What can I do to make this section work better?
If a message board section gets too sleepy, posting new messages is like talking in an empty room.
This section obviously hasn't reached "critical mass" yet. I could move all the messages over to "Other British Cars" - or conceivably I could make a new section for Spridgets and then just move "big Healey" stuff over to "other".
Suggestions?
Any idea how the #'s of healey conversions compares to Triumphs or Alpines? It may be that there are way fewer of them being done -- especialy since the price of the cars themselves has gotten so high. If that's the case, rolling this section into the "others" would make sense.
If there are more being done, then maybe digging up some contacts for folks active in the activity to help get the word out that this is a place they can share/trade info would get the posting rates up.
Section for Spridgets and the other big Healey stuff goes "bye-bye" to another section~
my opinion would be to leave it as is.
A Healey is not just another British car.
I particularly like Healey styling, but just to play Devil's Advocate: there's also a case to be made for merging this section into MG because from 1957 onward all Austin Healeys were built by MG employees at Abingdon. Even the "bugeye" (Mark 1) Sprite was mostly engineered at Abingdon. Production of the Sprite model even continued for awhile after the Healey name was removed from it. (It was known as an "Austin Sprite" at the end of production.)
My only serious concern (above) was making sure that each forum section reaches critical mass.
Consider that over four months have passed since this message thread started. Only four replies so far.
Your question seems to have stimulated more posts. Leave the section as is.
One thing that you will have to consider is that with the economy the way it is many wil put there cars aside and not work on them. If nobody is working on there cars they may not feel the need to post anything on their cars.
Curtis, consider the number of owners involved and the value of the cars and it's no wonder that big Healey conversions are not nearly as common as MG and Triumphs and have many fewer posts. As for combining the Sprites and Midgets, I would vote against that. Sprites are Austin Healeys, and from what I've heard have fought long and hard for recognition in the Healey community with their big brothers, so don't undermine that now. I like what you did in the Photo Gallery with the links to the other Spridgets, but in the forum I think they can still be on a Healey board. I think that most of us check the activity on all the boards when we log in and will read a lot of items even if we don't have that particular marque car. So many of the problems and solutions of conversions are common between marques anyway many of us may have something of value to post or can learn from others.
Yes, you did get only a few responses to your question since September, but look at all the activity on other threads since then, both in posts and viewings, this section is far from dead but it may well go quite from time to time. When it's needed people know where to go. Unless there's a problem with the space it takes or the cost to maintain I think it should remain as is.