Vintage-Sportscar-Touring

Healey Spares

By Ed Driver and Gerry Threlfall, SBCC, Saskatoon

In the late winter of 1999/2000 four Healey owners here in Saskatoon, Doug Buckley, Ward Stebner, Gerry and Ed discussed at length our spares (parts) needs. These needs were identified after each reviewed the status of his respective Healey.

Our needs were quite diverse. Doug was interested only in a few spares in order to maintain his BN7. Ward's needs were many as he was restoring his BN2 from the frame up. Gerry started in the spring of 1999 to restore only the boot of his BT7 but changed his mind. Gerry decided that many aspects of the BT7 needed attention so he and the boys stripped the Healey down to the tub and removed the engine and transmission/OD. On the BJ8 Ed knew that the engine needed to be totally rebuilt after the compression and leak-down tests were done.

The objective, that arose out of our meeting was to reduce shipping charges so we would order our spares as a group, whether it was two, three or the four of us that participated in a particular order. Gerry suggested that we each supply our collective needs, and that he and Ed would source the parts and where possible the shipping costs. In some cases group orders were not going to be possible, either in terms of timing of activities or of a specific repair.

A simple spreadsheet was constructed; a list of parts down the left-hand side along with shipping fee, across the top the various suppliers, within each cell was the specific part number and the price. Initially we had only the catalogues from Moss Motors and Victoria British. With some searching on the Internet, consulting the e-mail traffic on the Healey List (team.net), asking the opinion of various List members, and reviewing the advertisers in the magazines of the two major clubs we were able to assemble a substantial list of suppliers. Other suppliers were identified as we progressed.

Ed was the only one embarking on a major engine overhaul, others, Gerry and Doug needed a few small parts here so the spreadsheet had its first real test on Ed's engine spares. All spare (part) prices were converted to Canadian dollars, we used several sources (a.) foreign purchases made on our VISA or Master card the rates of exchange information was pooled and (b.) we used the web site www.xe.net/ucc Universal Currency calculator. Where possible the various vendors were contacted by e-mail and were asked to supply a firm quote including shipping costs for a list of spares supplied. This approach allowed for an exact comparison of costs. Quite surprisingly, an individual supplier did not have the lowest cost on all items. It was necessary to decide if it was worth it to submit a number of orders, bearing in mind the extra cost such as shipping charges and brokerage fees.

The following suppliers are separated out as to the major items they supply. We have also included their web site address from which you can obtain phone and fax numbers, e-mail address, and a mailing address. We have also rated them as to service, here service means responsive and co-operative, follow-up, accurate information supplied, and personal touch (poor, good and excellent) and to costs, costs include shipping, handling charges and price of goods (reasonable, high). Also we've included browser level required and the availability of a printed catalogue. We do not consider this list to be a definitive one even though we've expanded it beyond the suppliers we dealt with.

General items - Healey Suppliers -trim, body panels, suspension, engine, transmission, wheels, rubber, electrical, etc.

AH Spares, www.ahspares.co.uk - England - good, reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) printed catalogue available.

SC Parts Ltd., www.scparts.co.uk - England - good, reasonable ( Explorer 6.0 or better) printed catalogue available. A DOS version of the catalogue that runs under Windows was available but there has been no recent mention of it on the SC Parts web site.

UK Healey Center (Steve Jowett) www.ukhealey.co.uk -England - excellent, reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) printed catalogue was available and now downloadable catalogue is available.

Classic Choice www.classic-choice.com -England - unknown (Netscape 7.0, Explorer 6.0) The owners were part of the AH Spares group but decided to set up their own business.

Murray Scott-Nelson austinhealeysforsale.com -England - unknown (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better)

Moss Motors www.mossmotors.com - United States - good, high (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) printed catalogue available, free.

Precision Sports Cars precisionsportscar.com -Canada - excellent, high (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) the on line catalogue uses both Moss and BMC parts book number to search.

Hemphill's Healey Haven - United States - 1-800-9-Healey - excellent, high. A printed catalogue is available.

Victoria British www.victoriabritish.com - United States - excellent, high (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) A printed catalogue is available, free.

British Car Specialists www.britishcarspecialists.com - United States - excellent, high (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better). Two catalogues are available "Rare and Hard to Find Parts" and "Kilmartin Sheetmetal for Healeys".

