Several of you know Gladys, my super-reliable mostly stock 1967 (March 9-10
to be exact) BJ8. I rebuilt her front end, brakes, and engine in 2000 just
prior to sending her to Europe for a summer driving tour with 13 other
Healeys. I also installed one of those high torque "Japanese" starters
(mostly to save the stock starter in case I wanted to restore her to
concours.lol.) She has always behaved well and been a great driver. She
has some chassis rust, and is a bit rough looking from the outside, but I've
always had confidence when taking her for trips. This past summer we drove
her to Mt Tremblant for the combined Northeast and Canadian club "Summit"
meet, where we had a wonderful time with fellow Healey drivers from Canada
and the US. I also drive her around town through the summer for various
errands when the weather is nice..and the weather often is nice for top down
driving during New England summers.
So, imagine my surprise when I decided to start the car in late fall
(Thanksgiving) in anticipation of loading her into a car trailer to be towed
behind our Motorhome. (Our plan was to drive the Motorhome south for the
winter and use the Healey for local transportation.) Perhaps it was the
indignity of going into a trailer (she most always drives on her own), but I
couldn't get her to start!. Normally, I just provide choke, listen while
the fuel pump goes through its "fill the carb bowls" dance, and with a
twist of the key. she starts right up. This time the engine turned
rapidly, but not even a hint of ignition in any of the cylinders.. She just
spun while the starter was engaged, but sat coldly when I released the key.
Leaving me to pondered the possibilities.
We had been exposed to the "failed rotor" issue when we spent the 2001
summer in Europe. One of the other cars suffered "that fate", and I
happened to have a good rotor with me that we used to get our friend back on
the road. So, my first thought was that perhaps (even though her current
rotor was 9 yrs old) this rotor had given up the ghost. So I replaced the
rotor. She still would not start.
_______________________________________________
Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html
Healeys@autox.team.net
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/healeys
http://www.team.net/archive
|