OMG, It never occurred to me to try to picture a big Healey with a black
rubber 5 mph bumper, front and rear, a-la the late MGB.
Geeze, Dave, ...There's a truly disturbing visual I could have lived happily
without!
David W. Jones
'62 Mk II BT7 tricarb
Cumberland, RI USA
----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Murphy
To: tomfelts@earthlink.net ; healeys@autox.team.net
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 2:05 AM
Subject: RE: Spinners
Tom,
I don't know the answer. I think the leapers on post Mark 10 Jags (i.e all
XJ's) were dealer installed. I bet they got around the legislation that way.
If your leaper was factory installed, the current law must allow it -
i.e.maybe they determined that low slung leapers wouldn't disembowell
pedestrians the way Plymouth rockets would. I just remember that on the '68
cars all the cool stuff (I was a 13 year old car nut at the time) like
spinners and rigid hood ornaments (like the 4 point boxed star on the
Lincoln Continental) were gone in the name of pedestrian safety. All
subsequent (1969 and on)US factory installed hood ornaments had spring
mounts.
I just remember that pedestrian "safety" was the reason for elimination of
spinners - not a concern that a wheel might be lost as was being suggested
by some folks on the list. That was the reason for my post.
I'm glad my BJ8 has spinners. If it was a late '67 with hex nuts, I'd change
them to spinners immediately and curse the Ralph Naderites in the process. I
often think how fortunate it is that the big Healey was discontinued before
it had to suffer lowered compression ratios, catalytic converters, smog
pumps, sealed Stromberg carburettors, retarded timing, plastic dashboards, 5
mph bumpers, rollover bars, side impact door beams and air bags. It remained
a pure car true to its designers intent and was not corrupted significantly
by the government.
-Dave
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