Joined
·
279 Posts
Thought I would post this up and see if there was any interest in it. This is a project that I have been working on for a long time. I’ve changed it several times during the build and had numerous personal and family health issues along the way. It’s taken way longer than I thought it would, but that’s the way most car projects go.
The car is an old Austin Healey kit car called a Sebring that was built in the 80’s. I really like Cobra’s, but was looking for something with a little more room and practicality than a Cobra. I want to use it for long cruises like the Power Tour and vacation trips. My idea was to build something along the lines of a European GT (Grand Touring) car, but using American power and hot rod tech. The fact that the car had been titled originally in the 80’s meant no emission rules to deal with due to the 25 year old rule in my state (Louisiana) and the fiberglass body meant no rust to deal with. I bought the car in Florida and drove it home, but within a few months I blew the whole thing apart for a total redo. It just wasn't the car I wanted. Loved the basic styling, but the performance sucked. Not only was the car slower than it should have been, but it handled terrible and had a nasty habit of trying to change lanes if you got on it really hard. The MII rear suspension just wasn't up to the job.
A few specs on the car as I bought it:
350 SBC low HP crate motor with Q-jet carb
Very restrictive single exhaust
Camaro T5 trans
Mustang II suspension front and rear
Mustang II brakes front and rear
Folding soft top (sort of)
Removeable hardtop
I threw everything away except the main chassis rails and the body. Even the interior has been changed. The new car will have an LS1/T56 combo and a 3-link rear suspension. The front end is still loosely MII based, but there are few parts from an original MII left. The chassis has just came back from the powder coater and I’ll start this thread with engine and rear end. Here is a pic of the car as it was the day I got it home.
I’m using the Healey factory works rally cars for styling ques. The car won’t look like this when done. I’ve added several trim parts form an original Healey to make it look more like the original car.
The car is an old Austin Healey kit car called a Sebring that was built in the 80’s. I really like Cobra’s, but was looking for something with a little more room and practicality than a Cobra. I want to use it for long cruises like the Power Tour and vacation trips. My idea was to build something along the lines of a European GT (Grand Touring) car, but using American power and hot rod tech. The fact that the car had been titled originally in the 80’s meant no emission rules to deal with due to the 25 year old rule in my state (Louisiana) and the fiberglass body meant no rust to deal with. I bought the car in Florida and drove it home, but within a few months I blew the whole thing apart for a total redo. It just wasn't the car I wanted. Loved the basic styling, but the performance sucked. Not only was the car slower than it should have been, but it handled terrible and had a nasty habit of trying to change lanes if you got on it really hard. The MII rear suspension just wasn't up to the job.
A few specs on the car as I bought it:
350 SBC low HP crate motor with Q-jet carb
Very restrictive single exhaust
Camaro T5 trans
Mustang II suspension front and rear
Mustang II brakes front and rear
Folding soft top (sort of)
Removeable hardtop
I threw everything away except the main chassis rails and the body. Even the interior has been changed. The new car will have an LS1/T56 combo and a 3-link rear suspension. The front end is still loosely MII based, but there are few parts from an original MII left. The chassis has just came back from the powder coater and I’ll start this thread with engine and rear end. Here is a pic of the car as it was the day I got it home.




I’m using the Healey factory works rally cars for styling ques. The car won’t look like this when done. I’ve added several trim parts form an original Healey to make it look more like the original car.