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2 Questions...radio and engine

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David_Doan

Jedi Warrior
Offline
Home projects have put me waaaayyyy behind on my Bugeye restoration, but I've not stopped thinking about it.


  1. If you bought a brand new Bugeye in 58-60 in the US, what music would you have been listening to? I'm thinking about putting a "stealth" sound system in and I'm curious what would have been on the radio then.
  2. If you wanted to "hotrod" a bugeye when it was new, is there a "period correct" candidate engine? would a Ford flat-head or y-block fit? Buick Aluminum 215?


Thanks,

David
 
David,

You don't want to go there! Adding a big lump up there will totally screw up your handling. And will require mods to the firewall, and that will mean no room for a clutch pedal. and then there is the rear end and axle issue, and then you need better brakes, yada, yada, yada. An MGB has room to stuff additional things under the hood but not a BE. If you want to Hot Rod your BE, upgrade to a 1275 and add some forced induction like Trevor has done with the Ugly Bug. A Mazda Rotary fits in there nice. You don't want to reinvent the wheel, get it back on the road and drive it.

58-60 it would have been Elvis, at 8 I wasn't listening to the radio instead worrying about Sky King and the Lone Ranger, Spin ad Marty, and the Hardy Boys as part of the Mickey Mouse Club.

1st Record Album, Little Deuce Coupe by the Beach Boys in '62 or '63. Cars and Surf Tunes.
 
Top Ten songs by year:

[FONT=verdana,arial]1958
[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial] 1. Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
2. Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
3. Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard
4. For Your Precious Love - Jerry Butler & the Impressions
5. Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry
6. Yakety Yak - Coasters
7. La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
8. Since I Don't Have You - Skyliners
9. Rumble - Link Wray
10. Lonely Teardrops - Jackie Wilson

[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial]1959
[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial] 1. What'd I Say - Ray Charles
2. I Only Have Eyes For You - Flamingos
3. Mack The Knife - Bobby Darin
4. There Goes My Baby - Drifters
5 Shout - Isley Brothers
6. Kansas City - Wilbert Harrison
7. Poison Ivy - Coasters
8. Money - Barrett Strong
9. Love Potion No. 9 - Clovers
10. You're So Fine - Falcons

[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial]1960
[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial] 1. Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Shirelles
2. Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles
3. Only The Lonely - Roy Orbison
4. Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go - Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
5. Stay - Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs
6. Chain Gang - Sam Cooke
7. Save The Last Dance For Me - Drifters
8. Shop Around - Miracles
9. The Twist - Chubby Checker
10. Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers

Engine swaps seemed to start a few years after introduction of the cars, once the original motors wore out. I don't recall seeing a Bugeye with a flattie swap. By the early 60s, the hot rodders had moved past them. Early swaps I have seen were mostly 283 and 327 Chevys and the 215. I would think guys were doing 260 and 289 Fords, but I can't recall ever seeing one pictured in any of the hot rod magazines.
[/FONT]
 
Jim_Gruber said:
David,



58-60 it would have been Elvis, at 8 I wasn't listening to the radio instead worrying about Sky King and the Lone Ranger, Spin ad Marty, and the Hardy Boys as part of the Mickey Mouse Club.
Click to expand...

Funny, I would've thought it was Elvis, too, until I looked it up. He was at the height of his popularity in '56 and '57, but nothing in the top 10 for '58-60:

[FONT=verdana,arial]1956
[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial] 1. Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
2. Long Tall Sally - Little Richard
3. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins / Elvis Presley
4. Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
5. Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent & the Bluecaps
6. Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry
7. In The Still Of The Nite - Five Satins
8. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
9. Please, Please, Please - James Brown & the Famous Flames
10. I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial]1957
[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial] 1. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
2. Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On - Jerry Lee Lewis
3. That'll Be The Day - Crickets
4. Bye Bye Love - Everly Brothers
5. Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
6. School Day - Chuck Berry
7. Rock And Roll Music - Chuck Berry
8. Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly
9. Lucille - Little Richard
10. Rocking Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie Flu - Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns[/FONT]

[TD="width: 130, bgcolor: #660000, align: center"] [/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]
[/TD]
 
I looked at a BE in college [67?] that had a aluminum Buick 215 shoehorned in. Had a 3 speed and overdrive and major mods to the tunnel to fit all that. Cut down Edsel radiator. Guy claimed he had had it up to 140mph!! Don't know and didn't ask how he measured that!

