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Alan..(IMHO) I would go with the WW on the BE as this car will most likely be less hard driven than the Spridget and most likely, will go out on nice days and not be driven in the wet. IOW, the wire wheels will last longer and give better service life on the BE, then the "daily driver" Spridget which will be subject to inclement weather. Just remember to grease the splines every six months and they should last a good, long time in view of the "limited" driving you'll be doing with the BE. The stock BE rear... MORE
Hi I have changed to a manual choke in my 1500 Midget I was curious to see where most of you have mounted your choke cable. In the dash is not an option, I wnat to keep it reversable. and I was hoping not to have to put a hole in any interior panels , but that may be the best place, on passenger side? Thanks Mike. "mk2sprite2000" 30883... MORE
Jim, The red wire "would normally" go to the plus (+ or SW) connection on the coil and the black wire to the negative (- or CB) coil connection. It's either gonna work or go pufff. A LU142 (positive ground) & LU142A (negative ground) are the spridget distributor units for positive and negative ground cars in that order. One might "Ass-u-me" that the LU143 "might" be for a positive ground since there is no "A" as the last letter, or then again, since it's for an aftermarket distributor it might well be for a negative ground car? If the... MORE
Well, no luck with Pertronix tech support or the 800 number. They are always too busy to answer phone, and I cannot have them call me at work phone during day, yada, yada. However, from responses by listers, and the internet research I have done, it appears the Pertronix unit in the Aldon dizzy is either a LU143 or 144, one being 'fixed points' and the other 'sliding points'. Both units work fine in the Aldon, so I think I am okay with installing the whole unit. The Pertronix unit has 2 wires (1 red & 1 black).. I... MORE
I put one in my Bugeye, aftermarket, plastic with two screw mounts, on the passenger side of the heater box, above the panel, out of sight because of the dash. You have to know it is there to find it. There is a brown, always hot wire, that comes through the firewall and goes to the ignition switch. There is a "Lucas" conector right after it comes through the firewall. I changed that to a dual plug and plug the "non usable for heat" cig. lighter into that and grounded it through one of the mounting screws. Bob, Troutdale,... MORE
Thanks Don - the radio shack behind the dash idea is a good suggestion, rather than putting a hole in the dash. The lighter is listed as an option in the manual, so I am guessing there might even be existing leads ready to connect. Rather than go from the battery or fuse box, I was thinking I would want to hook it up to a point in the circuitry after the accessories key switch (does my car even have an accesories key switch?) so that when my car was off, any portable device left plugged in would not... MORE
Hi, I was planning to install a 12V cigarette lighter socket in my 1965 Midget so I can charge a phone, play a portable radio/cd player, and take advantage of all the other modern conveniences that can use this socket. Since cigar lighters were offered as dealer options with the car, I would prefer to do it according to the way it would have been done originally, but I've never seen a picture of a restored car with a cigar lighter. If anyone knows what these looked like, how they were mounted, or better yet has a picture, I... MORE
Kevin, I do not think, or I have never seen a 1965 Midget with a lighter. Do not see any photos in the Terry Horler book. However, on later models the cigar lighter is located on the front right of the radio console. If the sole purpose of the lighter socket is for power for portable devices then any generic 12V cigarette lighter socket will work and no need for the actual lighter unit. You could mount the socket out of sight behind the dash or just below it. Radio Shack has several different sockets one with an angle... MORE
Bob, Guilty as charged. On my BE, all of the slots on the screws that hold the aluminum tub trim have to be dead on horizontal. In places where nobody can ever see, I might use an odd fastener that doesn't match the others... but it will bother me when I do. Places that can be seen - I've written down on my shopping list to get one more stainless 1/4-28 bolt so that they all will match. Cable tie tails on wire bundles have to point in the same direction - even though they're cut off anyways. Hose... MORE
Dear listers, Sorry for the No LBC content. This is sort of old but I know there are lots of engineers out there on the list and others who think like engineers. It made me chuckle so I pass it on. Cheers, Bob in San Diego Subject: UNDERSTANDING ENGINEERS 1. Two engineering students were walking across campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took... MORE
Could any listers with Pertronix ignitions please take a look at the serial number on the little black box and let me know what they are & which Pertronix kit they have? This would be greatly appreciated. I just bought a brand new (or at least never used) Aldon distributor for my Bugeye. The dizzy has a Pertronix ignition installed also, but I can't tell which one. Collar is marked LU143/LU144, and black "box" is has a small label reading 20V-4X and 2 wires (red/black). Gentleman I bought it from had a bunch of parts that he new nothing... MORE
I had to do just that on my 68 midget, loosen the pedal box and wedge a screwdrive under it to give me enough clearance to install the new switch. and as someone else said, taking care not to get the wires so twisted that they break. Cute little operation!! Mark 68 midget "MARK" 30772... MORE
