"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry", and so it is with the restoration of this Austin Healey. The engine has been rebuilt, cleaned, painted and partially assembled. The same is true for the transmission. The new clutch has been prepared for installation. Where is the pilot shaft?
When fitting the clutch assembly to the flywheel on the engine, the splines on the clutch disc and the bushing in the center of the flywheel must me aligned perfectly. Inserting a pilot shaft, which is an exact copy of the transmission's first motion shaft , through the clutch disc and into the flywheel bushing before tightening the clutch pressure plate, assures proper alignment of the clutch assembly to the engine. When the clutch is properly aligned, fitting the transmission is less challenging. Guess what is missing.
My first order from Victoria British included all the engine and suspension parts necessary to assemble the car's drive train; well, everything except the pilot shaft. I ordered it this morning and it should be here tomorrow or Thursday. My bad.
Don had the day off today so I spent most of the day running errands. Tomorrow morning we plan to install the "false" floor pan and heat shield. Hope this isn't another "best laid plan"...
Stay tuned,
Tom McCurry
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