Jensen Healey Prep V - Engine In!

Well, over the last 10 days or so Jeff Young and I have done a lot to the JH and it is actually looking like a race car! We got the engine in the car and, although there are a lot of details to attend to, Jeff commented that if we HAD to race it this Saturday we could race it - it'd be ugly with a lot of stuff undone, but it could drive.

Getting the motor in this car, while it looks simple, is actually hell. Not really putting it in, that works fine, it is hooking the steering rack up since the steering shaft threads through the number two header pipe with about 1/4 to spare. And, the top steering knucle only clears the head with about 1/8" to spare. I definitely need to use a stay rod on the engine so it doesn't move and bind up my steering.

Here are a few pics of the engine and the workers, and a couple of the engine in the car. Jeff is in yellow, I'm in blue with a PBR. I sure hope she'll run okay; there is still a lot to do - make the engine harness, driveshaft, brake setup, fuel tank in etc. but it is getting down to the last 50 hours or so!

http://www.gt40s.com/images/jensen/mini-enginedone1.JPG
http://www.gt40s.com/images/jensen/mini-enginedone2.JPG
http://www.gt40s.com/images/jensen/mini-enginedone3.JPG
http://www.gt40s.com/images/jensen/mini-jeffengine.JPG
http://www.gt40s.com/images/jensen/mini-ronengine.JPG

http://www.gt40s.com/images/jensen/mini-einginein1.JPG
http://www.gt40s.com/images/jensen/mini-enginein2.JPG

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Ron Earp
NC Region
Ford Lightning
RF GT40 Replica
White Jensen-Healey ITS
Silver "Skull" 260Z ITS
Email: "rlearp at gt40s.com"

[This message has been edited by rlearp (edited June 13, 2005).]

Looks great Ron. A piece of advice, and this is just my opinion, but if that is an expensive header I'd take the exhaust wrap off. Otherwise that header will disintegrate very, very quickly (within just a few races). Even if it's coated (Airborn, Jet-Hot, etc.), the header wrap will keep the heat in so well it will break down the coating almost immediately and then the header metal is next.

MC

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Mark Coffin
#14 GP BSI Racing/Action Digital/Airborn Coatings/Krispy Kreme VW Scirocco

[This message has been edited by racer14itc (edited June 13, 2005).]

Looks awesome Ron. Very impressive big oil pan! I second what Mark said about the header wrap. I know Mark has a different sponsor but I did some research on the header coating and Swain technologies appears to me to have a really good coating system... You guys must really have thought out your funding priorities carefully, but if I were you I'd put a few less dollars into the car and a few more dollars in the beer fund ;-)

Wow!! beautiful job!! I cant wait to see it in person at Roebling...I agree on the header wrap...I would remove it and put some nice heat shields around the body areas as well as any affected components like the steering rack (if it is real close) etc. Great job!!

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Evan Darling
ITA Integra

That is some nice eye candy!

But, I do have to say, you guys are entirely too clean. Especially if you can work in the garage in Khaki's and a polo shirt!! http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/biggrin.gif

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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com

Awesome. We are doing a customer RX-7 this winter...maybe we can race them on the new show "Pinks"... http://ITForum.ImprovedTouring.com/smile.gif

Great job guys. Dot the i's and cross the t's so you can race it more than one weekend in a row.

AB

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Andy Bettencourt
New England Region, R188967
www.flatout-motorsports.com

Clean! That engine looks the part!

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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

Thanks for the compliments fellows, we appreciate it! We are taking our time but there is a chance it might make Roebling - but, I do have some travel coming up and that will put a damper on the progress. I would like for everything to be as good as can be for the first outing so I'm not fixing stuff all the time - and I think that will mean a couple weeks of street driving before going to the track, which sort of rules out Roebling. She is close though!!!!!!!

I too have the same concerns about the header wrap. But, it is so tight around the firewall/tunnel/rack/column/shaft that it had to have something to prevent heat from heating up the engine (engine lays over on exhaust) and me. Seriously, with only about 1/8" for the rack to pass through the header and the header being about 1/4" from the rack/column and about 3/16 from the shifter tunnel there is not room for much else than wrap. I can't even photo it because it is so tight in there, but when you see it at the track you'll be amazed.

