Tag Archives: Oil Cooler Vents

Chapter 73 Week Forty-Three October 8, 2007

Posted on by

I returned from Europe with a renewed commitment to get the Healey completely finished by Christmas. With help from my wife, I pulled the engine. The Smitty bell housing was removed from the backplate and refitted to the Toyota gearbox. I used Copaslip on the fulcrum pin and arm as well as the shaft on which the throw out bearing rides. The assembled bell housing and gearbox was then bolted to the rear of the engine. Dowel bolts at 11:00 and 5:00 o’clock.

Again with help, the engine/gearbox was installed in the car.

Engine going in

Engine Installers

Engine Installers 2

Engine installed

Engine installed 2

Just as a change of pace, I installed some small trim pieces to body components. The striker pin assembly was put together and then mounted on the inside of the bonnet.

Striker Pin Assembly 1

Striker Pin Assembly 2

The stainless steel screens were fixed to the custom brackets made for the oil cooler vents. I purchased the steel mesh screen from Pegasus Racing.

Oil Cooler Vent Screens 1

Oil Cooler Vent Measurements

Next was the bonnet grill. The key with this grill is to not overtighten and dimple the brow. I used some leather padding from British Car Specialist between the components. This was followed by the installation of the chrome flashes or spears on the front wings.

Bonnet Grill

I decided to finish the two striker bonnet safety catches in clear zinc rather than paint them since the paint is scratched off of just about every car I have seen. I installed both of these with a loose fit so that they could be adjusted later.

Striker Hood Safety Catch

Next was the bonnet prop rod andrubber catch. As with the boot lid prop rod, I elected to use a stainless steel version custom made by Wicker’s Body and Paint Shop, Inc. (Unfortunately, no longer in business)

Bonnet prop Rod 1

Bonnet prop Rod 3

 

Chapter 28 – Cleaning and Trial Fitting

Posted on by

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