Matt, I would first double check the style of SU carbs that your dad's
customer has. I believe that the only Austin Healey that came with HS6
carbs was the late 3000 MarkII (BJ7). The 100-4's came with either H4 or H6
carbs which are the old style SUs with complicated glands that seal the jets
(same style of carbs that TR2s and early TR3s used). The six-cylinder big
Healeys used either dual H4s, dual HD6s, triple HS4s, dual HS6s or dual
HD8s (2" carbs). If your carbs are actually HS6s, I would consider using
them, because they are very simple and easy to tune. I would stay away from
the H6 carbs, because I don't like the complicated jet glands and their
propensity to leak. I really like the HD6 and HD8 carbs because of their
separate idle circuits and their higher quality float assemblies, but they
are harder to find jets and needles for. Also, a few Healeys used an
automatic cold-start type of HD6 carb, that has a complicated mechanism to
act like an automatic choke. You definitely want to stay away from one of
those. Also, many Healeys ran their carbs in a "semi-downdraught" position
rather than the regular horizontal position of the TR. You will want to
check the angle of the float chambers and ensure that if they are not set up
for running horizontal that they can be moved to that position. As far as
needles and jets go, charts in the back of the Haynes carburetor Techbook
list some Triumph 2500 engines with HS6s. You could look at the needle and
piston springs combinations listed there, and see how the setup on your
carbs compare. Also, quite a few TR6/TR250 owners run SUs, so I'm sure that
you can get some help with jets from the list.
Good Luck!
Rex Townsend
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