The Value of Joining a Club

March 2012 I invested in a LBC, it is a 1967 Austin-Healey Sprite. I found the car on Craig’s list and was debating between that and a MGB. Well I really wanted the Austin-Healey, so I purchased it without really knowing too much about the car. Now I am learning more and more about the car everyday. The car is in good shape, no rust to speak of and it ran when I picked it up.  So I figured it should be a good deal.  I went in to this knowing that I needed to learn how to fix and repair these thing, and that’s part of the fun. I was able to replace the clutch and other parts that needed replacement on my own with some help from the internet.

Then came the carburetors, I knew I could not figure this out myself even with help from the internet. So I decided to go to a meeting of the British Auto Club of Las Vegas.  I was happy to find a bunch of very nice people, not the car snobs that I was thinking I would find.  So what the heck, I decided to join the club. After introducing myself telling everyone what kind of car I have and that I was having issues getting the carbs to sync. I sat and enjoyed the rest of the meeting.

To my surprise a member came up to me and said, “I know just the guy to help you with your Healey.”  He proceeded to introduce me to Joe, and Joe was nice enough to offer his help. I was very surprised that all he wanted in return was gas money. A few emails later we had set a date to work on my Austin-Healey Sprite.

Joe came over and we talked about what I knew about the car and what I had done. After a few moments of talking we started to work. A few turns of the adjustment wrench and a few turns of the screw drivers. Looking at timing, ignition and before I knew it my Healey was running like a top. Joe looked at me and asked, what else can we do. So the next thing was trying to get the darn thing to stop, so we looked at the brakes and fixed an issue with a spring and noted down the parts I needed to order to get it to stop on a dime, or shilling.

The internet is great to find answers, but sometimes it take experience. If you haven’t yet join your local British Car Club. It is well worth the time and investment.

Now to get the thing painted.

By Bill Debevc
Member of the British Auto Club of Las Vegas

[He got it painted! ~Ed.]