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And.... A real nice combo for the highway is the 1275 plus 5 speed plus 3.7. Considering the Datsun box has lower first three ratios than the stock ribcase, you still get the "acceleration" you had with the ribcase and 3.9 combo while being able to cruise all day at 70 at just over 3k rpm. :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 8518... MORE
Totally agree, Larry. Unless you are doing highway driving, I'd stick with a good ribcase until such a time as the ribcase required maintenance. 'Course, if you can find a buyer for your ribcase, this could be a different story. If you're doing mainly highway cruise... and want to save your engine and use less gasoline, the 5 speed points the way. As for double clutching into a non-synchro first.....I grew up with Sprites, MGA's, pre- '68 B's.....so, BTDT. Sychro on first or not, the Datsun box has slightly lower gearing so "sneaking through" in 2nd is a lot... MORE
Dear Mister Loutrec, Concerning your input on the 5 speed trany conversion for a bugeye sprite: Nope, not going to get any flack from me about it at all. I can relate to not really neediing the syncro in first. It's such a low gear I can't image wanting to shove the shift in their too early. Sound? Hmmmm, I must admit to loving the muffler sound myself, but I'm somewhat attracted to having a quieter trany. Maiinly, it's having the ability to cruise on a highway/freeway at 65 with worrying about it being wound up so much. You... MORE
If you care to cruise at current highway speeds for more than a few miles at a time the 5-speed conversion really is a must. When you get ready to do the conversion maybe we can setup a working party and get you some help. I'm sure we could attract enough help to get it done. If you do the Morriservice conversion it cannot be done in one day/weekend as it requires you to send the flywheel to Paul for the required mods to use the Datsun clutch. If you can come up with an extra 1275 flywheel you... MORE
"Cap'n, I believe you have it backwards" Listen....nobody, but nobody can get it as wrong as I, OK?? I am the "King of Wrong" and damn proud of it. It's an art form in and of itself. I have worked on being wrong for years and have honed being wrong to a fine edge. Nobody does "wrong" better than me! Now... I'm checking with Bill on this. Far as I know, I got a Datsun disc in my set-up but this was done two years ago. I for sure have his proprietary slave cylinder but here again, things change... MORE
Rivergate 5 speed You are correct, Gerard. It "was" that way at one time. Then they went back to the Datsun disc and ultimately, their own slave cylinder, the prototype of which remains on my car today...they sent it to me for testing. As Bill explained it to me, they had begun with the Datsun disc, then switched back over to an uprated Spridget one which turned out to be unsatisfactory in terms of quality...so they went back to the Datsun disc (which occupies this position of my conversion done at their shop two years ago). The current info... MORE
I'm gonna' take some heat on this one, but...I recently drove for the first time, a Bugeye with a 5-speed Datsun gearbox. I gotta tell you, I was not all that impressed. The car was identical to mine (1275, disc brakes), so the only difference was the 5-speed box. Now you have to remember that I grew up driving when there weren't any cars, Brit or American with syncro first gears, so a syncro first is no big advantage to me. I still shift into first only when dead stopped, even with all syncro boxes. Old habits die hard.... MORE
Michael- I think it would be pretty easy to get over 2K, depending on if the transmission needed a rebuild. I doubt though, that the entire conversion would cost much more than having a ribcase rebuilt. "mowog4" 8499... MORE
Michael- I'd assume Cap'n Bob has a 1275 which has an overbore. It is the same block with a little more displacement(I run a 1450cc in my Mini). I've done the 5spd conversion in a Sprite, have been able to use a straight shift lever and had shorter throws than in the original ribcase. It is a great conversion. "mowog4" 8497... MORE
Overhauled Spridget webcases are going for more than US$ 1,000 these days. The Datsun box should (all else being equal) outlast a Spridget box as the Datsun unit was designed to handle greater torque and horsepower than a stock Spridget to begin with and Japanese qualitiy in manufacture and machining in these respects sort of speaks for itself (which is NOT intended to be a reflection on the Spridget gearbox which in itself, is a good, tough unit, IMHO:). Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 8502... MORE
David... I have a 1293 motor built by Rivergate with 7K on it. Ordered it with one of their rebuilt Datsun 5 speeds. Runs like a dream. No oil leaks. Very quick. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 8495... MORE
I took a 800 mile ride this weekend, to take my Bugeye to Rivergate shop, after much number crunching, it came out that if I had them build an engine for me, and rebuild a 5 speed, the shipping on that would eat me alive, so in my thought I asked what it would be if I brought my car to them to have the work done, of course I know it will take another trip down there, to pick up car, but... the shipping would have been more expensive than the labor they charged to install, so that's... MORE
I apologize as I realize this subject has been covered before on this list. Would someone be good enough to supply the name/names of someone who will re-sleeve a brake master cylinder? Thanks, Paul Northern California "PRW" 8474... MORE
