How was your day

[Lannis]

Well that's the plan at any rate.  You would be surprised at how strong a structure like this can be.

The above is the same basic structure loaded to 6 Gs.  Yeah, he designed full span flaperons, but the ribs, spars, fittings, etc. are the same.
I thought you were a model airplane guy, Lannis?

Yes, I've built many a wing in the past ... but there's a WEE bit of difference in the application.

If one's Gieseke Nobler control-line plane comes apart under the stress of a tight loop, it's "Oh well, back to the building board ...." !!

Sort of like the pig and chicken discussing their commitment to a breakfast of bacon and eggs ... !!

Lannis

[cliffrod]

Well that's the plan at any rate.  You would be surprised at how strong a structure like this can be.

The above is the same basic structure loaded to 6 Gs.  Yeah, he designed full span flaperons, but the ribs, spars, fittings, etc. are the same.
I thought you were a model airplane guy, Lannis?

I like that picture a lot....

[Lannis]

I like that picture a lot....

I would never have guessed it, that's for sure.   It seems to defy reason, but it's real, so I better change my outlook!

Lannis

[john fish]

Chuck: as always, your work and work ethic are amazing.

And I violated a cardinal rule today. Never eat anything bigger than your head.





Also, one of those serendipity rides where I ran across one of those wtf picture ops. Found these outside of Perineum Falls, WV.








And yes, I have a map of Narnia in the tank bag. No, you can’t borrow it.

[Ncdan]

I thought that’s the kind of thing physical engineers did for a living:)

[Muzz]

Someone likes/liked old Brit stuff John.  Sad to see it left to rot away.

[john fish]

Someone likes/liked old Brit stuff John.  Sad to see it left to rot away.

They're all at an auto repair shop in an out of the way town in West Virginia.  I was very surprised when I ran across them in pick up truck country.  There were also a couple trailers there that make me think this shop was very active in amateur racing at one time.  I wonder what strange and exotic stuff is inside that shop.

And I want that Triumph TR4a.  My favorite body style.

[Lannis]

And I want that Triumph TR4a.  My favorite body style.

I love British sports cars, I've had several, have a Morgan 4/4 now which is a highly impractical car like a track bike.

My favorites are the ones after the MGAs and TR3s, the ones with roll-up windows and actual door handles instead of wires, like the MGB and the TR-4/4a/250/6 and the Spitfires.

But as much as I like the TR series, I just can't fit between the door-frames and the transmission tunnel.   They're too darn narrow, like a Lotus Super Seven, another one I'd love to have but for its size.

The MGs, on the other hand (even the Midgets), and the Spitfires are a couple inches wider and feel comfy even for longer trips ....

Lannis

[john fish]

I love British sports cars, I've had several, have a Morgan 4/4 now which is a highly impractical car like a track bike.

My favorites are the ones after the MGAs and TR3s, the ones with roll-up windows and actual door handles instead of wires, like the MGB and the TR-4/4a/250/6 and the Spitfires.

But as much as I like the TR series, I just can't fit between the door-frames and the transmission tunnel.   They're too darn narrow, like a Lotus Super Seven, another one I'd love to have but for its size.

The MGs, on the other hand (even the Midgets), and the Spitfires are a couple inches wider and feel comfy even for longer trips ....

Lannis

That makes sense.  The Triumphs, other than the TR7 and 8, look much narrower than MGs.  How about a picture of your Moggy?

[kirby1923]

I'm a Brit fan as well.
I have a '65 Austin Healey 3000 BJ8. I'm the second owner (third if you count the dealer). Completely stock except for the 72 spoke wheels(modern). The 60 spoke ones were impossible to keep true, but I still have them.

British racing green w/tan top..

I try and take a trip when I can, really makes me smile. Pretty crude by todays standards but sure sounds  good!

It will be passed on in the family.

:-)

[john fish]

The he-man Healey.  Lovely, lovely, brute. 

 

[Lannis]

That makes sense.  The Triumphs, other than the TR7 and 8, look much narrower than MGs.  How about a picture of your Moggy?

Surely!





Off the road for new wiring, but really wants to be back out there ....

Lannis

[PJPR01]

I'm a Brit fan as well.
I have a '65 Austin Healey 3000 BJ8. I'm the second owner (third if you count the dealer). Completely stock except for the 72 spoke wheels(modern). The 60 spoke ones were impossible to keep true, but I still have them.

British racing green w/tan top..

I try and take a trip when I can, really makes me smile. Pretty crude by todays standards but sure sounds  good!

