The following narrative serves to give guidance on solving some of the common problems one may encounter with your Austin Healey. However, the writer absolves himself and the Austin Healey Club from any liability resulting from information given herewith.

Broken spokes Ever wondered what that faint 'tinkle, tinkle' sound is when you are slowly coasting to a standstill? Well it's probably a broken spoke. In my case, I seem to break a spoke every time I go any distance in my 3000. Why? Well it could be that they are all very old, or it could be that the wheel is out of true and needs professional re-building. So why do I suffer more than average? Well it's quite simple, I have the somewhat frowned upon chrome wire wheels. "What difference does that make", I hear you say. The answer is that the chroming procedure weakens the mild steel spokes, making them more susceptible to breaking that their painted counterparts. However, the good news is that replacement spokes (and modern 'chromed' wires) are in fact made of stainless steel, which are not only stronger, but easier to clean and keep rust free. OK, the shine isn't quite as good, but who would notice? The downside is that they are over £5 each, so replacing them all at once is not an option, as a new wheel is much cheaper. So first of all I'm going to tell you how to detect spokes just about to break !!!! There's nothing more annoying to replace a spoke, go out on a test run, and return with another broken spoke. For those of you as long in the tooth as me, you may remember a 'varieties' television show in the 70's called 'The Wheel Tappers and Shunters Club". This show, which featured such 'stars' as Kathy Kirby, Frank Ifield, Winifred Attwell, Russ Conway and The Batchelors (those were the days - eat your heart out Radiohead !!!), was named after those essential British Rail engineers who inspected the integrity of rolling-stock wheels. A long handled hammer was all that was needed to detect wheels with hairline fractures. Once given a sharp tap, if the sound produced wasn't shrill like a finely tuned bell, then the wheel was at fault. Well, try it on your spokes. just give each spoke a tap with a small spanner, and in theory all the spokes of a similar length, will make a similar sound - a high pitched ping. Don't forget that each wheel has spokes of different length and so the exact note produced will be different for each type. If you get a dull 'ping' then either the spoke is too slack, or it's about to break. It's easy to tighten the spoke using a 1/4" AF spanner on the rim end of the spoke. it's just like tuning a piano. Give the collar a slight turn and then check it's in tune with the others. More than often this slight turn will be enough to break the offending spoke. If it doesn't break, then maybe you just had a slack spoke.

OK, next stage. You now have a wheel with a broken spoke (or more). If it's just a couple of spokes then replacing them is OK. If you have a wheel full of broken spokes, then there's no other option to either seek professional advice or buy a new wheel. Replacing the spokes: items needed - two 12 stone or more willing volunteers and a 1/4" AF spanner. First deflate the tyre by removing the valve. Then lay the wheel on a flat surface (pavement) with the offending spoke uppermost. Then it's time for you and your accomplice to stand with your heals on the tyre, toes pointing outwards, feet close together, with your arm around each other (not compulsory, but it helps with stability). Then without falling off, bounce up and down on the tyre until the seal is broken - don't let the neighbours see you or they'll think you either mad or embarking in some strange male bonding exercise. Once the tyre is freed from the rim along one side, you should be able to extract the broken spoke. Fitting the new spoke is the reverse of the above, though feeding the new spoke between the existing spoke may require a bit of persuasion with a Manchester screwdriver (otherwise known as a hammer). Tighten the new spoke using the 'tuning' method above. Re-inflate the tyre, and off you go.