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Thoughts on driving Bugsy with the hardtop installed.

Jim_Gruber

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Bugsy now has hardtop installed as of last week. New gaskets were installed and sidecurtains have a pretty good seal although I have new seals and glass for sidecurtains awaiting install.

1) Hardtop does not seal to sidecurtains well. There is a 1/4+ inch gap from top of curve at the rear of the sidecurtains that is about 6" long before it seals itself up. Really windy here today and temps about 37-38 degrees. When wind gusted 30+ mph today, I could feel major cold air coming in sideways over the top of the sidecurtain on PS, coming back home, same thing on DS. Annoying but not sure how to cure it. Hardtop is clamped down as tight as possible in the rear any ideas on how to close up the gap. Other than adding some type of shim under the sidecurtain brackets to raise up the rear of the sidecurtains not sure how to fix it. Ideas.

2) Heater was anemic and not putting out any amount of heat. Temp gauge says 158 degrees. Hmmm, CA Car never checked to see if there was a thermostat installed, guessing there is not. Having issues with temps running at 190 degrees when it is warm and will go higher if I am pushing hard. Radiator was boiled out but obviously needs some help. New Aluminum Radiator is here awaiting install when 1326 is ready for Installation. Need to take heater box apart to see if there is any insulation in there.

3) Radiator continues to push out coolant through the overflow tube. Refilled to the neck before the curve and when I stopped at my destination radiator puled a lot out of the overflow. Using a Cap from MOSS for a Downflow Radiator. Arriving back home after a number of errands a drip drip drip trail of coolant up the driveway. Oil is normal color not milky in any way, Coolant is normal antifreeze green. I am having issue with Oil pressure dropping to 45 lbs after about 10 miles of driving, but at idle it remains a solid 25-30 lbs. Again a rebuild 1275+.040 is ready to go in this winter

4) Rear View Mirror is too low with the Hardtop on. Needs to be higher. Who sells a Rear View with a taller Shaft to raise the mirror up about 2". Sidecurtains interfere with the Harley Mirrors I installed in the Windshield Bolt holes. I am in the rear holes, perhaps they need to move to the front holes. Challenging to see anything out of the side mirrors with Side curtains in place .


5) Sidecurtains, a constant battle to close them. They need new felt, again got everything needed to fix but now on the priority list.

6) Top does not fit properly on PS against the rear deck. Will shove some foam rubber in there to seal things up. at least a 1/2" gap at the back corner. DS seals right up.

7) Loud, loud, loud inside the car. Every Drivetrain noise is amplified. Rear end probably needs the pinion set and there is a whine, whine, whine back there on the 3.9 I swapped in. Tranny makes a lot of racket as well. Hopefully 5 speed will help quiet things down. I may have some driveshaft rubbing, getting some thump, thumps at times.

8) Oil Leaks from my 948 abound. Self Lubricating chassis and I need to clean up my wheels as they must make a very effective fan at speed as they are coats with lots of oil. Any recommendations that won't damage the finish on the 8 Spoke polished aluminum. Again new engine and a rear seal kit will cure that issue hopefully.

9) Lot of drafts around doors as door seals are not in place. That will get installed after paint along with rubber matting on doors. Right now doors ring like a tin can when closing.

Was it fun, cold and noisy, and drafty in November in Bugsy. Does the Hardtop make me feel snug and warm, Well not really but Convertible top is yet to be installed. Not sure if convertible top will fit any better. Should I have taken the Accord to run errands. **** No. Trip to fruit farm 2 bags of apples, Lowes provided 2 8' 1/2 Rounds that slipped under the PS of Hardtop. found a great deal on a Dewalt Cordless and Driver for $149.95. That went on PS Floor. A Christmas present for me, and then Bed Bath and Beyond added a few more packages that ended up in
Bugsy. It all fit and Bugsy and I got some exercise and errands completes. Now to go and see if there really is a thermostat installed.
 

drooartz

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Sounds like a fun adventure day for sure. Snow (and road salt) on the ground now so now drives for me.

The fitment of your hardtop sounds quite off. I've got one for Penny, and though the seals are all worn it fits fine. I've not had it on the car for a while, but it was on there when I towed it home and drove it once with it on. Seemed to seal up okay with no big gaps.

pennyhardtop.jpg
 
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Jim_Gruber

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Some black weatherstripping from Lowe’s will close up some of the gap. I picked up some nylon bushing at Hardware Store and put under side curtain brackets and that helped.
 
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Jim_Gruber

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Well Bugsy still feels Spritely but boy is it loud with the hardtop on! Still trying to figure out why I keep having a coolant leak coming out the overflow hose. A constant drip drip all the way up the driveway. No coolant in the oil, no milky oil filler cap. Could I have some sort of internal pressure building up. Or I could have gotten the wrong radiator cap from MOSS. Curious for sure.
 

nomad

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I'm betting wrong cap. You can do a quick measurement to compare the depth. Other faults probably just need sorting. You can tilt the wind shield slightly to close some gaps and if you have new seals o your hard top its a good bet they are nothing like the original's. As to noise...unless you can insulate the cavernous space behind you I think that that is just the nature of the beast!

Kurt.
 

SD Bugeye

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I’m betting you have the wrong cap
if it turns easy it’s mostlikly the wrong one I had the same issue.
 
