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PostPosted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 4:31 pm 
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Location: CT
Roger that ~ no sweat, everybody barks at me. I've been yelled at by better men than most.

I agree. One of the problems with AHs was that the gear lever popped up BENEATH the dash, requiring a weird, long, bent shifter to reach back to the driver's hands. The good thing is that the tunnel is one big piece which can be removed en bloc and carted off to be cut for any application.

I fit a 1957 Corvette 283 (302) V8 into my final Healey. There's lots of space available under there. BUT ~ my concern w/ the L24 would be top to bottom clearance. The Healey pan is very flat (the car has like ZERO ground clearance) and the Z pan is deeper. The L24 has to lean sideways 11* in order to keep the SUs level, so that's another concern.

Somewhere I have pictures of AH engine bays, but no time now to dig them out.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 5:35 pm 
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Cam, here are the *ROUGH* external dimensions of the In-Situ L24, with apologies for the delay. All measurements are within an inch:

Length = 31"
(rear backing plate/junction of gearbox, to face of waterpump pulley without fan. I agree w/Phrog that electric fans would be better for this)

Width = 22"
(from face of SUs w/o aircleaners, to extreme end of sparkplugs. Includes alternator, starter, oil filter. Lower radiator hose must be custom anyway, since AH radiator won't work for this appl. You will want to remove fuel pump and go electric, and the alternator can be stalked closer to the block anyway. Remote oil filter could reduce problems as well.)

Height#1 (pan bottom to cam cover top) = 30" (+/-)
(It's a guess, since I was unable to climb under Z to find lowest point on oilpan, and my pan is unique anyway)

Height#2 (FLOOR to engine top) = 33.5" (+/-) (Probably different on the AH because of wheel size differences).

Shifter to backing plate/engine junction = 20" (+/-)

These measurements are "very close" approximations.

You will have some concerns to work out:

The AH frame rails are very big and strong, but narrower than the Z. They are also closer to the ground than the Z's, but not by much.

The AH firewall is not flat like the Z; they have two deep footwells extending into the engine bay, putting feet up to the starter. That could give side clearance problems, esp since the master cylinders extend even beyond those. Rear SU isn't in the same place as the AH SU is.

Many AH models have twin 'support beams' running from the firewall area, thru the fenders, to the front of the frames/crossmember for rigidity. I have seen them removed but don't recommend that. Not sure about the BJ7/BJ8.

Exhaust on these cars exits on opposite sides. No biggie.

AH radiator support is far different than Z's and radiator is narrower than Zs. You will want a Z radiator, custom hoses, and maybe consider canting the radiator for height clearance. Electric fans will be mandatory to avoid hitting canted radiator.

Road clearance on the AH is less than the Z. Your big engineering feat will be aligning the Z driveline STRAIGHT to the differential, without dragging the deck. AH used scissors-type (friction) shocks since 1953. I forget if the last AH used tubes or not.

There's really nothing important on the center of the AH firewall. It can be cut/pasted backwards into the cabin quite a ways without interfering with anything if needed. Believe it or not, the AH cabin is quite roomy below the waist. WSW mechanism and throttle linkage might be the only concerns up on the firewall.

These cars were frequent projects for better engines, so almost everything has been tried. The original AH six was a long-stroke, slow turning OHV unit with more torque than the Z. Redline was only about 5500 and it sounded very busy even that high. The L24 should be an improvement, except at low-end low-speed torque.

Sounds like an exciting project! :D

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 6:35 pm 
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Location: Lebanon, NH
Frank, couple thoughts I had bouncing around in my mind that you confirmed:

Radiator-I had been thinking something along the lines of a mid-90's Honda half-length radiator. I have been trying to dig up the AH radiator dimensions, but my gut feeling is that it should be a very close fit. They are also much thinner then the AH unit, should free up some for-aft space. Would require some creative work adapting hoses, but they are common and dirt cheap(sub-$200 for a basic aluminum unit). Junkyard electric fan to finish it off.

Framerails/Mounting- I have been doing some digging trying to figure out the engine bay dimensions with no luck so far. I think getting down and dirty in the bay will illuminate how the engine needs to be mounted. I *have* noticed that it seems the stock motor leaves a ton of space between the head and the hood, might give enough room to creatively shoehorn the engine in.

