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At that time the pound was valued at $2.40. I bought my Sprite in England in January 1962 and still have the price lists for the Austin Healey line that Donald Healey Motors , Ltd. gave me at that time Nelson "Nelson Wittstock" 28161... MORE
Mark, I fitted the Frontline kit a year ago. It came with AVO adjustable rate (10 clicks) dampers. I am pleased with the end result, but the kit was not easy to fit. The upper end is fine, but on the bottom end, there were several iterations of grinding/filing/fitting to get the lower shock mountings to properly nest into the underside of the A-arms. It was a lot of detail work, with the risk of "screwing up" the A- arm, thus requiring a new one, or a repair to fix what wasn't broke in the first place. (I hate... MORE
can't be certain, but I suspect it should. The late ital 1275 engine (also an A+) will fit. I know the MG Metro turbo cyl head fits! Still looking for one of them to turbo my Mk1 Sprite with. (along withe the pistons, manifolds carb and complete ignition system.) anyone know of a rotten but running Metro turbo? Stewart "Ford Prefect" 28144... MORE
Yes, absolutely Roger. As a Bugeye "roadster" owner, I forgot all about that. Much better on a "convertible" Spridget for sure....good point. :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 28156... MORE
A buddy of mine, living in Germany during March of 1963, got the following quote from the Austin Motor Car Co., Ltd., Motor Export Corporation, Ltd. of Piccadilly, London on a new AH3000... A-H 3000 Sports Conv. L865.00.00 (Mono or DuoTone) Prod. Line fitted extras: Heater 15.10.00 Overdrive 50.00.00 Wire Wheels 25.00.00 Adj. Steering Col. 2.00.00 Tonneau 10.00.00 Knockoffs (ea. wheel) 1.06.00 Servo Ass't. Brakes 10.00.00 *Steering Lock 4.10.00 *Wing Mirror 1.11.04 * = Compulsory in Germany A hardtop is not currently available thru the Personal Exports Divison Anyone care to do the exchange rate math at "yesterday's" prices,... MORE
Am considering installing tapered front wheel bearings. Any of you have any experience with this set-up? Do I still install the spacer? Anything different or special with installation? Thanks much. Paul "dfwip" 28131... MORE
Surely this is a '64 at the latest? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2451787063&category=29757 Stewart "Ford Prefect" 28123... MORE
Bill, No. They can look good on the outside but be almost or totally blocked on the inside. How old are they? Biff Jones '59 Bugeye, 'Kermit' '62 Sprite, 'Ole Gray' '71 Midget, 'Freebie' http://sprites2.homestead.com/ They seem ok. I would expect that if they were old enough to collapse internally there would be some indication on the outside. Like cruddyness or crumbly lookingness, technically speaking? Wouldn't they. ? I will gradually increase pressure and keep checking. thanks, bill b. "Biff" 28120... MORE
Hi, Jorge... Cannot be of any help on the car, but I do wish you and your's a Happy New Year and a fun trip to the Far East. I don't know about China but Japan does have it's LBC groups for sure. Regards, :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 28111... 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
Cap'n To clarify this, the 'bible' states that 'all exported Sprites were fitted with the Front bumper bar, overriders and number plate mounting as standard and was an option on all others.' Huh? Why wasn't it? Just because it left the factory without one, doesn't mean it couldn't be retro-fitted. The reason the Sprite's came with so little 'base' equipment and had so many optional accessories was to keep the price down. There was a whole host of optional extras that could be specified either from the 'factory', 'franchise dealership' or even BL Special Tuning or the Healey's own... MORE
Front Bumper...fitted on export cars, "option" on homemarket types. Ah, ha!!!! I had it the wrong way 'round. Thank you Nigel for straightening me out. Reasoning: The problem here is in "saying too much". Part of what the judges judged was the paperwork that came with the car, which specified the car before them on which judgement was predicated for that particular event did not match the car before them. So they had to deduct points accordingly. You can bet they agonized over this one. I woud've. Had the paperwork not mentioned the bumper one way or the other,... 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
