Hm. I clearly have not been very good about posting as work happened on the car. I have some pictures from various stages along the way, and will have to sort through them at some point and try to back-post with the things we did along the way. Ditto posting the past parts orders. I placed an order today from Victoria British:
| Quantity | Part # | Description | Price | Amount |
| 1 | 8-197 | BULB-BAYONET BASE 12V 2.0W | 0.95 | 0.95 |
| 1 | 8-555 | KNOB | 9.95 | 9.95 |
| 1 | 8-488 | SWITCH REVERSE/OVERDRIVE INHIB | 6.95 | 6.95 |
| 1 | 9-091 | INTERIOR MIRROR-GOLD | 18.95 | 18.95 |
| 2 | 9-1089 | LONGFLO-ROUND–AIR CLEANER | 39.95 | 79.90 |
| 1 | 9-182 | FENDER MIRROR-CONVEX-LH | 14.95 | 14.95 |
| 1 | 9-183 | FENDER MIRROR-CONVEX-RH | 14.95 | 14.95 |
| 1 | 12-817 | WINDOW REGULATOR-RH CWE | 149.95 | 149.95 |
| 2 | 9-9700 | WIPER BLADE 8″ 2 REQ | 8.95 | 17.90 |
| Parts Total: | 314.45 | |||
| Delivery & Handling: | 31.75 | |||
| THANK YOU | TOTAL: | $346.20 | ||
The next things I order will be the replacement top, rubber tubing for door seals, carpet, seat covers. It’s been painted, but we did a crap job on the bodywork, so it looks a bit like lipstick on a pig. Or a goat, as the case may be. Here’s how it looked when it came back from the paint shop, but since it’s just a cell phone photo, you can’t see all the junky stuff:
The Goat, in blue
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Jane: your site is a great inspiration. I’ve recently been thinking of getting into the “lifestyle” myself, but I’m not sure which British roadster is right for a newby like me: Triumph, MGB, or Healey, my old man’s first car. How did you choose the Healey, over other possible options? Cost? Reported liability? Availability of parts? Or just pure style? Any insights you can provide would be most appreciated.
By: Greg on July 26, 2010
at 12:40 am
It was mostly chance. I’d been in a car accident and my Civic was totaled, so I needed another car. I’d gone on craigslist to see if I could find another little hatchback with decent gas mileage, when I saw the ad for the Sprite. I’d always liked them, and it had always been one the ‘someday if’ cars (along with the original Morris Mini and the Triumph TR6). My first car was a Triumph TR7 rebuilt by my brother (though sadly never really made it to roadworthy), and he’d rebuilt an Austin before, so I figured since I was at his house helping take care of his kids, him working on this car for me would be a good trade. Of note: It was originally expected to be two weekends and a thousand bucks in parts. It has actually been 8 months and several thousand. I expect it will be another month and another thousand before it’s really a daily driver. So be prepared!
By: Jane Wells on July 26, 2010
at 2:58 pm