Tag Archives: Carb Access Panel

Chapter 84 Week Fifty-Four December 24, 2007

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Today (Monday) is Christmas Eve and there is much to be done, so only a little Healey work will happen on this day, but I had a good week. I did manage to install the rubber buffers on the front shroud sill bonnet opening. Three on the left side and two in the right plus the long strip to protect the carbs from the weather. My long strip is cut into two pieces to account for the carb access panel. The buffers are held in place by copper-colored split rivets and flat washersthat are pushed through the mounting hole and then bent over.

LH Rubber Buffers

RH Rubber Buffers 2

LH Carb Panel Seal

The next task was to fit the front wings to the superstructure. I began with the RH wing, thinking it would be the more difficult of the two. First, I tapped the wing clip nuts onto the wings. Three shorter nuts and bolts are used for the front of the wing, below the headlights. With the help of my wife, who held the wing in place, I installed the rearmost and forward most bolts.

With those two holding the wing in position, I then began to install the other bolts working from the front to the rear. Each one was hand tightened enough to get them started, but with enough room to install the wing beading. The fourth nut/bolt from the front requires Houdini to install. I finally accomplished it after loosening each of the four bolts securing the heater blower and then disconnecting the large fresh air hose from the blower. With the hose loose I was able to access the bolt for the fourth hole.

RH Front Wing 1

RH Side with front wing

To protect the paint while installing the beading, I ran a strip of painter’s masking tape on the shroud and the wing parallel to the beading.

Beading Installation

After carefully spreading the beading folding tabs so that they were evenly distributed across the wing, I pressed it in place. Once again, four hands come in handy!

With my wife applying downward pressure on the beading I tightened each bolt/nut until the beading was locked in place and the top of the wing was tight.

Then I tackled the three fasteners below the headlight. These are much easier to access. Again, I loosely attached each of the three and then inserted the two plastic beading pieces between the panels and tightened down.

Next were the three 1/4” x 3/4” long hex head bolts used to secure the bottom edge of the wing. Finally, the 3/8” sheet metal screws were used to fasten the wing flanges to the hinge pillar plate. The heater blower fresh air hose was reinstalled and the blower’s four mounting bolts tightened. A little red touch-up paint on the lower bolts and pillar screw heads and then it was on to the LH wing. NEXT TIME I WOULD WAIT TO FASTEN THE WING AT THE BOTTOM UNITL THE DOOR IS INSTALLED. THERE IS FLEX IN THE WING AND BY MOVING IT UP OR DOWN SLIGHTLY ONE CAN BETTER MATCH UP THE WING CURVATURE WITH THAT OF THE DOOR!

The LH wing was a little easier to install in my case because of the carb access panelI had cut into the shroud! The difficult nuts/bolts on the LH wing were the rearmost two because the wiper motor restricts access to the locating holes and hardware.

It was a good feeling to have all four of the body’s wings in place.

The next task was the installation of the scuttle seals that I had ordered from Bill Bolton. These are reputed to the best available, and the fit does seem to be quite nice. As I was working on the seals and dash pad I had a visit from grandson #2, Shane. As the image shows, he seemed right at home in the Bloody Beast.

Little Shane’s visit to the Garage

Little Shane’s Visit

Fitting the scuttle seals was not as difficult as I expected. The job was made much easier by following directions: Scuttle Seal Install Rich Chrysler along with those provided by Bill Bolton.

Scuttle seal 1

Scuttle seal rivets 1

scuttle seal screw holes

Scuttle seal rivets 2

I then installed the dash pad, along with the hot air outlet defroster masks, the mirror, tonneau turnbuckles, and the stud for the tonneau cover.

Dash Pad seal 1

Dash Pad seal 2

Once the dash and accompanying hardware was installed I was ready to begin the door installation. I first attached the door check strap assembly to each side. Then I taped all the edges of the wings, sills and doors with painter’s masking tape for protection.

Check Strap Assembly 2

Check Strap Assembly 3

My son John (23 years of age and strong) lifted the doors in place and I ran in the door hinge screws. This job was actually easier and less time intensive than I imagined. Of course, I still need to adjust them for proper fit. I had previously attached all the door interior upholstery, trim and hardware which was much easier than installing it all on the car, but it did make the doors quite heavy.

