On Oct 5, 1:07pm, William Hartwell Woodruff wrote:
> Subject: phase II?
>
> I was reading through Hemmings and I saw and ad which
> referred to a phase II BJ8 Healey. Does anyone know what this
> means? Does it have anything to do with the change from an
> electrically operated choke thingy back to a hand choke? I
> should add that I'm asking about phase II, not BJ8 :-)
"Phase II" is a reference to some chassis and suspension changes that were long
over-due and which the Healey family were finally able to convince BMC
management to incorporate.
Ground clearance and lack of suspension travel was always a problem with the
Big Healey. The rear axle was suspended over the chassis rails, rather than
underneath as is common for American cars. Adding to the problem was an exhaust
system that ran the length of the car underneath the chassis rails. Towards the
end of it's production run, the Healey was also starting to be critized for a
"harsh" ride.
The solution was as follows:
The chassis rails where they passed under the axle were kinked.
____________ A ______
chassis rail_____ \____/ _____
\______/
This allowed more suspension travel at the rear. The arch in the springs was
also increased, raising the rear of the car(the front springs were also
stretched). The springs were softed slightly. A pair of parallel links were
added to the top of the axle housing and attached to the frame in front of the
axle. A new exhaust system was designed with smaller mufflers.
These changes gave the Big Healey more ground clearance, a softer ride, better
axle location and improved handling.
--
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Robb Pryor E-mail:robbp@healey_haven.esd.sgi.com
VLSI Group, DSS Voice: (415)390-1230
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