Why like this? Remember, it is an English car and in the UK version the rack is on the other side and everything is beautiful - here they were forced to put the parts into a place they were never designed to go since the Lotus 4 pot lays over at 45 degrees, sort of like an old slant six from Dodge.

The header isn't all that cheap, but if she burns up then that will give our exhaust man a chance to make a custom header to avoid the problems this 4 into 1 "race" header for the JH has. Besides, the damn thing is in there now and there isn't enough room to get the hand of a 3 year old anywhere near it to cut it off - all you can do is touch the collector on the end, everything else is inaccessible.

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Ron Earp
NC Region
Ford Lightning
RF GT40 Replica
White Jensen-Healey ITS
Silver "Skull" 260Z ITS
Email: "rlearp at gt40s.com"

[This message has been edited by rlearp (edited June 14, 2005).]

[This message has been edited by rlearp (edited June 14, 2005).]

Ditto on the header rap. A friend has a 320 BMW with a Lincoln Mark8 motor...a real shoehorn job. He fabricated his complete exhaust system and had it Swain coated. You would not believe the amount of heat radiation that is not present. The clearance on the shock towers is about 3/8" to the headers and after running in town you can touch the inner shock tower....not that hot! Seems to me the stuff really works. This winter my headers get the same treatment. Chuck

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Chuck Baader
#36 ITA E30 BMW
Alabama Region Divisional Registrar

A 320i with a 460? I gotta see that....

If it is a MKVIII that would be the 4.6L DOHC motor, the first application of this motor in a Ford product in NA. I think those were rated around 280 hp or so,and crept up to 290hp in the later versions.

Definitely not the 385 series big block family that the 460 belongs to, although the mod motor is just as large as the 385 series and the mod motor swap would be harder in many respects.

R

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Ron Earp
NC Region
Ford Lightning
RF GT40 Replica
White Jensen-Healey ITS
Silver "Skull" 260Z ITS
Email: "rlearp at gt40s.com"

Conversion definitely not for the faint of heart. Car is running/driving but certainly not finished. Made 265ish on the chassis dyno with a bad injector and hasn't been back. The stock transmission tunnel had to be massaged to clear the Ford autobox. The header set he made incorporates 5 or 6 merge collectors. Needless to say, the car is quite peppy!! Chuck

I need my updated fix. I look here everyday to see what you guys are up too. As a fellow British car owner and racer, I enjoy the progess reports

Well, over the last couple of weeks Jeff and I have made some progress. I would have made more progress but I had a trip to the UK for business and some driving at Donnington Park - which was good because I got hours of seat time in this:

http://www.gt40s.com/images/ronmalcolmgt40.jpg

Malcolm is my friend on the left and he owns the car, I'm the guy sweating like a pig in the half on suit.

We got the motor in the JH, I finished up all the wiring harnesses and connections, got the brakes operating, sorted some issues, and last night we actually pushed the button to fire it and........

....it went BANG! In a good way, it wants to cough to life. We couldn't continue to start it since it has no exhaust system and it was 930PM, 1.5 hours past my daughters bedtime, but it looks like it wants to run. We've got to connect up the driveshaft, get an alignment, cut some springs down, and fix a carb leak but with those things handled it should be time to light it off outside and see what she'll do!

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Ron Earp
NC Region
Ford Lightning
RF GT40 Replica
White Jensen-Healey ITS
Silver "Skull" 260Z ITS
Email: "rlearp at gt40s.com"

[This message has been edited by rlearp (edited July 15, 2005).]

Good news! Jeff the Stromberg Master solved my leaking carb issue so I can now say that the motor is done - and ready to start! Fire up is Monday or Tuesday, I'm hoping it'll work smoothly!
http://www.gt40s.com/images/jensen/JHjuly2005.JPG

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Ron Earp
NC Region
Ford Lightning
RF GT40 Replica
White Jensen-Healey ITS
Silver "Skull" 260Z ITS
Email: "rlearp at gt40s.com"