At the risk of becoming the biggest blabber on this forum--I was a writer/editor in real life--I will offer still another issue on my car. This is a Series 1 BN7 that has had an extensive restoration, including, I have been told, an engine rebuild (and a Toyota gear box, etc). The car runs great, and I drove it to Florida from Virginia after its purchase in Virginia However, it has a pronounced tapping sound upon start up and at idle. It sounds like it is in the rocker/valve train. This sound goes away under load and isn't audible driving down the road. Initially, I thought (hoped) it was possibly a very loose rocker, but I've checked the valve settings and listened to the sound with the valve cover removed and engine running. The screwdriver-to-ear test, holding the screwdriver at various points around the head, didn't help me locate the source of the sound. I also had two of the leading lights of the local Healey club listen to it--they were at the time kind of focused on a brake bleeding problem on a 100M--and neither of them offered an opinion. I thought perhaps it was a tappet, but I don't think there is much that can go wrong there, and a friend thought it might be the water pump. That doesn't ring true to me. I think the important clue is that the sound seems to go away when the car is in gear and the engine is at work.