I'm using the original shift can with a lever that Paul A. modified for the kit and I haveplanty of room. Gerard "gerardchateau" 8458... MORE
We used the original Spridget shift rod (welded) and cut the remote box, fitting the larger MGA rubber boot to the larger hole required in the remote box. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 8466... MORE
I use the shift boot from a later midget with my Datsun box but really miss the look of the original metal cover. I think it was my posting which originally propted the various options for refitting it. Like most things I seem to have put off doing anything about it but I think my preference would be to cut down the original cover rather than bending the gear lever. But I was thinking, would making the hole at the top bigger do the job just as well? "Gary Lazarus" 8438... MORE
Is the original frogeye starter inadequate. After i installed the 1275 engine i have problems with starting. Yes the new engine is very tight and has a higher compression is this why the starter is struggling, it has problems turning the engine and when it does its turning it slower tha before. Sometimes it cant shift it all. Whats the alternative if i want to fit something better. Is there a starter from other cars that bolt straight on. Jens "jensmaudal" 8436... MORE
A buddy and me went boneyard hoping today. We found no RX7's with the coveted rear axle for Spridget swaps. We did however find some front drive DOHC Suzuki Swift engines that are supposed to mate to the Suzuki Sammari rear drive tranny's. This is one of the combo's that I'm exploreing for the Bugeye that I am building. Anybody know of this swap being done? Only saw one Sammari and the tranny was already gone. Found a couple of Toyota Corolla twin cams but the engines were already gone. Also found a Kia that had what looked to... MORE
Searching the archives has brought me no luck, so we'll post anew. Having installed the engine and Datsun 5 spd trans in my '60 BE, I am now working to determine the best way to get the datsun shift lever to clear the metal cover. I saw one posting that took the approach of modifying the shift lever itself, cutting, bending, and rewelding. Seems complex. I'm thinking of cutting and rewelding the housing itself. Shorten its height to bring the hole closer to the shift assembly to reduce the effective "travel" of the arm itself. Rough geometric analysis indicates... MORE
Ken, Another option is to use a shift boot from a RB Midget and it's mounting plate. This eliminates the 'hat' housing and requires no cutting. Not 'original' looking for a BE but another option. Biff Jones '59 Bugeye, 'Kermit' '62 Sprite, 'Ole Gray' '71 Midget, 'Freebie' http://sprites2.homestead.com/ "Biff" 8434... MORE
Howard, I am very gratefull for the info on converting a transverse to longitudenal motor set up. Thats pretty much what I suspected, that some "minor" differences would make it too much trouble to bother with. Yes, I would like to have contact info of anyone who might be interested in my motor & trans. It is no real use to me and would be a shame to scavenge a few odd bits off of, when it might be of real use to someone else. I'll take pictures for whoever might be interested. If I could get just a... MORE
Curt, You asked the question about interchangeabililty between a transverse and a longitudinal 1275. To the best of my knowledge, all 1275 blocks except Cooper S are the same height and are similar in all other external dimensions and "most" internal ones. The main differences and issues to be concerned with when considering this conversion is that the crankshaft, flywheel and clutch are a completely different design but that can be overcome. The most critical issue is, however; due to the difference in the tailshaft design of the crank, it will be necessary to make a complete new rear... MORE
Hi, Dave... Basically...(Spridget Series "A" engines) as far as I know (I don't know that much:) without the ident engine plate, all you've got are block "stampings" identifying the motor by capacity as in 950 (948) 1100 (1098) or 1300 (1275). There may be other identifying marks I am not familiar with, of course! I think the "stampings" are along the left side of the block. All Spridget "A" engines came in "H" or "L" compression ratios, 948's in 8.3 or 8.9-1, 1100's in 8.0 or 8.9-1 and 1275's at 8.0 or 8.8-1. In addition, I am told the... MORE
Thanks again to all who responded, and Doug, that's cool you raced with Paul and my car! Here's the next question. If someday I were to want to use the Austin America 1275 in my Bugeye, what would be involved in mating it to my Bugeye gearbox? The crankshaft has a gear on it for the automatic trans. Does that come off, or do you start with a new crankshaft? Do I just unbolt the auto from the bottom of the block, and replace it with an oil sump pan, or is there more involved? The Vintage clubs in... MORE
List, Thanks a million to all who responded! Very interesting. What general years would that era motor fall into? By the way, I should introduce myself, as I've just been a lurker for some time. My name is Curt and I am currently preparing an ex H-production Bugeye for Vintage racing in Midwest Council and VSCDA. I've been doing some "geneology" on my race car and it was last raced in 1982. It had a very succesfull race history in Waterford Hills MI. club racing driven by a gentleman named Paul Cameron in the late 70s. It set a... MORE
