Today was another Healey adventure. You can follow a proper check list and do all the maintenance prior to a run or car show event, but inevitably something will bite you in the butt.
The adventure begins at 0600 Saturday morning.
I had brought from my shop my 1960 BN7 - Nasty Boy the previous evening to take to our Pirst Saturday of the month gathering at Palos Verdes, Silverspur and Hawthorne location. When trying to start the Beast, there was only a light sound of the electric fuel pump and then a very weak turning of the starter motor, not a good feeling when you are planning to be at a show reasonably early. After a few more futile tries, it was obvious that starting the car was a lost cause and a backup plan was called for; or I could just go back to bed and relax, but that is not my style.
I decided that waking up my wife was not a good choice for help, so I called a cab and went to my shop, about a twenty-minute drive away. I started my old trusty 1964 Dodge Dart GT/ Convertible and headed to Palos Verdes for the show. It was a pleasant surprise to see a much larger turn out than usual. A larger group that meets a few blocks away at the Esplanade Shopping Center parking structure was not able to meet there because the deck was being resurfaced. That made our show look like it used to be prior to Covid 19.
The Healey group was only represented by Peter Hutchins, Flavio Montoro, and yours truly. The reason being that the rest of the Healey members were going to The Hermosa Beach Pier Plaza/Endless Summer Car Show (an invitation only show, and a great one I might add, yes, I was invited and I headed to it after Silverspur with my Dodge Dart).
At Silverspur, the cars were awesome and they covered a wide spectrum of years and makes: lots of Porsches of early vintage up to early 80's, VW, Mercedes Benz, Alfa Romeos, one lovely Lancia, a few Cobras, Muscle car Chevys, Fords, and Mopars, and a couple of Ford Rancheros. The pictures taken by Peter Hutchings show the extent of the show, ENJOY and thanks Peter.
The weather was perfect and it made it all worth the trouble. But my adventure just got busier after the Hermosa Beach Show. I was able to get help from my wife Nancy and she followed me to the shop to drop off the Dart and drove me back home so I could get the Healey running and take it back to the shop. I was successful in getting it charged up enough to make to make the trip and as I pulled inside the shop it died! After removing the rear seat compartment where the two batteries are stowed, I discovered that they had served me well for the past ten years. I more than got my monies worth! Ciao and cheeers