Spare Engine, Trans, etc

Picked up a spare Austin Healey A-Series engine, and transmission this past weekend.  It is a 1965 Austin Healey Sprite engine and transmission which included the original carburetors and all the accessories.  Nice to have a spare to work on and have waiting if anything goes wrong with the original.

Engine Compartment

The engine compartment is mostly stripped of paint and treated to remove all surface rust.  The steel is in very good condition with no rust other than a very small amount of surface rust.  I should be done with the first treatment of the engine compartment and ready to prime next weekend.  I will move on to the driver's compartment with the same treatment.

Starting to strip the paint

Starting to strip the paint and finding mostly clean steel.  There is a very small amount of surface rust but for the most part it is really clean.

Engine

The engine is the original 948 with the HS1 (1 1/4 inch) SU Carbs. The 1959 car has only 60,000 miles on it and the oil pressure seems to be solid. I plan on replacing the gaskets on the engine as well as repainting it with the original color. Additionally I plan on rebuilding the SU carburetors and cleaning and painting all parts as needed. I will remove the engine, remove all paint and treat any rust, and prime or use a rust preventative paint treatment, then paint the engine compartment the original Leaf Green. Well there has been a change in plans for the color as I simply can't resist painting it British Racing Green (BRG) like the old Jaguar D Type which I absolutely love.  I plan on using Dupont or PPG paint.

Interior has a good start

The interior of the car has been started by the previous owner. All the Smiths Gauges are included in the car as well as leather seats newly recovered (I've been told it is not the bugeye original covers). The dash has also been recovered and looks good. It has the original steering wheel but I need to get a horn center piece.

Purchased the car

Purchased a 1959 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite from an ad on Craigslist for a good deal. The car was not running although the seller said that it was running not that long ago and that there was a problem with one of the SU carbs. Well I had it taken home on a flat bed truck and got to work on the SU... took apart the rear carb which was leaking and found out that it was put together incorrectly. I put the parts together in the correct order (using a parts diagram as a reference) put in a new battery and after a bit of adjusting this-and-that it fired up... running very rich and will need a carb rebuild. The rebuild kit cost about $125 and does not look too difficult to do... mainly following directions.