket, as noted elsewhere.

Getting the paperwork done on the car took lot longer than expected. Because I had zero papers for the car, I had to have it inspected by the police first (and my situation was very low priority for them - hence the long delay), they certified the car had never been reported stolen. I then went through the mechanical inspection. Only a couple of hitches in the first inspection, which were fixed in a couple of days.

I got my license plate on August 12, 2003.

Initial trials revealed a few electrical problems which were eventually traced to bad grounds in the instruments. They were grounding through the speedo cable, which got hot enough the melt the insulation of a couple of wires that touched it. Carburetion also required a bit of work but I think I got it close enough. I'll need a professional to show me how to do it right, though.

After break-in, I managed to see a top speed of 75 mph, which is a little short of where it should be, with the very early engine. Better tuning may help.

Here's my wife and I about to leave for a Sunday afternoon ride, in mid-october. Picture does'nt show the 10 pounds of wool garments in the trunk, but does show the next project: Lotus Europa S1a (currently under way).

I put the car away for the winter at the end of October 2003, after about 1,000 miles on it.

It's all worth it in the end !