Thom Kovacs of Fourintune in WI explained to me a few years ago that he prefers
to make his own inner sills out of 16 ga., rather than the 18 ga. that is
standard. I plan on doing this to projects I'm working on. This, combined with
Kilmartin "web" design style chassis rails, a hoop at bulkhead trans opening
and a few gussets here and there should stiffen the structure nicely
Best
JK
------------------------------
On Sun, Dec 15, 2013 3:36 PM EST Patrick & Caroline Quinn wrote:
>G'day
>
>My first Austin-Healey was a BN1 in the early 1970s. It had been extensively
>raced during the 1950s and by the flexing of the chassis/body you could tell
>the car was definitely well used.
>
>When I was using it in hillclimbs and the like with tight corners the right
>hand door used to fly open right on the crucial point of the corner.
>
>Nothing that a barrel bolt from the local hardware store couldn't fix.
>
>Then there was the 100S that had subframes and a body that used to sway with
>the corners. That had barrel bolts too.
>
>Austin-Healey chassis do flex considerably, which is the reason why
>Kilmartins offer a chassis with an extra piece of vertical metal in the
>middle.
>
>Hoo Roo
>
>Patrick Quinn
>Blue Mountains, Australia
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: healeys-bounces@autox.team.net [mailto:healeys-bounces@autox.team.net]
>On Behalf Of Mike Tobin
>Sent: Monday, 16 December 2013 7:04 AM
>To: shepard7107@verizon.net
>Cc: healeys@autox.team.net
>Subject: Re: [Healeys] Healey 100-6 Inner sills and outer rockers
>
>Yeah. I've felt all the shakes too. And sometimes it feels like the
>chassis is part of the suspension. But I've never heard of doors coming
>open during hard driving - unlike some French and American cars that come to
>mind. Given the feeble latches we've got you'd think self-opening doors
>would be part of our folklore. I'm sure "rigid" is wrong ME term.
>Cheers,
>Mike Tobin
>On Dec 15, 2013 2:51 PM, <shepard7107@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>> "My theory is that the Healey structure is really pretty stiff " .......
>> now that's a new one. At least to me. Been driving my BJ8 since 1973
>> and of the many things that have struck me about it in the last 40
>> years , that certainly ain't one of them.
>>
>> Merry Christmas
>>
>> Mike Shepard
>> Baltimore Md
>>
>> On 12/15/13, Mike Tobin<ahbt71@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Darin,
>> Went through hell with my BT7 when I cut out the sills and rear shut
>> pieces. The doors would not line up with the rear wings. I'd left the
>> motor and trans in the car, to account for the sag. Didn't matter.
>> After way too long I realized that cowl had moved (down and a bit
>> forward) when the siill had been removed (it's located on the lower
>> edge to the sill). I cut the new sills off, got new ones and by using
>> pipe clamps and a come-along was able to get everything into alignment
>*before* re-welding.
>> It looks like s*"=t down there, but damn the doors line up!
>> My theory is that the Healey structure is really pretty stiff (never
>> hear about doors coming open), but they take a real beating (my frame
>> rails are all dented) and stresses build up which are released when a
>> stressed member is cut out. Looking at the cowl I didn't think it could
>have moved.
>> The Kilmartin sills are nice.
>> Cheers,
>> Mike Tobin
>> On Dec 14, 2013 8:13 PM, "Darin Graber" <dkgraber85@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Hello to all -
>> >
>> > I am new to the list and am in the process of working my way
>> > throughout the refurbishment of a '57 100-6 Longbridge in Salt Lake
>> > City.
>> > This is a car that I want to retain some of the patina, and I WILL
>> > drive
>> a
>> > lot - I have the factory hard top and my driving season may very
>> > well extend to year-round (dry weather permitting). So this won't be
>> > a trailer queen.
>> > Attention is being paid to the 'typical' body places - doglegs, boot
>> > floor, bottoms of fenders, cockpit floors, etc. Of course, the inner
>> > sills and outer rockers are in need of replacement and are coming up
>> > soon. I have some questions about the pitfalls of this task - i.e.
>> > door opening measurements, do I need to brace the openings and if
>> > so, where, what to look out for, etc.
>> >
>> >
>> > I have researched a lot on line and by reading books and have seen
>> > some 'restorations' being carried out using various methods and
>instructions.
>> I
>> > have seen many pics that the doors just don't look quite right, or
>> > the
>> swag
>> > line doesn't quite line up. My hope is that things will line up well
>> > enough that I can duo-tone the paint. This cars' frame and
>> > outriggers are very good
>> > - most of the corrosion has been contained to the outer sheet metal
>> > so
>> the
>> > measurements of the inner sills and the
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