Subject: [Healeys] Healey Milestone

From: Bert Van Brande <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 08:41:28 -0800 (PST)

Hi,

Santa came early this year, I must have been a good boy.  ;-)  Yesterday
i picked up my "Healey" (my short for 1956 Austin-Healey 100 BN2) from the
painter.  The car had been there for 9 months and the results are amazing.
 Bodywork is fantastic and straight, gaps are perfect and the Reno red over
black looks great.  Reno red is dark enough to my taste while not being
burgundy and looking ever so slightly less saturated at this "intensity", a
very 50's look indeed.   I am still living in soCal and working in Dallas,
Texas, so this is quite a challenge but I plan to finish the car in the next
3-6 months.  What's left to do:  interior, seats, windshield, headlights,
driving lights, taillights, indicators, install woodrim steering wheel and
hornpush, armacord in trunk, chrome-work and a myriad of details.   All
mechanical and bodywork is done, it's only been 7.5 years since dismantling
started in my garage.

Big thanks to Charlie Hart for his help and his
fantastic car trailer.  And big thanks to all contributors to this list, you
are an awesome gang with an amazing Healey knowledge base, I've not been
active here for a while with the whole work situation.  A special thanks in
memory of Rich Chrysler who always took the time to guide me like a true
mentor and special thanks to Curt Arndt who is always ready with help and
advice with great enthusiasm.

Some pics at:  http://db.tt/5fFtthG1

The red
is a bit darker in real life, modern digital sensors seem to picture the red
too bright.  The painter had put out a bucket and the white bottle with polish
to show off that you can read the labels off the reflection in the black.  A
true artist!  A bit of movie trivia:  The service station the car rolls out
from was used in the movies "Next" with Nicholas Cage and the recent "Race to
Witch Mountain".

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year,

Bert
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From: Bob Spidell <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 17:38:51 +0000 (UTC)

Ah, but wood--I have an original Derrington wheel--allows one to wear leather driving gloves with no hint of pretentiousness/presumptuousness/fatuousness/etc. In fact, the gloves are absolutely required since the varnished wood is slicker than snot. Solid black for winter, caneback for summer. 

This, however, is inexcusable: 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/21/tech/social-media/apparently-this-matters-meggings/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5 

--or-- 

http://tinyurl.com/cy7yjqy 

http://preview.tinyurl.com/cy7yjqy 

Bob 

-------------------------------- 
Bob Spidell - San Jose, CA 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Oudesluys" <[email-masked]> 

Very nice combination Bert, 
Do consider a leather steering wheel instead of a wooden one. Leather is 
so much more comfortable on long stretches and in hot weather. Much more 
grip to with the thicker rim. 
Cheers, 
Kees Oudesluijs 
NL 
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From: Michael MacLean <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 14:11:23 -0800 (PST)

Very nice Bert.  I am close to the same point with my BN2.  Just one
question.  The grill looks like it has not been restored yet.  If that is
true, are you worried that it will change shape after reassembly when it is
restored?
Mike MacLean
56 BN2
60 AN5

--- On Sun, 12/23/12, Bert Van Brande <[email-masked]> wrote:

From: Bert Van Brande <[email-masked]>
Subject: [Healeys] Healey Milestone
To: "List Healey" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sunday, December 23, 2012, 4:41 PM

Hi,

The red
too bright.  The painter had put out a bucket and the white bottle with
polish

Bert

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From: Michael MacLean <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:34:32 -0800 (PST)

Curt,
     OK, but that grill looks to be taken apart and yet to have the slats
attached to the surround.  THAT will change the shape slightly.  Or, are
telling Burt to leave it assembled during the re-chroming process?
Mike

--- On Mon, 12/24/12, Curtis Arndt <[email-masked]> wrote:

I've attached a photo of  a properly restored grill done by a shop in Canada
for a fellow "List" member.

Curt

[email-masked]

---

From: Curtis Arndt <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:47:56 -0800

Mike,

That's correct, they will take the grill apart AFTER they have polished the
surround.  Then they can remove it and satin chrome the grill slats and
bright chrome the surround.  After that you just reassemble and it should
be in the same shape as before  This is the safest and best way to do this.
*
The warping occurs when trying to polish an unsupported surround*.  Whats
the best way to support it?  Leave it attached while polishing.