Christian Hollum Imports -Canada - excellent, reasonable (only Healey engine and suspension spares), 2150 Victoria Avenue, Lachine, Quebec, H8S 1Z3, 1-514-639-4639

All British Cars -Canada - excellent, reasonable 401-3835 E. 1^stt Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5C 3V6, 1-604-294-5747 -interesting cross section of spares and very resourceful.

Holden Vintage and Classic Ltd. www.holden.co.uk -England- excellent, reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or higher). Catalgoues available and an excellent on-line catalogue (lighting, electrical, tools, etc).

Justbrits www.justbrits.com -United States - unknown (Netscape 7.0, Explorer 6.0) must e-mail your request to (ed@justbrits.com) good source for rare spares.

Denis Welch Motorsport www.bighealey.co.uk -England - excellent, reasonable (Netscape 7.0, Explorer 6.0), a printed catalogue is available (aluminium heads, performance camshafts, competition brake components, aluminium alternator brackets, spin on oil/ oil cooler spares, etc.).

Cape International www.cape-international.com - England- good, high (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better), a printed catalogue and periodic newsletter are available, free (many aluminium specialty items).

Jule Enterprises -Canada - excellent, reasonable. Rockwood, Ontario N0B 2K0, 1-905-854-3555, primarily chassis and tub replacement parts.

Classic Collectibles ahealey.com - United States - unknown (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0) very informative on line catalogue for tub and panel items.

Nical Engineering Ltd. -England - excellent, reasonable The Barn, Leygreen Farm, Lyndhurst Road, Beaulieu, Hampshire, S042 7YP 01590-612181 (nick@nicalengineering.co.uk) Hardtops for BJ8, BN4 and BN2.

Big Healey Restorations www.fp.bighealey.f9.co.uk - David Ward -England - good, very reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) source for hardtops, manifolds, and used spares.

S.U. Midel www.sumidel.com-Australia - excellent, reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) online information but you must write Bill Bressington for prices (SU carburetors, pumps, needles, etc.)

Burlen Fuel Systems www.burlen.co.uk -England - excellent, reasonable. (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) online catalogue search by vehicle, model, or part number.

MacGregor British Car Parts macgregorukcarparts.com -Canada- excellent, high (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) rubber, hardware, carpets, heat insulation cloth.

Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies pegasusautoracing.com -United States - excellent, reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) online catalogue and print catalogue available.

Bolt-on-Healeys -United States- excellent, reasonable Bill Bolton can be reached (tricarb@aol.com special items such as OD plug wrench, Canadian tow hooks, good used spares; also Bill runs the BT7 (tricarb registry), if you haven't registered your BT7 contact Bill.

Clarke Spares and Restorations - www.clarkspares.com United States - excellent, reasonable 90 W Swamp Road, Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901 (Clarkespares@worldnet.att.net or 1-215-348-0595 engine identification plates made to order, wire hose clamps, etc.

Namrick, the nut and bolt store namrick.co.uk -England - excellent, reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better) Online catalogue and free print catalogue available.

British Tools Company www.britishtool.com -United States - unknown (Netscape 7.0, Explorer 6.0) has good supply of Whitworth wrenches and makes special service tools for Healeys and other BMC cars.

Nisonger Instruments nisonger.com -United States - excellent, reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better), excellent instrument and gauge repair, especially speedometers.

Mo Ma Manufacturing -United States - excellent, reasonable. Margaret Lucas (Mo Ma) can be reached at 1321 Second Street NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 or 505-766-6661 or (momanm@aol.com) new circuit boards for BJ8 tachometers and gauge repair. Mo Ma is quick and helpful.

Peter Groh (British Car Keys) www.britishcarkeys.com -United States - excellent, reasonable (Netscape 4.7, Explorer 6.0 or better).

Although there are many more suppliers than listed many of the above we have had experience with, you can reach us at edriver@sasktel.net if you have a specific concern or question. One closing thought, shipping charges have increased primarily since the terrorist attacks in the US and exchanges rates are variable, although for many items we find suppliers such as the Northern Healey Center extremely competitive with the North American suppliers. A little effort checking out spares allows some of the surplus to be used on other goodies our Healey might need.