So for the last week and a half, I've had some guys from a British Sports Car email list at my house to help me and my Dad work on our Austin-Healey Sprites. My Dad's had been sitting in his backyard since the mid-90s, and mine had been sitting since late 2000/early 2001. AH Sprites and MG Midgets are twin cars, and are collectively called Spridgets. There is a group that emerged from the email list called Organization of Spridget Handymen in Transit (OSHIT). My Dad's bypass surgery and my upcoming 50th birthday was the impetus for starting work on getting the cars running again.
We towed my Dad's to my place a few weeks ago. We weren't too sure about the state it would be in after sitting outside for so long. To our amazement, most all of the nuts and bolts came out easily, and when we took the valve cover off, there was a light sheen on oil on everything, and we were able to turn the engine over by hand.
The goal of the guys that came into town was to get my engine running, and as a secondary goal do what we could for my Dad's car. We took my engine apart, and found that it needed a new timing chain and gears. I also had a new aluminum head to replace the cast iron one, and new pulleys to move to a serpentine belt system instead of a V-belt, which also allowed a move to a more modern alternator.
After much work, we got my engine to fire on Friday. Here's how it sounded for the first time since late 2000/early 2001:
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Now on to do the rest of the stuff to get it to pass inspection, then get it stripped down for a new paint job.