I'm guessing without checking, Is this switch a mechanical one? Minis had pressure switch mounted in a tee piece (or possibly a 4 way connector ) in the hydraulic line before it was ( or just where it was) teed off to the rear brakes. It was fitted under the bonnet and easy to get at - only downer was if it needed replacing you had to bleed the brakes. Could be a simple mod ( Period though not original) that could be put to use in the midget. I never heard of one going wrong and almost bulletproof.... MORE
Hey Don- Great idea! Never thought of adhesive contact paper. All I was thinking about was the mess I was going to make with spray glue. Now, do you think the car would look good if I used the paper with the pretty flowers????? Paul P.S. Don, the wiring turned out great. Thanks! "dfwip" 30756... MORE
Nigel, are you asking about the solid rods or the flexible cable to the handbrake lever inside the car? David "David Jacobs" 30723... MORE
Colin Thanks for that. Thats weird then, Moss must have sent me the wrong size clevis pin, because there's no way that clevis pin would fit the smaller size hole on the brake cable and the compensator - and I double checked that the part number on it was correct. hmm! How annoying, I needn't have drilled out that hole then! Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 30714... MORE
Dave Yes, that is one of those little design things with these cars. You have to loosen up the box, try to loosen up the screws/bolts but do not remove them except for possibly the 2 at the furthust end near the switch. Beware! of installing the new switch. If you ordered a replacement one from one of the usual places they are such inferior crap that you stand a good chance of breaking it trying to put it in. So go slow and don't let the wires get all twisted up or they may break off. Like mine... MORE
Jim Not sure to be honest, but I'm sure I read somewhere they should be reassembled with grease to help lubricate the movements, otherwise they just wear out. I can't for the life of me remember where I read it! I replaced all the clevis pins as a matter of course, partially because some of the original ones were worn. I also found that the clevis pin supplied for the connection between the handbrake compensator unit and the handbrake cable wouldnt fit! I double checked it was the right clevis pin, and tried it in the end of the... MORE
Hi Kevin Welcome to the group. This group is for all 'Spridgets' and many here are Frog owners, but you may like to try the other group specifically for Frogs - http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/bugeye/ Yeah I don't know why those nutty Americans call them Bugeye's either ;) You may also want to check out Terry Horler's excellent book - Original Sprite and Midget, published by Bay View Books, ISBN 1-870979-45-1 This book has an excellent restorers section on Frogeyes and many of your answers will be found there. I'm not an expert on Frog's - there's many here you know a... MORE
Stewart With great difficulty! There's two ways of doing it - the safe way and the dangerous way! The safe way is as you're trying - to undo the bolts holding the spring seat into the wishbone whilst supporting the wishbone underneath on a trolly jack. If this is proving too hard - try the dangerous way - Support the wishbone on the trolly jack, undo the top kingpin trunnion bolt (that goes through the top kingpin trunnion and the arm of the shock absorber) and let the kingpin/stubaxle assembly drop down to the floor, whilst slowly lowering the... MORE
Hi there, Just signed up to this site. Last year got myself a '59 frogeye for a groundup restoration (definately not a runner!!). I think it spent its initial life in sunny Houston Texas before being repatriated to uk. It then apparently stood sometime before I got my hands on it. Anyway thats the history lesson. Taking it steady with the bodywork last year but getting there slowly (taught myself to TIG weld - a very neat way to weld!). I am spending time on indoor work because UK garages in the winter aren't fun - and I'm getting... MORE
Hi there, Just signed up to this site. Last year got myself a '59 frogeye for a groundup restoration (definately not a runner!!). I think it spent its initial life in sunny Houston Texas before being repatriated to uk. It then apparently stood sometime before I got my hands on it. Anyway thats the history lesson. Taking it steady with the bodywork last year but getting there slowly (taught myself to TIG weld - a very neat way to weld!). I am spending time on indoor work because UK garages in the winter aren't fun - and I'm getting... MORE
How is it done? I have read the method in the Haynes, and I am not certain any of the 4 bolts on each side will survive being taken off! or even if they will come undone at all. tried one and it sheared immediately, another is just turning and it looks nearly impossible to get a spanner of the upper side of it on the inner two bolts. The inner two wishbone pins are loose which is to be expected after years of being covered with oil and grease. 4.5 inch bolts threaded all the way seem a... MORE
Bill, I drilled pilot holes, one where the roll-pin hole is and one in the other "corner". I then opened them up and used an ordinary hand tap (taper, then plug) to thread them to take 3/8" bolts. The holes mustn't be too deep or you will break through into the cylinder bore and ruin it. The cylinder then fastens firmly in position with two short bolts through the backing plate. It is actually a very easy modification to do. But not for those with an "original" fettish. Guy "Guy Weller" 30642... MORE
Bill I had exactly the same problem when fitting my circlips. I found there wasn't enough clearance between the axle flange and the circlip and no matter how hard I tried I could not get the circlip to sit flat. In the end I ground off about 2 mil of the round part of the circlip so it would just clear the axle flange. It worked fine on one side, but evidently ground off too much on the other side because when tried to make it lay flat it went 'ping' into two parts! I ordered an original type... MORE