It will be passed on in the family.

:-)

Sometimes I do think you must be Michael Caine posing as Kirby1923!  Maybe time to shoot a remake of The Italian Job in Cedar Vale! 

[kirby1923]

Ha, funny Paul. I acquired this car in the 70s when they were not so high$$. Somehow I have managed to keep it and I thoroughly enjoy the thing even though it leaks like crazy,(in the rain), is really too small for a 35" inseam and big feet, but it is a practical traveler and quite reliable (even w/ point ignition!)
Don't have unrestricted access to the internet here so...

I'll bring pic to the next CV...

:-)

[john fish]

Awesome Morgan.  What year?  What engine?

Local Anglophile has one from the 60's with a Ford engine.

[Lannis]

Awesome Morgan.  What year?  What engine?

Local Anglophile has one from the 60's with a Ford engine.

Mine's a 1966 4/4.   The "+4" model had the Triumph engine, the 4/4 has the Ford "Cortina" 1600cc engine ....

Lannis

[ohiorider]

I'm a Brit fan as well.
I have a '65 Austin Healey 3000 BJ8. I'm the second owner (third if you count the dealer). Completely stock except for the 72 spoke wheels(modern). The 60 spoke ones were impossible to keep true, but I still have them.

British racing green w/tan top..

I try and take a trip when I can, really makes me smile. Pretty crude by todays standards but sure sounds  good!

It will be passed on in the family.

:-)

No internal combustion engine ever sounded better!  In the long-ago summer of 1963, a good friend of mine and I had access nearly every night to a (I believe) a 1961/62 Healy 3000.  It belonged to his older brother, who owned a bar frequented mostly by college students, so he generously loaned us the AH just about any evening we wanted.  I think it may have been an unusual model, in that it came with 3, not 2, SU sidedrafts.  Since we had to 'erect' the top, it was necessary to keep a close eye on the weather!  Mr buddy, Roger, had contracted polio when he was 7 or 8, had limited use of both arms, so I did the driving.  What a visceral machine!  I found the Laycock de Normanville overdrive fascinating.  There were  certainly cars with more sophisticated engines, but none sounded any better.

Is anyone familiar with the 3 carb model?

[kirby1923]

Yes the three carb model was a special factory option for "high " performance work especially the big rallies in Europe.
The has a bit more HP and torque.
Using the overdrive was really handy in the mountains for a bit of gearing change in tight places, w/ just a flip of the switch, very handy for places like switchbacks where you just need a small quick change in in gearing.

Aftermarket aluminum heads were (and are still) available as well. The factory also made a model with aluminum but they are rare.

The 3 liter 6 was an Austin truck engine and is heavier than a iron small block chevy,!

The V8 conversions make the car faster(and lighter) but in my opinion it ruins the car...

I recently put a new (made in England) stainless exhaust system on mine..sweet.

:-)

[ohiorider]

Yes the three carb model was a special factory option for "high " performance work especially the big rallies in Europe.
The has a bit more HP and torque.
Using the overdrive was really handy in the mountains for a bit of gearing change in tight places, w/ just a flip of the switch, very handy for places like switchbacks where you just need a small quick change in in gearing.

Aftermarket aluminum heads were (and are still) available as well. The factory also made a model with aluminum but they are rare.

The 3 liter 6 was an Austin truck engine and is heavier than a iron small block chevy,!

The V8 conversions make the car faster(and lighter) but in my opinion it ruins the car...

I recently put a new (made in England) stainless exhaust system on mine..sweet.

:-)

Kirby 1923, thanks for filling in all the blanks I didn't know about this particular Healey.  I just had to go to YouTube and pick a video that really shows off the exhaust tone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eWCdFjk9ZQ

[Testarossa]

I had a '64 TR4 -- the early one with the TR3 front suspension. I bought it in the spring of 1971 and drove it cross country four times, including a winter in the Colorado mountains. It was pretty clapped out when I got it (cheap) and I had no money to fix it right so it was an endless mechanical adventure. More than six inches of snow would scrape the exhaust system loose. The cockpit was cold and wet even after I put a layer of boat glass on the roof fabric. The rubber donut in the steering shaft disintegrated while I was rounding a snow curve -- I was very happy to wind up in a snowbank.

I loved that car the way I loved crazy girlfriends.

