HARD TO LOOK AT

I hesitate to share these awful pics, but there’s a good reason behind it.

The owner’s name is not important.  When and where it happened, and how it happened, are not important for our purposes.  What’s important is to let it sink in that this could happen to anyone’s Healey on any given day on the road.  This one happens to be a 100M.

I dare say that most Healeys in this condition would be “totaled.”  This one was too, but as a 100M it will be repaired anyway.   It will likely take years and as yet untold thousands (and thousands) of dollars to bring it back.

What I would suggest you think about when looking at this awful wreck is this:

1. When was the last time you checked the age of your tires and your tire pressure?

2. When was the last time you flushed your brake fluid and inspected the brake lines and wheel cylinders and all brake connections?

3. When was the last time your brake shoes and pads were inspected?

4. Does your handbrake work well enough to stop your Healey in a reasonable distance if the brakes fail?

5. When was the last time you inspected the steering and suspension?

6. When was the last time you inspected your wire wheels for broken spokes?

7. When was the last time you inspected the splines on the hubs and wheels?

8. When was the last time you checked the tightness of your knock-off nuts?

Are you willing to wait many months, and more likely at least a few years, for repairs like this to be completed?  How many good years do you have left as a driver?  How do you want to spend them?

We now return you to our regular scheduled programming, but with the hope that you take safety seriously enough to honestly answer the questions posed here.  The driving season is approaching and a word to the wise is sufficient.