Jensen Healey – Dashboard redux
The original Jensen Healey dashboard was long gone. It had not aged gracefully – the “cracks” were now full on gouges. I had debated putting on a plastic dash cap – but figured that it would make sense to get it done right and make sure it looks nice.
Matched the vinyl grain pattern to the door panels and the dashboard just came back from it’s day at the shop. Also took the chance to redo the gauge cluster. I was lucky in that all of the Smith gauges were working wonderfully.
Of course – that will probably not be the case once the dash is put back in. Sigh.
Jensen-Healey Restoration – Seat Rails baby!
Tearing out the floor pans gave me the chance to see how we could improve on the seat mounting. The stock Jensen Healey seats had a front seat rail that had completely rusted through (see below). Since I was replacing the floor, it made sense to look at a different seat mounting option that could accommodate some more current seat designs. Found some cheap seats on eBay from a 95 Mazda Miata for test fitting and found they would work quite nicely with some mount point modifications.
But this uncovered another spacing issue. How to keep the right angle for driving position and mount the seat slightly higher than the floor. Found some MGB seat rail adapters from Eclectic Motorworks for Miata seats! These are VERY sturdy brackets that you can either bolt down or weld – but they are all bored out specifically for the Mazda Miata seat mounting pattern. Perfect!
Props to Eclectic for the brackets – they are a nice fit for the Jensen Healey and provide just enough lift off the floor. Definitely a non-standard use, but it works and they are built very well.
Jensen Healey floor and subframe update!
One of several rust prone areas in the Jensen Healey is the floor area – the whole area. After I got the floors out, I wasn’t to keen on the subframe. The pieces were in okay shape – but I could see that the metal had been “stressed” by someone attempting to jack up the car (no doubt a very common occurrence in this car’s history).
Decided to redo the subframe components with thicker gauge steel and call it a day. Since the pieces were simple hat bends – it was worth having a stronger subframe to weld the floor pans to.
The rear of the car also has a subframe area that articulates, so the floor pans will be modified to fit – but should look pretty close to stock and then be ready to accept the new seat rails. I also went with some new metal on the mount bracket to keep everything sturdy. A weak chassis mounting point can ruin your day!
Whitehouse.gov releasing open source code
Ok- this is just a nice way to end the week.
Whitehouse.gov is releasing the source code to some of the custom Drupal content management system (CMS) modules in use on the site. Always good to see modules released to the open source community – especially by the public sector.
New Ford “Start” Concept – bringing back 3-cylinders?
Ok – The Beijing Auto Show is bringing out some very cool vehicles.
Cue the Ford Start Concept car (article at insideline.com)
At first glance a ridiculously cute car – but then a 120HP 3-cylinder 1.0 Liter turbocharged engine is in the mix! Looks like Ford will be using this engine across a variety of platforms (including a possible replacement for the 1.6L Fiesta engine). Should see some decent mileage and the turbo should keep the “fun to drive” level high.
Sounds like the Geo Metro turbo conversions from 10 years ago will have some competition!
For plenty of pics check out the full article on Edmunds Insideline.
Who I’m Running With
6connect Next generation managed services company. Think private clouds combined with a footprint to serve up applications across multiple datacenters. And of course - all automated...
Core4 SystemsNext generation infrastructure cooling solution that uses less power and consumes less water versus the competition. Coming soon to a datacenter near you!
PJS Motorsports Consulting company I started back in 2001. Help people and businesses with navigating technology and increasing process efficiencies.What's On My Bookshelf
Planned books:
- Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated] by Jeremy Scahill
Current books:
-
The Birth of China by Nerrlee Glessner Creel
Recent books:
- The Book of War : Sun-Tzu’s by Sun-Tzu
- Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil Degrasse Tyson
- Shibumi: A Novel by Trevanian
- A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink
- Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein
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