Cheers,

Curt

On Sun, Dec 23, 2012 at 7:34 PM, Michael MacLean <[email-masked]>wrote:

> --- On *Mon, 12/24/12, Curtis Arndt <[email-masked]>* wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I've attached a photo of  a properly restored grill done by a shop in
> Canada for a fellow "List" member.
>
> Curt

[email-masked]

---

From: Michael MacLean <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:58:44 -0800 (PST)

Curt,
    When Rich Chrysler did mine the surround was bent, so he had his metal
working guy straighten it out after removing it from the slats.  He then had
everything chromed , including the correct satin chrome for the slats.  Then
it was reassembled.  I had not had the front shroud body work done yet so it
was OK.  I covered the grill with painter's blue tape (very tedious, it will
keep the ham handed body guy from scratching it) and let the body guy form the
hole to fit.  I guess, whatever works for you.
Mike

Mike, 

That's correct, they will take the grill apart AFTER they have polished the
surround.  Then they can remove it and satin chrome the grill slats and bright
chrome the surround.  After that you just reassemble and it should be in the
same shape as before  This is the safest and best way to do this.

The warping occurs when trying to polish an unsupported surround.  Whats the
best way to support it?  Leave it attached while polishing.

Cheers,

Curt

[email-masked]

---

From: Curtis Arndt <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 20:04:44 -0800

Mike,

I understand, but Bert's body work is done and I'm assuming the grill
surround fits, so it's imperative that the surround retains its correct
shape.  It's not what ever works for me, it's in what order the fit of the
grill goes with the completion of the body work... This is just common
sense on how to best get the job done.

Curt

On Sun, Dec 23, 2012 at 7:58 PM, Michael MacLean <[email-masked]>wrote:

> working guy straighten it out after removing it from the slats.  He then
> had everything chromed , including the correct satin chrome for the slats.
> Then it was reassembled.  I had not had the front shroud body work done yet
> so it was OK.  I covered the grill with painter's blue tape (very tedious,
> it will keep the ham handed body guy from scratching it) and let the body
> guy form the hole to fit.  I guess, whatever works for you.
>
> Mike
>
> That's correct, they will take the grill apart AFTER they have polished
> the surround.  Then they can remove it and satin chrome the grill slats and

[email-masked]

---

From: Michael MacLean <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2012 20:48:34 -0800 (PST)

Curt,
    To tell the truth. I spent over $1700 getting a final grill to use.  After
buying a couple of "project" grills off Ebay that did not work out and buying
Moss' idea of a replacement grill (wrong shape for the surround) I finally got
a decent one with a bent surround that I sent to Rich.  All the while I was
intending on getting the grill finished before the body work.  Your points are
valid, it's just not the way I did it.
Mike

From: Curtis Arndt <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Healey Milestone
To: "Michael MacLean" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Bert Van Brande" <[email-masked]>, "List Healey"
<[email-masked]>
Date: Monday, December 24, 2012, 4:35 AM

Mike ,

Just think of this... Rich's metal guy spends a lot of time straightening your
surround and then sends it to the polisher, who catches it in the buffing
wheel and turns it into a pretzel.  The polishers are sometimes the lowest
paid "grunt" work employees in a plating shop, I've seen this happen before. 
So all I'm saying is to polish the surround while it's supported by the rest
of the grill.  Harder to get it twisted and caught in the buffing wheel and
less likely to warp the thin brass due to the heat of polishing.
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From: Bert Van Brande <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2012 07:59:59 -0800 (PST)

Thanks Michael for bringing this up.  

The grille is original to the car and
a perfect fit.  I'll get in touch with Curt after the holidays and figure out
where to send it for chroming.  It seems that a shop with experience with
these grilles would be very beneficial or a high-end chrome restoration shop
at least.

Bert

________________________________
 From: Michael MacLean
<[email-masked]>
To: Curtis Arndt <[email-masked]> 
Cc: Bert Van
Brande <[email-masked]>; List Healey <[email-masked]> 
Sent:
Sunday, December 23, 2012 8:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Healey Milestone
Curt,
    To tell the truth. I spent over $1700 getting a final grill to use. 
After buying a couple of "project" grills off Ebay that did not work out and
buying Moss' idea of a replacement grill (wrong shape for the surround) I
finally got a decent one with a bent surround that I sent to Rich.  All the
while I was intending on getting the grill finished before the body work. 
Your points are valid, it's just not the way I did it.
Mike

--- On Mon,
12/24/12, Curtis Arndt <[email-masked]> wrote:

>Cc: "Bert Van Brande"
<[email-masked]>, "List Healey" <[email-masked]>
>Date:
Monday, December 24, 2012, 4:35 AM
>
>
>Mike ,
>
>Just think of this... Rich's
metal guy spends a lot of time straightening your surround and then sends it
to the polisher, who catches it in the buffing wheel and turns it into a
pretzel.  The polishers are sometimes the lowest paid "grunt" work employees
in a plating shop, I've seen this happen before.  So all I'm saying is to
polish the surround while it's supported by the rest of the grill.  Harder to
get it twisted and caught in the buffing wheel and less likely to warp the
thin brass due to the heat of polishing. 
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