[Healeys] get a load of this one..

HealeyRick healeyrik at gmail.com
Sun Feb 21 14:15:38 MST 2016


Just got a chance to read the link you posted, Chris.  Very interesting,
thanks for posting.  And you're correct, the handwriting was already on the
wall under BMC, not BL.

Happy Healeying,
Rick Neville

On Sat, Feb 20, 2016 at 4:28 PM, Chris Dimmock <austin.healey at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I think it's a bit more complicated.
> Austin and Morris internal rivalries eventually killed the BMC C series
> engine. The C series should have continued development along the Healey
> Westlake Rally path, alloy head etc (the path Datsun went down with the Z
> cars and sedan engines) Instead, BMC committed to the financial disaster
> that was the MGC 3 litre, and then distracted itself with the 4 litre RR
> engine.
> See http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mg-cars/mgb/engines-c-series/
> for a great overview.
> So the engine strategy was going down the toilet....
> Meanwhile, Ralph Nader destroyed the body / chassis designs & aesthetics
> and effectively threatened sales into the largest single export market
> without a huge redesign.
> I think by the time the British Leyland Merger  came along, Austin was
> just all too hard....
> Best
> Chris
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On 21 Feb 2016, at 12:25 PM, HealeyRick <healeyrik at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was nasty old BL that killed the Healey
> rather than the safety and emission requirements.  From what I've read, the
> Healey 4000 would have met the US requirements for 1968 (
> http://www.ewilkins.com/wilko/ah4000.htm) but it was the decision to
> badge engineer the MGC in favor of a new Healey that was the death knell.
> MGBs managed to soldier on for several years after 1967 with the same
> chrome bumpers.  That's not to say the Healey that we know and love
> could've soldiered on forever in light of more stringent US standards, just
> that I don't think they were the immediate cause of death.
>
> Happy Healeying,
> Rick Neville
>
> On Sat, Feb 20, 2016 at 1:43 AM, i erbs <eyera3000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> US smog and bumper height regulations.
>>
>> Mr. Ira Erbs
>> Portland,OR
>> On Feb 20, 2016 2:35 AM, "J. Armour" <sebring3000 at bigpond.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Can someone remind me why Healeys were not able to be sold in the USA?
>>> Did this issue of 'safety regulation' ( obviously for our own good so we
>>> were not all killed ) not start out in California?
>>> Am I being politically incorrect or just stating history
>>> Joe
>>>
>>>
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