MAIN
Interior
Previous Page | Next Page
Don, Yes, I did live in San Diego then but mine was white with black interior. I sold it to a Ford dealer when I traded for one of the very first Mustang Fastbacks in town. I had an "in" and I ordered it before they were even announced to the public. Mine was one of the first to arrive in town. Cool stuff then. Cheers, Bob in San Diego Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death. "Robert D. Gardner" 28246... MORE
On my 74 the hard top mounts with the soft top still attached. There are two clamps on the top of the windshield (same the soft top uses) and a bracket on each side of the hard top bolts to a bracket behind the rear seat mounted at the same location as the soft top frame mounting bracket bolts. Don "Don May" 28244... MORE
Ah...of course!! :( The GD Hazard Switch (yet, again). Do yourself a favor, Brad. When you get ahold of another one of these (sorry, I don't have one), find a way of hooking it up separately from the rest of the system. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 28217... MORE
G'day Mark Just thought I would tip in my tuppence worth. I sell, and fit, telescopic front and rear suspension kits - when the customer really wants them. And I own a (semi-retired) Mk II Sprite that after 10 years still has the class lap record at three circuits, and it has lever arm shocks all round. My road car has lever arm shocks at each corner, and it handles just fine. I support Nigel - there is nothing wrong with them if they are in good condition. And just like telescopic shocks, the car can be near to... MORE
Just my two pence worth on the hard top thing. I agree with all the above comments. In addition, I like the way they look on a Bugeye, rather cute, and it does keep the rain out of the car when parked much better than a toneua cover or soft top. When chilly, you can drive with the heater on and almost keep warm, better than the soft top and I think it is quieter than my soft top. Mine has a thin foam "headliner" in it that helps with sound. But as soon as the weather starts to... MORE
When soldering new spade terminals and the like onto the end of old wires, the copper wire always seems to be black. I take this to be oxidisation and try to remove as much as possible before soldering. Using a resin cored solder the flux does not seem to clean the wire effect ively. crimping surely just traps the oxidisation between terminal and the copper, so not an effective joint. Scotchloks are not an option IMO. Any thoughts / recommendations? What is the cause of this blackening of th e wires? Is it due to a bad earth (ground)... MORE
when you turn on the ignition. tach, fuel pump, wipers, brake stop light, reversing lights, heater fan..... The fault must be on the "downstream" side of the fuse for it to blow, so it is likely to be one of those, or the wiring to them. Some of these are switchable: lights, wipers, fan etc so if they are switched off when the fuse blows then it may be one of the non- switched items although it could still be a damaged wire between fuse block and switch. Guy "Guy Weller" 28195... MORE
G'day Paul I'm not certain why you would want to fit tapered roller bearings. This has been raised quite a number of times in the past (perhaps before you were on the list) and see below for one of the more recent comments. avagoodday Colin We have had many discussions on the differences between the use of angular contact ball bearings, as used originally in Spridgets, and the use of any type of tapered roller bearing. Without launching into a complex and boring diatribe on the rights and wrongs of either type of bearing, the simple answer is that... MORE
David- I have questions about a new top, carpet, panels and seats. No doubt most of my questions have already been discussed. How in the world do I find the discussions without going thru thousands of posts? Paul "dfwip" 28180... MORE
Ok, thanks everyone for your input, - all taken on board. - The general consensus seems to be mixed, but slightly favouring the lever-arms if they are rebuilt to a better-than-original spec. And nobody seems to have used Moss's telescopic kit, just the Frontline one which is also worth knowing. My initial concern had been based on two things: 1. From word of mouth from other car folk that had bought 'uprated' lever arms in the 70's that had then leaked after a year or so, and even recently someone told me about a recently refurbished one leaking after... MORE
Ok, thanks everyone for your input, - all taken on board. - The general consensus seems to be mixed, but slightly favouring the lever-arms if they are rebuilt to a better-than-original spec. And nobody seems to have used the Moss telescopic kit, just the Frontline one which is also worth knowing. My initial concern had been based on two things: 1. From word of mouth from other car folk that had bought 'uprated' lever arms in the 70's that then leaked after a year or so, and even recently someone told me about a recently refurbished one leaking after... MORE
I make it pre- Oct 1961 when the boot handle changed from L to T. But as David says the steering wheel changed to black at Nov 61, so I'd put it somewhere around Oct-Nov 61. I'd be interested to know how it got a 66-67 Reg plate though! Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 28150... MORE
G'day guys A recent posting from Alex on the MidgetSprite list mentions that: "Most BEs don't have a front bumper, and I personally think it makes the car." Well, front bumper bars were optional extras on the Bugeye. So I guess if you take a restored Bugeye to a Concourse, and you have no front bumper bar, then we can't deduct points for "item missing". About 10 years ago, I was a Concourse judge at our National meeting, and there was a magnificently restored Bugeye, complete with front bumper bar, and a proudly framed Certificate from the British Motor... MORE
