Nasty Boys

[HealeyRick]

Putting this in the pub although it's mostly about Healeys, I thought it might be of interest to the rest of you guys.  I wrote an article on modified Healeys for the July-August issue of the Austin-Healey Magazine, the magazine of the Austin-Healey Club USA. In addition to featuring a number of individual cars, I did some pieces on the history of Nasty Boys going back to the 1950s you might find of interest.  It's been reprinted here:  http://bighealey.org/NastyBoy/Issue_8_2016.pdf  Hope you enjoy it.

[MGBV8]

Very fine job, Rick!  I can believe the origin of the name. In fact, if it was me wondering around all those stock Healeys back then & someone fired up a V8 modded one, I might have said, "Boy, that sounds nasty!"  So, it is easy to believe that is how they came to be known.  

As for on the wane, hotrodding will never go out out of style.

Great pic of Leroy & Sue, btw. Just the way I remember them.

[kstevusa]

Thanks Rick for info and article link.  Met Leroy & Sue at some of our Brit V8 meets and enjoyed our conversations.  Rain or shine, He was out driving the car.

[8889]

Nice article you have written. Great.

[Sidecardoug]

Great article !   Took me back to my ' 61 with a built 289 & BW 4speed - great for cruisin' the old
17 from Los Gatos to  Santa Cruz...  ( of course now that road is a traffic jam at most hours....)
  Back when I was in high school, I worked at Mission Linen Supply on Del Monte Blvd in Monterey,
CA, and one of my co-workers was a student at the local college named Larry Oda.  One evening he
gave me a ride in his yellow Bugeye...  I don't think I've ever experienced such acceleration in any other
car - His car was later featured as an " Isky car of the month " in Hot Rod -  he was running a built 327
backed by a B& M Hydro, and that car would launch so hard it felt like I was going out over the back,
held in place only by my lap belt !  If I recall correctly, the Isky feature stated he was running in the 10's -
pretty quick for 1965 !

[HealeyRick]

I remember seeing Larry Oda's car in HR when I owned my first Sprite in high school.  In fact, I started to put a 327 in my bugeye, but fortunately my mechanical abilities were soon outpaced.

[kerbau53]

Great article.