Clearance-As I mentioned, I am hoping that I might be able to squeeze a bit of clearance by simply raising the motor up a smidgen in the bay. Figuring out the pan to ground clearance is going to be tough, but I would be surprised if some hacking on the pan wouldn't be required for one reason or another.

Rear Suspension-Probably out of budget pipe dreaming for the moment, but I would love to swap over to a four link on coilovers. Looked into a couple inexpensive four link kits and it looks like they are workable, and can be had relatively inexpensive. Swapping to a narrowed Explorer 8.8 rear end would also bring disk brakes, and IIRC they are available with a pretty wide selection of gearing(and some limited slip) stock. Would also have a nice side effect of moving to a more modern coilover spring/shock and 5-lug wheels. In the front, I wonder if it would be doable to move over to a Mustang 2 IFS? Some of the cheaper kits have been narrowed to fit Ford roadsters, I am almost sure it could be worked.

MC-Looked into a Tilton pedal set, will almost certainly go that route. Would make everything a million times simpler, and clear up a good bit of space in the bay. Would also clear up any firewall worries.

Fuel-I want to check the tank to make sure it is salvageable, but if so probably just weld in a sump and go with a whatever external pump is cheapest at the time.

Transmission-Sounds like going with the 5 speed is going to be the ticket.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:31 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 11:25 am
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Location: Clinton, Ct
Cameron, for what it is worth I saw an Austin Healy 100- 6 with a 280Z fuel injected conversion at the British Invasion in Vermont, so it has been done!

Best of luck, Dave


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 8:17 pm 
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Location: Lebanon, NH
Dave, I have seen the conversion a number of times across the web. The big problem is that with these cars, documentation seems to be fairly scarce. No HybridZ for the old Austins, sadly.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:44 pm 
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Also bear in mind that the old AH pedals were floor-mounted units (stalked from the floorboards), not hinged from the top.

If you could locate someone who has already made all the mistakes on a swap like this, he could save you a lot of grief.

Frank

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:17 am 
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Frank T wrote:
Also bear in mind that the old AH pedals were floor-mounted units (stalked from the floorboards), not hinged from the top.

If you could locate someone who has already made all the mistakes on a swap like this, he could save you a lot of grief.

Frank


Funny enough, that actually makes things a bit easier for swapping in a Tilton pedal set. Clearing the MCs out of the engine bay sounds like a happy plan.

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 10:02 am 
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Location: rhode island
I'll take that TVR instead. :D (Trevor Vector Research) A car that should have more publicity. :wink:


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PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2011 3:08 pm 
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Location: CT
OK, all the snow is melted.
The garage doors can be opened.
No excuses now for not getting into this car and sending us pictures.

What's happening with this project??

Frank

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PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2011 3:15 pm 
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Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:55 pm
Posts: 3594
Location: Naugatuck CT
i've talked with Cameron recently and i believe he is still hoping to nab Paul's 300zx.

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1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694


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PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2011 3:04 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:19 pm
Posts: 1301
Location: 5 mi. from Frank
PhrogZ46 wrote:
MG or TVR would be my guess. No way someone would put an L series in an old Jaaaaag.


Maybe not, but my niece's husband, a small block Chevy genius,
installed a 350 SBC in an old Jaaaaaag for my sister.............
FWIW, ~Rick~

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1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)


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PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2011 8:39 pm 
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Location: Lebanon, NH
Honestly, finances are the topic of the hour. The friend still has the car and it isn't going anywhere, but I can't justify dropping the coin at this point with "real life" issues. Hopefully the funds get freed up in the next month or two now that I have the garage space for it :)

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:41 am 
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Location: Lebanon, NH
Well this is back from the dead, life has a funny way of keeping you busy.

Spoke with the gentleman this past week. Still unknown as to exact year/model info/condition, but evidently there is also a Jensen Healey that is up for sale. The plot thickens.


He is having the cars moved to the shop for me to take a look. Tentatively scheduled to go down and take a look Tuesday or Wednesday. Anybody want to tag along?

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:43 am 
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Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:55 pm
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Location: Naugatuck CT
my old neighbor had a Jensen Healey. cool looking car.

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1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 12:46 pm 
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I'm certainly in for that! Where's the shop?

Frank

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