Bugeye Sprite

[masraum]

Nice, congrats! We're need reports about the driving and lots of pictures so I can live vicariously through you!

[latunabernie]

Enjoy
Stay in touch.

Bernie

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Congratulations and as someone who tears cars apart to fix every little thing, please heed my advice and just drive it and have tons of fun! Goggles too, something like a WWII Spitfire pilot look will work well for you.

[Dixie]

Congrats, I think it's a devine little car. I'd love to have it.

[Sooner or later]

It's so cute. Should be a chick magnet...

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

It's so cute. Should be a chick magnet...

Speaking of which, a friends early 80s Alfa Romeo Spider was an honest to god chick magnet. Just leaning against fenders talking in Harvard Square, girls would walk by and strike up a conversation. Only car that's ever happened.

[HobieMarty]

Girls loved going for "rides" in my TR6 back in the day. I really miss that car...
And a few of the girls, too. Lol.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[aigel]

Congratulations! Nicely done. Can’t really go wrong with this in terms of fun/$!

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

early 80s Alfa Romeo Spider was an honest to god chick magnet.

actually I had a GF with one. A nice white colored Spider with chrome bumpers. Loved the car, quite liked her... You know the story...

[masraum]

Certainly seems like a much better deal than Waynes 2 dune buggies.

[astrochex]

I have a fondness for the Bugeye after I saw my first historics racing at Riverside. A Bugeye was first car on track and that moment has stuck with me.

[jyl]

Update on the Sprite.

It has been a fun and trouble-free occasional driver over the past month. No AX yet, have yet to buy a current helmet.

The car feels quicker than I expected, but the throttle response is taking some getting used to. It lugs and bucks when on throttle below 2000 rpm, then at 2K the motor starts singing and pulls hard (in a relative sense . . .) to 5K which is as far as I go. It also idles at 2K when warm, which seems off. I am wondering how stock this 1275 cc motor is.

We have a couple days’ rain now, so yesterday I erected the top - for the first time, I’d guess, it looks brand new/never used. It fits ok and I’ll leave it on during the heat expected later in the week in hopes that the vinyl stretches and smooths out. Weather protection with the top and side curtains is fine (again, in a relative sense . . . ), the wipers are laughable but do work, the heater is “subtle”, and defrost is unnecessary given the minor temperature delta between inside and outside. My side curtains need new felt and on the driver’s side new Lexan, but do seem to fit okay. One quirk - when the power comes on at 2,000 rpm in the wet, the rear wheels will spin easily in 1st gear.

Still haven’t tried the freeway. Kinda scared to, will wait for early some Sunday morning.

[jyl]

[masraum]

Sounds like a ton of fun, and looks great.

The top on these reminds me of flat cap which fits the car image nicely.

[Yorkie]

I think your carbs need an overhaul. High idle when warm tends to be an air leak past the throttle butterfly shafts. Often the bushes are worn and as I recall there are seals present on the ends that need replacing. The throttle response might be the pistons in the dash pots not moving smoothly. Recommend that you remove them to check for smooth motion and also check the oil and seal in the plunger. Light oil is necessary for the pistons to move smoothly. The o-ring also typically needs to be replaced. The SUs are great carbs if in good condition and properly set up.

[jyl]

Thanks Yorkie. I have everything to learn about SU carbs. I haven’t owned a carburated car for at least 20 years.

[wdfifteen]

Nice little car. You’ll have lots of fun with it. Are those real Minilites? They look great on that car.
People have trouble with Skinners Union carburetors because they start fiddling with the carbs first thing as soon as the car starts running poorly. Big mistake.
Start with a compression test. In your case I would start with a valve adjustment, then the compression test, since you don’t know the car’s maintenance history.
Then give it new points and plugs and set the timing.
Only then start messing with the carbs. If you start with the carbs you will be chasing your tail if the rest of the engine isn’t totally up to snuff. I don’t know what is the latest hot tip on oil for the pots, I’ve heard endless arguments about the magic pot elixir that will make it run like a Ferrari - everything from ATF to Marvel Mystery oil. I always used 10 weight hydraulic fluid. Check your local internet for the latest developments.
Good luck and have fun!

[wdfifteen]

BTW you NEED one of those hats! I would go with wool tweed - leather if you go for the working man look.

[David]

How did a Sprite thread make it this far without me posting my favorite Sprite video:



Me driving it:


My buddy (the fast one) driving it:

[jyl]

Woah, tell us more about that little monster!