G'day Paul et al The travel at the slave cylinder end depends on: a.. the length of the clutch pedal from pivot point to the pedal pad (there are two lengths - bet you didn't know that) b.. the height of the pedal off the floor (which is adjustable on cars with dual clutch/brake master cylinders) c.. the amount of free play at the top of the pedal d.. the master cylinder bore size e.. the slave cylinder bore size f.. the amount of "lost movement" due to wear in bushes, clevis pins etc etc If you know answers... MORE
Thanks David (and others who answered) - The reason I want to know is because my bumpers are a bit dented and bent - next time a used original comes up for auction on ebay for the right price I'll go for it. Mine aren't that bad, so if they are original, I'd rather keep them and maybe fix 'em than replace them with the after market ones (which I hear aren't that great). The sellers don't always say whether the one they are selling is an original and even if they do make the claim, they don't seem... MORE
Oh, yeah. I know what you are doing and use the word "original" with respect in your case. That's why in your case, I think it pays to do it "right". It may cost a few bucks more but...it's what your car is all about, Nigel. And it wouldn't hurt for you to gently drop a hint that your presence on an LBC car list could result in an increase in their business should they just happen to do a reasonably decent job for you! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 28077... 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
G'day Kevin Aren't they rude, having a laugh at you like that!!!!!!!! I can understand it from Brad, but from Capt Bob, I am surprised! Shame on you Bob. Now to the topic. Kevin, are you measuring distance travelled at the pedal, or travel at the slave cylinder? If it's 1" at the slave cylinder end - then that's excessive. It's usually only about 1/2", so all is well. At the top end, the pedal should hit the floor - approx 4" away. 1" in and out (sorry, couldn't resist) is rediculous. But if your clutch pedal only travels... MORE
Hi guys To continue the topic of front bumpers, albeit at a tangent, I recently too =3D=0D k my front bumper and both over-riders to a small (reasonably local) company that specialises in triple-chroming of car parts. Now whilst my front bumper I think is in 'reasonable' condition, it has sma =3D=0D ll amounts of pitting all over the chrome areas, and has some surface rust underneath, it is straight and has no dents or dings, aside from some small =3D=0D depressions where the over-riders fit. Likewise for the over-riders - prett =3D=0D y much in the same condition.... MORE
Subject: Re: Bugeye Group..... Re: The Originality Wars...another take A very interesting spin on the subject. It seems to put it more into perspective for me. I am not restoring a Bugatti here. And I have no interest in restoring a 1959 tract house (that sold for $15,000 new) back to its original condition with galvanized water pipes and a floor furnace. I like air conditioning, a modern kitchen, disk brakes, 5 speed, going faster etc. As well, I like the neighborhood, and the people who live around me, and the other people who drive LBC's and besides, they... MORE
Remember when you get "over the hill", then you get to go "down hill" and going down hill is faster, easier and more fun that going up hill!!!! And in an LBC, a little gravity to help you to go faster isn't a bad thing! Cheers, Bob in San Diego "Four out of five people suffer from diarrhea.......Does that mean that one out of five enjoys it?" George Carlin "Robert D. Gardner" 28037... MORE
I'm rebuilding the side curtains on my Sprite and wondering if Vicky Brit is the only source for new felts and the outer seals. Nelson 62Mk2 Sprite "witstock7" 28012... MORE
Frank Clarici Toms River, NJ Back up to too many sprites again. http://www.exit109.com/~spritenut/ Frank Clarici 28007... MORE
So has anyone heard of an MK Powered auto battery. They are a non-spillable lead acid gel battery, made in Anaheim, CA. These don't even have the purchase date and month popped out on them!! They have the top posts, with a hole through it for a bolt on connection, and round enough for a clamp as well. The dimensions are 9" wide x 5.5" deep x 8" tall. I have no idea what the cold cranking amps are, but they sure do spin up a Sprite engine well. And for $10 each, new, I HAD to buy two.... MORE
First of all happy new year to you all! At first sight this seems a reasonable assumption that the travel of one piston down will compensate for one travelling up, leading to no net change to the volume of the crank case. However, real life is not so simple and if you do the maths, the above assumption is only correct if you have infinitely long con rods. Now I suspect that non of you will own up to this even if you could find some!! So in the real world of our LBCs and using the dimensions of... MORE
