• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

1275 transplant progress.

Share this page

Always have to be carful with those while-I'm-in-there projects. Went down that road once, turned into a 3-year project. :eeek: I've learned to be a bit more focused with my current car. Now I set well-defined limits on my work each year, so I can keep driving.

Does sound like you'll be driving soon, excellent!
 
Pythias said:
.Chris had asked me last week for Gerard's phone number, I assume to continue their business relationship, which will be good for both. ...

...
Click to expand...

Hi Bill,

Yes, Chris wants another one of the rear seal kits.
 
Pythias said:
I'll have the car back in time for the trip to Vancouver BC, BUT I won't be going as my son graduates from college in California that very weekend. I can't think of any reason not to drive it down the the annual Portland AutoJumble, held the last sunday of April, at Montgomery Park however. ...
Click to expand...

I can't belive your son is done. It seems like you just sent him down there.
 
The "red thing" is DONE. Getting it back tomorrow. .. ... the laundry list of improvements includes.
New engine
New carb and manifold (weber 32/36)
New exhaust system (maniflow)
Fixed fuel gauge (via new tank and sending unit)
Seal kit for engine (from Gerard. It works so well the shop has asked for more!)
Drive shaft spacer (for 5 speed conversion. It fixes the yolk slapping the tunnel)
Braided Stainless Brake Hoses.
Brake fluid all replaced.
Seats redone (frames bead blasted, padding, upholstery, etc.)

All it takes is a check book........ .. it's been in the shop since August. If I had had to do all this, with all the obstacles that had to be overcome, I would have been overwhelmed. The car still wouldn't be running, and I would have long since given up... .. .. As an example, I asked if they could drop the tank and hook up a wire that I knew was disconnected but couldn't reach, because it had slipped back after coming loose from the ground lug just in front of the tank. .. it turned out that whover put the tank in, had chosen the wrong one to accept the sending unit compatible with the gauge. So to get the gas gauge working I had to have a new tank ordered, that would work... .. of course that caused a chain reaction delay as they couldn't get the car to the dyno for tuning the carb because it had no gas tank... and on, and on, waiting for a part here and a part there, as I kept thinking of more things that could be done as long as someone else was doing the work. .. The goal was always to get the car back on the road this spring, and there have only been a couple of days that I could have driven the car this fall and winter anyway, that being weather dependent. ..

Tomorrow.... YIPPEEEEEEEE!

Oh, for those who know Andrew,.. He graduates from Harvey Mudd in mid May with a degree in Engineering. He'll be going to Australia for research again this summer, and he as been accepted into Cornell for a Phd. in Applied Mathematics. He got and N.S.F. Fellowship to go along with it.
 
Congrats and just in time for Spring to be here for some top down. That's at least a years or two away likely with Bugsy II. Trip to Toronto next weekend to pick him up.
 
Andrew is going straight for his PHD? Skipping the Masters? I knew that he was good! (heck, just getting thru Mudd is incredible! )
Bill, you have some GOOD kids! (and an OK Sprite too) :smile:
BillM
 
Congratulations Andrew, well done. And to dad for 'facilitating' Andrews education.
Bill, sounds like Red is all set to cross the Rockies again!!

Phil
 
HI Bill,

Congrats on every level! I look forward to hearing your report after you've had some seat time. :encouragement:
 
To BillM, ... Yes, straight to a Phd program. His sister Sarah is in a program for a Phd in Math as well. Hers is in Theoretical (she loves Graph Theory/Combinatorics) and his will be in Applied. Both straight from undergrad to Phd progams. Cornell will be paying him close to $30,000 a year to attend. Well, to T.A. .. ..

Phil, .. I thought I had it ready for a 4000 mile round trip to Wisconsin. .. I had less than 1000 miles after missing that trip when the engine blew up. .. I would have been somewhere in Montana if I HAD been able to go...... .. I'll have to drive it some to build up my confidence in the car again. ... first trip to to get it home from Portland, about 50 miles. .. It has been road tested, so I'm not expecting anything, but I'll have someone (Suzanne) driving support till I get home.
 
Woo-hoo! Good for you! I hope to have the Bugeye AND the Morris Minor mostly done by the end of the summer ... hopefully. Maybe.
 