Next on my list was the installation of the headlight buckets, headlight bulbs, and the chrome lens retaining rim. It wasn’t necessary, but I jacked up the front of the car and temporarily removed the splash shields and the tires to give easier access to the rear of the headlight buckets. I experienced a little difficulty with mounting the trim rim but eventually got it to lock into place. Then I secured the parking/flasher light assemblies to the car with the three small machine screws and nuts, and put the clear lens in place.

Headlight installed 1

Headlight installed with lower wing beading

I thought I would check out the fit of the grill and immediately noticed that the horns were preventing the grill from sliding into place. I did not have the original horns and I am using later replacements (these are deeper). I ended up switching the LH and RH units and placing them inside their mounting bracket and this seemed to give me the space I needed for the grill. At some point I would love to find the proper horns!

Horn installed

Now it was on to the tow hook/driving light bracket from Cape International. I bolted the brackets into place and fit the Lucas 570 SLR- 5” driving lights, attached the wiring and tested the lights to find them working beautifully. I had previously installed the light relay, an indicator light and the wiring so that the lights only come on when the bright beams are used.

Auxiliary Driving light bracket and tow hook

My final work for the week was the installation of the three pieces that comprise the front grille. These were fixed to the car without any issue. The splash panel brackets on either side of the car were fastened to the outside grille mounting brackets.

Grille and Lights installed

Side View with both wings and door

Chapter 83 Week Fifty-Three December 17, 2007

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This week begins my second year of restoration assembly. I have some time off in the next two weeks so I am hopeful that at the end of the Christmas holiday I will have my front body components on the car.

While waiting for the carb repair, I decided to start a little work on the hardtop assembly. Most of my hardtop restoration components came from Bill Bolton. The hardtop fabric he supplies is very close to the original. I has previously refurbished the headliner frame and had it along with the front cushion covered by Gerry Smith at Classic Upholstery. I glued the fabric to the lower hardtop aluminum cant rail.

hardtop fabric on rail 2

hardtop fabric on rail 3

Fabric was also glued into the corners of the hardtop where the front mounting “J” hooks are located.

hardtop corner fabric

Then I glued some carpet padding onto the hardtop to provide cushion for the headliner frame rails.

hardtop carpet cushion for headliner rails

My repaired front carb returned from Joe Curto yesterday (December 18). Joe replaced the diaphragm. I installed the carbs last night and pleasantly, no leaks! Now I will leave the hardtop work and return to installing the body.

Front SU carb re-installed

I covered all of the edges of the scuttle that come in contact with the front shroud(bonnet surround) with 3M strip caulk. This will prevent heat, fumes and water from entering the cockpit. To make sure I had adequate build up of the caulk, I used a tip from Jack Brashear. I covered the strip caulk on the scuttle with wax paper, installed the shroud and then pulled it off. Where the strip caulk was not pressed against the the wax paper I added more caulk and repeated the process until I was satisfied that I had enough caulk in place.

Shroud strip caulk 2

Shroud strip caulk 1

Ready for the shroud 2

Securing the front shroud to the superstructure was the next step. I began by installing 3/16” aluminum pop rivets in the rear of the shroud along the dashboard flange (5) and scuttle edges(2 per side).

Shroud rivets

I then installed five countersunk flat head screws through the rear flange of the bonnet opening into the edge of the firewall.

Four bolts, washers, and nuts fasten the frame rails to the shroud at the front of the car. The frame rails should fit “inside” the shroud. Three #10 flat head, countersunk machine screws with washers and nuts fasten the front flange of the bonnet opening to the superstructure.

Two #10 flat head, countersunk machine screws with washers and nuts fasten each of the vertical shroud support brackets to the shroud. On the RH passenger side of the car, one of these screws, along with another, is also used to fasten the bonnet prop rod stay bracket.

Hood prop rod stay bracket

The front shroud was now fastened in place! I then attached the carb access panel and I was in business. The panel measurements are in the image below.

carb access measurements

Carb panel installed

I had a surprise visit from my 9 year old grandson, Tyler. As the photo shows he is getting ready to drive the “Bloody Beast.”

Tyler ready to drive

The two windscreen washer jets were installed on the shroud (would have been much easier to do before the shroud was put in place!) and connected with rubber tubing to the reservoir in the parcel shelf. I had previously installed the wiper motor, crosshead and rack, but I now needed to bring the wheelbox assembly up through the front shroud and secure them in place with the rubber washer, chrome bezel and chrome nut. This was not a pleasant job with all the wiring and underdash components in place, but after some struggling the job was accomplished.

Wipers

Chapter 28 – Cleaning and Trial Fitting

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March 28, 2006

Jeremy Turner’s Work Continues

front wing body work 5

front wing body work 6

Interior and Boot Courtesy Lighting

Earlier in the Blog I referenced the installation of courtesy lamps. To avoid switches in the door jams, I purchased a keyless remote. The one I acquired from Pyle was about $40.00. It included two remote “clickers”, the control module, and the wiring. I grossly underutilized all that the Pyle system makes possible, but I was after simplicity. I just cut off all the extra wires, but I can imagine a few other very practical uses. For example, the fuel pump could be wired in and the remote could be used as an anit-theft device by controlling the activation/deactivation of the pump. 

The button on the remote to unlock the car (obviously not needed on a BT7 roadster!) is now pushed to activate the interior/boot lights. As I approach the car at night I can click the remote and my interior and boot lights will come on for about 30-40 seconds and then they extinguish on there own with no other action required. 

I wired in a toggle switch located under the dash (unseen by others) which will overide the remote that I can switch “on” if I want the interior/boot lights to stay on. 

All very simple, clean and unobtrusive. Now if I can just figure out how to disguise that much-to-modern looking remote to look like a british key fob!

Courtesy Light Install

Jeremy Turner’s Work Continues

Shroud Modifications – Jeremy called to say that Craig Naff had finished his work and as I had hoped, it was worth the wait! We had asked Craig to cut two oil cooler vents in the the lower valance of the front shroud and to make some repairs in the same area caused by improper towing. In addition, I wanted to create a carb/master cylinder access panel. Unlike the panels you often see on rally cars, I desired something that would appear as original bodywork, fitting flush in the shroud rather than sitting on top. Finally, the rear shroud needed some welding where Martin Jansen has installed new flanges to mount to the rear wings. It turned out the Craig was as good as Jeremy had suggested. I am very pleased with his work.

EDITOR’S UPDATE – April, 2020

At the time Craig Naff made the modifications to my Healey, I had no idea that he was such an accomplished metal-craftsman with such an impressive portfolio! It is now 2020 and I know that I should have appreciated who was working on my car at the time! Whether he would claim it to be his best work or not I do not know, but his metalwork on Billy Gibbon’s (ZZ Top) 1948 Cadillac is what made him famous. It was about 1989 and Craig was working for Boyd Coddington in California and undertook the job of bringing Larry Erickson’s custom design to life. The world knows the final product as Cadzilla.

Some time later, Craig apparently wasn’t crazy about California life and he returned to his roots in the Valley of Virginia and now has a shop and home outside of Woodstock, VA. Even though I didn’t fully appreciate who Craig was at the time, when Jeremy and I took my Healey to Craig’s shop and I saw the other projects with which he was occupied I did recognize that he was a special talent. Judging by his Facebook Page Craig has stayed busy and is in high demand with a waiting list, but this modest man never boasted about his accomplishments he just turned out outstanding work. Personally, I would consider him to be an artist who happens to work in sheet metal.

Thank you, Craig, for adding your touches to my car!

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15132614/the-candy-man/

https://www.customcarchronicle.com/forums/topic/cadzilla-the-craig-naff-files/#.Xpsfzy2ZOd0

Caddy Before Modification with Craig in the White Tee Shirt and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top in the Hat

Cadzilla before paint

Cadzilla

I concluded some time back that the placement/look of the front vents is all a matter of personal opinion, as long as they accomplish the mission of getting air into the cooler. In my collection of images from cars with vents taken at shows and races, I have seen about as many variaties as there are cars. Craig did hit what I wanted spot-on, so I am pleased. The access panel is, in my opinion, the best arrangement I have seen on any car previously. It will make working on the carbs much easier.

carb access panel 1

carb access panel 2

carb access panel 6

carb access panel 8

carb access panel 7

oil cooler vents 2

oil cooler vents 3

oil cooler vents 1

Rocker Cover and Carb Dashpots – The polisher finished his work about the same time the shroud work completed. Again, I was quite pleased with the quality of workmanship.

Capesport Rocker cover Polished

Carb dashpot polished

Shroud bodywork – Jeremy made some quick progress on the front shroud after getting it back from Craig. It is great to see some filler and primer on the aluminum!

shrouds primed 2

shrouds primed 3

shrouds primed 4

shrouds primed 1