Buying a Healey

[BritArms]

Never been a Healey guy.But would not mind getting one for a little run around..So whats the best years ..Whats the most collectable ? whats the most reliable ?Any advise Thank You

[Michael Richardson]

Brit. The Healey was built from late 72 through to mid 75. There were two cosmetic upgrades during that time,but esentially the vehicle remained the same. The build quality improved during this time. The early cars leaked rainwater into the cockpit,and oil and water from the engine. These problems were addressed,the engine remaining the same (Lotus) unit . Personally,I think with the improvements,the later cars are the best. They are recognizable by the larger front/rear bumpers,and the fitting of a 5 speed German gearbox.Featuring the best of interior trim,and improved colours and paint quality on the exterior. ..Reliability ? This will all be down to how the car has been maintained throughout its life. It is not the simplest of power units. I guess you may be outside the UK,so will be looking for L.H.D ? If so you have a bigger choice as 90% of cars were exported. Hope this helps.

[BritArms]

Thank you

[timmo]

Buy on condition rather than the model, a structurally good Mk1 will always be better than a rough Mk2. Most of the issues with the early cars will have been sorted by now anyway.

[JHV8]

Although buy on condition is the right thing to do, I would personally avoid MkI cars with the very early engine. These had awful crank rope seals and can be identified by no oil filler on the cam covers, it is in an oil separator catch can bolted to the bulkhead which is there becuase the early engines breath oil heavily.

[Michael Richardson]

Rob. I had forgotten about that filler system. I think that when our first cars began to arrive (March 73) that was replaced with a normal filler cap. However,the cam cover gaskets were a nightmare to get in place without leaking. One of the first improvements was what we called the ladder gasket,Lotus having modified the cam caps with a peg that enabled the gasket to be more secure. It was still a frustrating task to make sure they did not leak. .....Got the hang of it in the end,but it remained a problem,and I recall that JML advised that we should always use Blue Hylomar glue on all camcover gaskets. Dear old Colin built in an arrangement that development of the Lotus supplied power unit would be carried out at JML's expense. .....Clever boy our Colin !.......Cleaned up very nicely with John De Lorean too.

[JHV8]

However,the cam cover gaskets were a nightmare to get in place without leaking. One of the first improvements was what we called the ladder gasket,Lotus having modified the cam caps with a peg that enabled the gasket to be more secure. It was still a frustrating task to make sure they did not leak. .....Got the hang of it in the end,but it remained a problem,and I recall that JML advised that we should always use Blue Hylomar glue on all camcover gaskets. Dear old Colin built in an arrangement that development of the Lotus supplied power unit would be carried out at JML's expense. .....Clever boy our Colin !.......Cleaned up very nicely with John De Lorean too.

I used the rubber gasket on mine and could not get them to seal. I kept tightening the cover bolts a little bit then driving then tightening until i cracked one of the covers. I then gave up and just endured the oil smoke off the exhaust on start up. In fact I got so fed up throwing money at the engine just to have it go bad again that I had the V8 fitted.