Eventually I replaced it with an early Saab 99E, with a freewheel transmission and the four-cylinder ohc Triumph-built engine (one half of the Triumph Stag V8). That car was great in snow but no more reliable mechanically than the TR4.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Rummaged around in the old Gerstner box I has as an apprentice and found a picture of mine.  It was a 64, one of the first years of roll up windows, and I was 20.
It handled remarkably well (on smooth roads or parking lots) and had killer brakes for the time.

No internal combustion engine ever sounded better!

Certainly one of the sweetest sounding engines ever. The exhaust hung so low that it was easy to knock off, though.

What a visceral machine!

In spades. Like a proper Guzzi, it never let you forget you were operating a machine. 
I loved that car, but I loved a girl, too. It wasn't all that long before I was trading it on a station wagon..

[Muzz]

I loved that car, but I loved a girl, too. It wasn't all that long before I was trading it on a station wagon..

So Chuck, did you trade in the girl or the car for the station wagon....

[Gliderjohn]

Good day. Very cool and somewhat windy so good garage day. Got the rear wheel back on the Norge with a new tire. Put the starter back on the T-3 with it's new solenoid. All works!
GliderJohn

[Chuck in Indiana]

So Chuck, did you trade in the girl or the car for the station wagon....

Should have kept the car..

[Tusayan]

Monocoupe?  Looks great.

I’ve tried to swear off UK built cars several times, having done that with motorcycles long ago in favor of Italian bikes.  British cars are tougher to quit, they are somehow more alluring and better engineered.  I’ve still got a Jag that (as always) needs something.  And last weekend I drove a Lotus Elan for the first time and despite it falling to bits as they do on even a short trip, it was just amazing to drive on a twisty road. Now an old Elan is on my ‘list’, after I sell the Jag some day...

[rschrum]

Found a new use for the car hoist. New tires for the Coppa, they were date coded 06.



335i 0 60

[Chuck in Indiana]

Monocoupe?  Looks great.

Thanks. Believe it or not, it's an ultralight. Legal Eagle. 26+feet span.

[ohiorider]

Thanks. Believe it or not, it's an ultralight. Legal Eagle. 26+feet span.

Hi, Chuck, do these modern ultralights still have to conform to (the original rules?)  Off the top of my head, don't remember them exactly. 
Weight restriction - under 255 pounds
Max airspeed restrictions - under 65mph
Limited fuel capacity?
If they still meet most of the original restrictions, the construction techniques must be space age.  With their fully-enclosed cabins, they seem to be more closely related to the Piper Cub than to the original ultralights.

When I think ultralight, I still think of the early ones with a wing more like a hang glider than an airplane.  The first one I saw, in the early 1980s that looked 'modern' to me was made in Canada.  I think it was a Lasair ...... with a real wing covered in clear Mylar film.  This plane had twin engines.  Still remember my buddy reaching out to the right and left to pull the starters on the small two stroke engines.  But it would soar (maybe the term is 'glide) for extremely long distances.  My buddy would ascend about as high as he could go, cut the engines, and sail over the flat fields of Southern Michigan and NW Ohio.

Bob

[larrys]

Monocoupe?  Looks great.

I’ve tried to swear off UK built cars several times, having done that with motorcycles long ago in favor of Italian bikes.  British cars are tougher to quit, they are somehow more alluring and better engineered.  I’ve still got a Jag that (as always) needs something.  And last weekend I drove a Lotus Elan for the first time and despite it falling to bits as they do on even a short trip, it was just amazing to drive on a twisty road. Now an old Elan is on my ‘list’, after I sell the Jag some day...

I get the British car thing. I belonged to the sports car club when I was stationed at RAF Upper Heyford '74 to '76. All the gearheads, with no American cars to play with, turned to British sports cars. MGB's, TR 4's and 6's, Mini Coopers, etc. Couple of Austin Healey 3000's, and one Jensen Healey. I built a full tilt Mini 1275 motor in a Mini van with a fiberglass flip nose. It was terrific fun until I missed a shift, the crank let go and blew the gearbox off of the bottom of the motor. 
Larry

[Tusayan]

That’s some serious hard work for an ultralight wing...

I would really like a Lotus Elan but know what it would get me:  many, many hours and dollars trying to make the intrinsically imperfect perfect.

Re triple carb Healey 3000s...  this was the original setup on the Mk II in 1962 (all of them, initially) but they were hard enough to keep in tune that the factory reverted on later Mk IIs and Mk IIIs to twin 2 inch SUs.  It’s described in Geoffrey Healey’s Big Healey book which I’ve had since around 1979    Also at the link below.

https://healey.org/austin-healey-3000-mark-ii.html