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Jim_Gruber

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Well it turns easily. Now I need to look at my new radiator and see if it came with a new cap. And idea on what cap those aluminum radiators found on eBay take.
 

SaxMan

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I've put up the folding top on the '69 Sprite and still driving it. It definitely feels a lot more claustrophobic. The car does feel slower. No problems keeping warm, the vents on the side of the transmission tunnel do a good job heating up the cabin. It's not as noisy in my case, but certainly not quiet. My daughter still loves riding in the car, even with the top up, as there is still plenty of sensory for her between the noises and vibrations. Sometimes, I let her navigate and ask her "Which way to you want to go?" and she points. Last Sunday, she decided to take us out on the highway!
 

apbos

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Jim
Just a thought. You do'nt have a Donald Healey Hardtop( very rare and taller wind screen) vs a BMC top?
Paul
 

mightymidget

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Thoughts on some of that heat/sound pads on the interior of top. Maybe light coat of LineX from truck shop? I was really wanting to run mine with a hard top and the news of amplified noise disturbs me
 
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Jim_Gruber

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No pretty sure it is a BMC too. So adding door seals, door rubber lining, a tranny/rear end thay doesn’t whine, and perhaps some sound deafening material would all definitely help
to reduce noise with the hardtop on. Lack of rushing wind noise is balanced by lots of reverberation and amplification with top up.

So so I recall someone posting about doenflow radiator caps needing to be deeper to get a correct seal. Anyone got the measurement on how deep it needs to be. Or a stock
ir reference number fir one that would fit from local
Auto Parts store. The one I bought i’m Sure came from Moss
 

twas_brillig

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You mentioned insulation in the heater box - I don't believe that there is any, anywhere, anytime, anyhow. The Yellow BE was our only car for a couple of winters here back in the 70s (when winter really did show up). We only ran the soft top. The heater/defrost was adequate for keeping the windscreen clear but not the side-curtains. The key item was having a battery slightly larger than the 948 engine. Back in those low budget days, we could go further in the winter as the oil pressure just kind of went away after a not very long distance in the summer. And we've got AH Spares mirrors mounted in the front windshield pillar bolt holes. Have fun! Doug
 

Desert Rat

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Jim, no insulation in the heater box, just a felt seal between the box and the shelf. If the seal is missing you’ll lose all your heat back into the engine bay.
Not sure insulating the inside of the box would do much, it’s more about keeping the air from escaping the box and keeping it in the ducts.
One tip my dad taught me, with the top on keep the short tonneau attached to the rear of the cockpit and hang it down behind the seats to wall off the boot and keep the air from the heater in the cockpit. It really does work.
Ashley Hinton makes a larger heater core, I don’t have one but I’ve heard good things about it.
I don’t use my hardtop a lot but it does seal pretty well on the rear. I got my hardtop seals from BE Guy, and the rear seal lifts the hardtop off the rear deck but does seal. Not a perfect fit but you can’t see daylight.
It’s a bit noisier in the cabin than the soft top but the more creaks, groans, rattles and noise you eliminate the quieter it gets.
The new side curtains don’t seal that great, I use the original soft side curtains. They don’t slide open, which is a pain, but they don’t rattle either and they seal better around both the hardtop and my soft top.
 

nomad

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There you go! Never thought of fitting the short tonneau. Fastening that down behind you would help a lot on rear noise and movement of cold air in the cockpit. The heater core should have felt seals at each end and foam strips along side to force the air to go through the core. Intake to the fan for me requires a good cleaning every year of bugs and moths and on my driver the core must need to be cleaned out as well. It doesn't have the air flow of the other cars. One more thing on the heater matrix is that it needs a good seal between it and the shelf and they are often toast. I've owned several different Brit cars and Spridgets have the best heaters of them all. If I have a good sealing top on the car we can cook ourselves out in very cold weather.

On the rad cap, Jim, just take a measurement of the depth of the filler neck and the height of the cap and it should be apparent whether you have the right one. My local parts man after he looked it up had the correct depth cap but higher than stock pressure. After I bulged a very nice original downflow radiator I don't want to do that again so managed to dig up some old originals that I am now running. Think they are only 3 or 4#.

Kurt.
 
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Jim_Gruber

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Thanks guys for the tips. My ‘68 Sprite has one heck of a good heater and would roast you out of the car. New cap and thermostat arrive tomorrow. That may help as well. No snow or salt yet so Bugsy can romp still. New bellhousing work for 210 tranny underway. Hope to get tranny mods further along this weekend. Will take Heater apart and check seals when I pull engine and do some engine compartment clean up pre paint work. Get out and drive while you can. It’s a long time until Soring.
 
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Jim_Gruber

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Discovered reason hardtop sits proud on PS is that either clear for rear convertible top is causing hardtop to stand proud. Will need to grind relief for top bracket and/or Lift A Dot studs.
 

nomad

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Jim, the factory hardtop has clearance for the correct factory studs. Something not kosher??

Kurt.
 
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Jim_Gruber

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I haven’t taken off the top to see why it is standing proud. When I have an extra set of hands available...
w
 

SD Bugeye

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I abide by the 45/40 rule
anything under 45” tall should not be driven under 40 F
That means that canvas is only used behind paintings around here.
 
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