Billm said:
Andrew is going straight for his PHD? Skipping the Masters? I knew that he was good! (heck, just getting thru Mudd is incredible! )
Bill, you have some GOOD kids! (and an OK Sprite too) :smile:
BillM
Click to expand...


Bill M's sentiments are mine as well!!!

If your Sprite had died on the way to Elkhart Lake though Bill, I have spare engines!!!;)

Kurt.
 
Pythias said:
I'll have to drive it some to build up my confidence in the car again. ... first trip to to get it home from Portland, about 50 miles. ..
Click to expand...

Hey, how about the Portland Auto Jumble? Maybe a beer afterwards. Going with neighbor, Roger (with his MG-TB)... weather permitting. I think it's April 28th.
 
Got it... .. The Weber works great. A Spridget with an electric choke!? No hesitation, no stumble. Drove the car home, then over some familiar routes. The car feels "lighter", so there's a noticeable difference with more power. Gotta get 500 miles on it so I can reset the valves, re-torque the head, and change the oil, then I can start winding it up......
Seat look great. Gotta get used to having seats that have grip instead of being slick....easier on MY rear end too...

The AutoJumble is always my first Spridget gathering of the year.... wouldn't miss it even without the red thing.....
 
Wow Bill, AWESOME!!
Congrats to you and Andrew on his achievements - I know how proud you must be!
I hope I get to see you and your car again soon.
 
Just bought a converted 60 Bugeye with a 1275. Anyone looked at EFI for this set up? Weber carb currently, very very slow to warm up, takes an artist with the choke and gas pedal to keep her from stalling in the first 10 minutes of operation.
 
I think a better solution is to revert back to a rebuilt set of SU's. EFI is tricky on these engines ... go look at the mini forums for more information on FI.
 
canuck said:
Just bought a converted 60 Bugeye with a 1275. Anyone looked at EFI for this set up? Weber carb currently, very very slow to warm up, takes an artist with the choke and gas pedal to keep her from stalling in the first 10 minutes of operation.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough, when I got the Weber, it has an electric choke. I bought the manual conversion kit for it and took it to the shop along with the engine, manifold, etc........ When I picked up the car, they had left the electric choke on the carb, and had hooked up a hot wire for it. I asked the about the best starting procedure, and they said a quick stab to the floor with of the accelerator pedal to set the fuel enrichment, and to pump a shot a fuel into the carb. They said, with the manual choke I wouldn't get that enrichment. So the car initially has a fast idle that settles down with another quick stab of the pedal given after the car has warmed up a tad bit. ... All that said, they also told me that it was "cold blooded"... that is after the start but before being fully warmed, that car won't idle well, and I could expect it to die at the first and perhaps the second stop sign I came to, but once the car gets up to 160 degrees or thereabouts, the idle is just fine. It's not 10 minutes, more like 3 or 4. ..

What I'm very curious about is if the idle will be too low on a hot day with the engine fully warmed up. With the 1098 and SUs, the idle would fall off and the car would nearly die under such conditions, the underhood temperatures having that effect on SU carbs and why racers sometimes put vents in the hood. .. I have NO heat shield installed whatsoever and so don't seem to need one.

It sounds like you may have a converted to manual Weber? Check the model designation, (assuming you have a downdraft DGV) .. If it says DGVE it was an electric, and I think DGVW for a water based choke assembly. Both can be converted to full manual, but apparently without the fuel enrichment being active.
 
Great news Bill. It's been a long haul, but you'll love the 1275.
Now that your up and running again, we'll have to plan another mid-continent meet.
I'm looking at going to MG 2014 in French Lick IN., any interest from the Spridget community?
 
Have a couple of fill ups in the tank now. Getting to know how much down I am on gas based on the functional Gas Gauge. Getting about 25 mpg with Weber, driving "erratically" on the freeway. .. ... I vary my speed between 55 mph and 75 mph, to make the revs go from about 2500 rpm to 3200 rpm during the break in period. I've had it up to 76 mph or about 3800 rpm for a couple of brief shots......

I've heard various break in procedures, from the radical.. "if you want it to be fast you gotta drive it like you stole it" ... to the more conservative... " don't take it over 3000 rpm for the first 500 miles"..... ... I guess I'm taking the middle road here. At 500 miles I'll change the oil, set the valves and re-torque the head.
 
Back
Top