David, Thanks. It's the windshield/windscreen that I'm addressing, and not the side windows which are okay. I have the complete assembly off the car, and as you noted, I removed the two securing bolts located on each side up under the dash. What a pain they were to get at. The top moulding retaining screws were removed, providing access to the glass encased in the bottom and sides. The seal around the glass was pulled out, and the glass removed. The frame to body seal seems crimped in place on the bottom (in the groove), and is a real... MORE
Which glass are you talking about? It sounds like it's the windshield/windscreen, so you need to take the complete assembly off the car then dismantle it. The securing bolts/nuts are hidden away up behind the ends of the dashboard. I'm not exactly sure how this looks on a late US spec car as the dash is definitely different from my 1974 UK car but the 'screen itself is the same. Don't foget the plate at the bottom of the centre rod, either. Once you've got the 'screen assembly off, you can remove the frame to body seal and you'll... MORE
I'm replacing the seals and glass on my midget, and would like to inquire with someone who has been there and done that. Removal of the top moulding was easy. What are the tricks to the removal of one (or both) of the side mouldings in order to replace the glass and seal? I'm also replacing the windhsield to body seal while at it. Any tips for tackling that part would be greatly appreciated. VB lists a visor replacement kit. Interested in hearing reviews before purchasing. Thanks, Pete 78 midget Granville OH "Pete Skalski" 28051... MORE
OK Gingerino...here we go.... The amount of choke (in terms of manual cable/jet travel) that is required to... 1. get the engine to "fire" to begin with 2. allow it to continue running smoothly (decreasing amount) as it warms up to normal operating temperature. Fr'instance: On 40-45F+ mornings, no choke is really needed at all. A couple of turns of the motor with the starter button is all it takes. We let the oil pressure come up and fast idle it for a minute or so (1200-1500rpm) using our right foot, then drive it gently 'til it comes up... MORE
Hi Geri, I am no mathematician, so I am quite happy to accept what you say, and I am not arguing with you... but logic makes it hard to believe! If all 4 pistons are identical, and the throw on each crank journal the same, then I cannot see why the volume displaced by one going down should be any different from the displacement of the adjacent one going up. Neither can I see why the length of con rod should make any difference either. However I can well imagine that there are complex effects of the inertia of... MORE
Mr Zappa, You should have a Zenith cd150 carb installed on your car if it is stll as originally equipped. These carbs have been trouble since the day they were installed new and only get worse as time goes on. As for the fuel leak. Look real close at the rubber hose where it attatchs to the carb body. Small hairline cracks frequently are found causing fuel to weep. Have someone crank it over and you watch right here for where the leak appears. Another possibilty is the auto choke (if installed) can be a pain in the a$$.... MORE
If anything, this man should get an award for comedy, literacy, and intelligence. Some days that is how I feel a bout the 76 Midget that I have, albeit it is in much better condition than that Jensen. But when one can get only 4 uses out of an ignition switch (NEW) and it breaks the same way the original did that was 27 years old, one feels a bit like selling the thing and being done with it. Oh well. Even if I did sell it, it would prolly come back again. (it did that already) Matt Pfeil... MORE
Nigel / Biff Thanks for the relies, I agree with you Nigel it isn't really worth mocking your own panels I spent a day making the riser brackets which I could have bought for 22 pounds. The main reason I make my own is to develop my metalworking and welding skills before I let myself loose on the important structural parts of my project car. The other advantage is that not all the repair panels are exact replicas of the original (even the good quality ones) either in exact design or metal thickness. I was very interested in Nigel's... MORE
I am in the process of rebuilding a 65 Sprite and one of the small jobs I have just completed is replacing the rusted out riser brackets which extend the chassis to provide the anchorage points for the front bumper. Rather than buy the brackets I fabricated new ones using the old parts as a pattern. Before I removed the old brackets from the car I noticed that they poked through the front valance panel a bit too low and the two holes in the valance had been modified to accommodate this ( I put this down to the... MORE
You are the first person I know to say something positive about the Fiat X1/9. Well, Toy... I would be the second except rust began showing up at the corners of each door after one year....and....it was coming from the inside/out! :( Polished it up and sold the car ASAP. Which, is too bad. I had desmogged it and had great plans for it when the warranty ended. This thing was a dreamboat in terms of handling and a real fun driver. The detachable hardtop was a dream. The seats could have been better made for sure. As I... MORE
Thanks to all the "start-up" advice, the initial run-in went without a hitch. But a strange problem cropped up. Engine is a fresh high compression 1275 with PCV only. It would run very well for the first few minutes, and then start to belch smoke the likes of which few could imagine. It would do this for a couple minutes, then run normal again. Also, I could not get it to idle below 1200 rpm despite the fact that the carbs were fresh and were properly set up. With throttles CLOSED it still idled at about 1200. After doing... MORE
Stewart If you're re-fitting the RB's I really see no point (or benefit) of fitting 1275 springs, there's a lot more to the ride height than simply changing the springs. Yes, that's what I mean by 'half wings'. I got away with only fitting the small repair sections to the lower 12 inches of the area behind the rear wheel. I debated at length about whether to fit 'half wings' or the smaller repair sections and decided in the end that the 'inner wings' weren't that bad and as most of the rear wing was in pretty good condition... MORE
