Bugeye gets wet and wild ...

[livinginthepast]

for the first Friday night car show of the season.

It was beautiful all day - 65 degrees and sunny. My 8 year old son and I hopped in the BE and headed to the show which was just a few miles away. It just before 5pm.

About twenty minutes into the show, the gray clouds rushed in. The rain started to fall - at first just a sprinkle, but then harder and harder.

No top on the BE.

We jump back in the car, and the rain turns to down-pour, which hastily turns to hail. Smack, smack, smack - the hail hurt as it smacked me in the face. My nose and ears stinging, I used a towel to wipe the windshield... The kid is hiding beneath his jacket.

All the way home, we got the honks and the thumbs up from laughing people in oncoming cars...

When I walk in, my wife tells me that someone had called to see if we were going to the show. I suspect it was BillM At the time of the call, it was only cloudy, so it sounded as if he might venture out. BillM - I hope you changed your mind about coming to the show!

Wow. What an adventure.

 

[Billm]

Yep- got there about 1/2 hour after you left. Pretty good show, turns out that I work with the guy who runs it! Small world.
Hope to see you tomorrow at the fly-in (weather permitting!!!)

BillM

 

[mrsprite]

Reminds me of when I first bought my Bugeye. I bought it in California and was driving it back to Denver. Somewhere in Utah I saw a wall of clouds off in the distance.....I figured I was chasing the storm and would probably miss it. Not quite.....in no time I hit that wall of clouds and in an instant was in an absolute deluge. I pulled over and even drove through the median to backtrack out of the rain, but I was fully engulfed (rain coming down in sheets). It was about that time that I wish I had paid more attention to how the roof went on! By the time I got the roof up & the sidecurtains screwed into place I was soaked and the inside of the car was too.

That was by far the worst weather I have ever driven my Bugeye in and it was less than 24 hours after buying it. I had to stop at the next rest area and change clothes.....I was so wet that it was like I had jumped into a swimming pool fully clothed. Good times.

I hope you and your Bugeye are no worse for wear after that experience.

 

[bugimike]

Hehehe, reminds me of many, many years ago (1967)with my first Bugeye (also with no top). I drove solo from Pa. to Warbonnet Ok. for the SCCA Natls. Outside Chicago the weather turned nasty and got nastier. When I could take it no more, I turned into a rest-stop, backed it under a trailer, woke up the sleeping driver in the tractor to let him know he had a little car under his truck and please don't pull out without checking to see if I was still there. The bugeye fit under the trailer, backed in with the windscreen just not fitting underneath but flush up against the trailer...it was perfect! Waited out the storm drying out under the truck and then went on my way! The joys of youth!!

 

[livinginthepast]

BillM - Were you able to dodge the tempest? BTW - I wasn't able to rearrange things enough to make it out today (Saturday) - I need to be in Shelton at noon, so Buckley is out of the picture. I'll see you at the NODoody, though (and I'll be at the Friday night shows if you decide to head out again [weather disclaimer]. Small world re. working with the guy who runs the show.

While I was there, I met up with a guy who also owned a BE (tall guy - not sure how he gets in and out of the thing (heck, I'm 6' and it's like a sardine can...)). Sadly, it wasn't there, but it sounds like an interesting project - dropped a Nissan drivetrain in it. He also said, and this is the second person who described such a thing to me, that the cockpit on his BE was cut back into the boot area much more than mine. Not sure what's up with that.

This experience has tempted me to throw the old hardtop back on! Ha! Yeah, no sidecurtains, but a little cover would have been better than hail in the face at 45 mph.

My kid thought the whole ordeal was a blast; probably one of those memories he'll be sharing for years to come.

 

[DrEntropy]

My kid thought the whole ordeal was a blast; probably one of those memories he'll be sharing for years to come.

LBC's are a prime source of bonding experiences. :laugh: