Healey Journal

A Buyer’s Guide: Criteria for Buying a Rustbucket: Potential Suspension Faults

4) The Suspension. The Healey is renowned for its racy, low slung body. The suspension is not itself particularly susceptible to problems. There are, however some things to look out for.

a) The Wheels may have damaged, loose or missing spokes. The stock wheels were silver painted, 60 spoke wire wheels. These may be readily replaced if necessary, or upgraded to 72 spoke wire wheels, either painted or chromed. There is some opinion that the chrome plating reduces the strength of the wheels. It is also possible to obtain alloy wheels that are stronger yet, and which would not require inner tubes. It is my intent to eventually replace the wire wheels with alloy ones. This is motivated by three factors- one, an opinion that 35 year old wire wheels may well have suffered some abuse and be less than entirely reliable second, an observation that I have one odd wheel- a 60 spoker (obviously normally kept as the "spare" but used during the car's final days) while the other 3 have 72 spokes and finally, the hub problems mentioned in part b below provide further incentive for replacement.

b) The Hubs on which the wheels mount may be worn. Each wheel depends on having a snug fit on its hub. If the splines (on wheel OR hub) are worn it may then be possible for the wheel to slip under power or braking. Under power the hub will spin while the wheel sits still and the car goes nowhere. When braking the wheel will continue to roll while the hub is braked to a stop. The potential danger is obvious, and the hubs and wheels should be carefully checked that their splines show a regular sawtooth form. It is also not unknown for the hubs and wheels to have been neglected so that corrosion binds them tightly together. They should always be adequately greased to prevent that problem. The alternative may leave you with an unchangeable flat because the wheel and hub have become inseperable companions.

c) The various Bushings should be replaced as a matter of course in a major rebuild. Some people elect to leave the wishbone bushings alone. Given the difficulty of removing them this idea has much to recommend it. If such good sense eludes you, the section on Special Healey Tools describes one method for removing these that may be effective. Or not, as is too often the case.

d) The Springs are robust but may break or sag. The car may be inspected to determine whether one side sits lower than the other, but a variety of causes may lead to that unhappy condition. The easiest comparison is to remove the springs and compare their heights during the rebuild. Replacement springs are readily available, in a variety of strengths for the front. It is my intent to uprate the springs to a “rally” level.

e) The Shock Absorbers are susceptible to the usual wear and tear and may be checked in the usual manner (the "bounce” test- if the car doesn’t quickly settle aver being bounced the shocks may need reconditioning). In my view it seems a false economy not to have them rebuilt while the rest of the car is stripped completely. The cost is modest (£30 each at the most competitive supplier) and there is no inconvenience in having to do so during a major rebuild. If, once its all together, some problem becomes obvious the efforts to rectify it then will be much greater. One particular point to note is the potential for the captive nuts used to mount the shocks to break loose. This provides poor support for the shock and should be corrected. Some vendors sell replacement plates that may be welded onto the shock towers, while other vendors sell plates that require surgery to open up the “caps” on the towers so that the threaded plate may then be attached. Note too that the "arms" of the shocks may become twisted or mis-aligned, but this seems almost impossible to check for in situ.

f) The Healey comes stock with an Anti-Sway Bar at the front and radius rods at the rear. The bar at the front may occasionally be damaged by low curbs, etc. and may not be present even. The bar is often uprated to a heavier bar and Healey specialists sell a variety of alternatives. The rear may have an anti-sway bar added, if thought necessary. I intend to uprate the front and to add the rear bar.