Ray Bencar's 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 III BJ8 with Chevy 350 engine
as published in British V8 Newsletter, Volume XV Issue 2, September 2007Owner: Ray Bencar
City: Mentor, OH
Model: 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 III BJ8
Engine: Chevy 350 (supercharged and nitrous injected)
Conversion completed by: Owner
| Engine: | Chevrolet 350cid Hi-Performance, bored 0.060" over. |
| Induction: | 6-71 supercharger, plus 16-port NOS system. |
| Cam: | Hi Pro Max roller cam. |
| Cooling: | custom six tube 11-fin-per-inch radiator with two high volume electric
fans. Oil cooler with a 900cfm fan. |
| Exhaust: | custom headers to leg pipes. |
| Transmission: | Borg-Warner T56 LT1 6-speed manual. |
| Clutch: | 4200# 11" with hydraulic throw-out bearing (ie: "HTOB"). |
| Driveshaft: | 1 7/8" diameter solid alloy, 12" long. |
| Rear Axle: | 12-bolt Chevy with Posi-Traction and Strange Engineering axles. |
| Front Susp.: | stock plus two additional shocks and a modified torsion bar. |
| Rear Susp.: | stock plus traction bars, two additional shocks, and a modified torsion bar. |
| Brakes: | drilled and slotted discs (front) and Chevy drum brakes (rear).
Dashboard-mounted proportioning valve. |
| Wheels/Tires: | chromed American wheels, with P245/50 (front) tires and P265/50 (rear) tires. |
| Electrical: | custom wiring (by Ray Bencar). Gauge package includes: volt meter,
water temperature, oil temperature, NOS pressure, boost, tachometer
(engine RPM), speedometer (0-500mph), oil pressure, fuel level, and
fuel pressure. |
| Completed: | never! (Note: Ray has owned the car 38 years, and began the V8 conversion in 1976.) |
| Miles Driven: | about 25,000 since the conversion, as of British V8 2007. |
| Other mods: | the frame is reinforced ("boxed") in quarter inch steel from the
transmission mount forward to the front suspension. |
| Comments: | with nitrous oxide turned up and supercharger at full boost, Ray's
engine produces over 1400 horsepower. |