Don't ask me how I remember all that and can't remember what I did yesterday!:highly_amused:


Kurt.
 
I think Elvis was in the Military from 58-60.
 
Wikipedia says Elvis was in the Army between March 1958 and March 1960.

I found the Billboard Top 10s for '58-60. More Elvis in those rankings:

[TABLE="class: sortable alternate songtable"]
[TR]
[TH="class: sorttable_alpha"][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3"]

​
[TABLE="class: sortable alternate songtable"]
[TR]
[TH="class: sorttable_numeric"][/TH]
[TH="class: sorttable_alpha"][/TH]
[TH="class: sorttable_alpha"][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3"]
1960:

​
[TABLE="class: sortable alternate songtable"]
[TR]
[TH="class: sorttable_numeric"]Position[/TH]
[TH="class: sorttable_alpha"]Artist[/TH]
[TH="class: sorttable_alpha"]Song Title[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD] Percy Faith[/TD]
[TD]Theme From "A Summer Place"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD] Jim Reeves[/TD]
[TD]He'll Have To Go[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD] Everly Brothers[/TD]
[TD]Cathy's Clown[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD] Johnny Preston[/TD]
[TD]Running Bear[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD] Mark Dinning[/TD]
[TD]Teen Angel[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD] Brenda Lee[/TD]
[TD]I'm Sorry[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD] Elvis Presley[/TD]
[TD]It's Now Or Never[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD] Jimmy Jones[/TD]
[TD]Handy Man[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]9[/TD]
[TD] Elvis Presley[/TD]
[TD]Stuck On You[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD] Chubby Checker[/TD]
[TD]The Twist[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]1959
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD][TABLE="class: sortable alternate songtable"]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[TD] Johnny Horton[/TD]
[TD]The Battle Of New Orleans[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD] Bobby Darin[/TD]
[TD]Mack The Knife[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD] Lloyd Price[/TD]
[TD]Personality[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD] Frankie Avalon[/TD]
[TD]Venus[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD] Paul Anka[/TD]
[TD]Lonely Boy[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD] Bobby Darin[/TD]
[TD]Dream Lover[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD] Browns[/TD]
[TD]The Three Bells[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD] Fleetwoods[/TD]
[TD]Come Softly To Me[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]9[/TD]
[TD] Wilbert Harrison[/TD]
[TD]Kansas City[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]1958
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD] Domenico Modugno[/TD]
[TD]Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD] Everly Brothers[/TD]
[TD]All I Have To Do Is Dream / Claudette[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD] Elvis Presley[/TD]
[TD]Don't / I Beg Of You[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD] David Seville[/TD]
[TD]Witch Doctor[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD] Perez Prado[/TD]
[TD]Patricia[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD] Billy Vaughn[/TD]
[TD]Sail Along Silvery Moon / Raunchy[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD] Perry Como[/TD]
[TD]Catch A Falling Star / Magic Moments[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD] Champs[/TD]
[TD]Tequila[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]9[/TD]
[TD] Tommy Edwards[/TD]
[TD]It's All In The Game[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD] Dean Martin[/TD]
[TD]Return To Me[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
I have a magazine somewhere.... I don't think it's HotRod, but a hot-rodding rag from the early 60's that features a 327 Chevy powered Bugeye. Whimsical.
 
I don't know about the 60s, and this is just one small part of the country, but in Lincoln, NE, in the 70s the common engine swap for a bugeye was to swap out the 948cc motor for a 1275, the 20 extra HP may not sound like much, but considering a bugeye started with 42 (as I recall, or was it 48?) it was about a 50% increase, I am sure people have been stuffing V-8s in them too for years, but that is what I saw, there were a few Big Healeys with V-8s running around, and maybe and MGA or B or two with a swap as well. I think a Buick/Rover 215 aluminum block is an intriguing idea for a Sprite, haven't seen such a swap, anybody know if it would fit? Probably doesn't weigh that much more than a bugeye motor. Nowadays I know of a local Bugeye with a small block Chevy (known as the Frite) and a very trick box Sprite with an RX7 Wankel in the area.
 
Think the 215 was doable back when...the weight issue wasn't such a big deal.. that being said these mod's never go to completion very often and .... mostly go to the grave with its owner
 
bug_sixty said:
Think the 215 was doable back when...the weight issue wasn't such a big deal.. that being said these mod's never go to completion very often and .... mostly go to the grave with its owner
Click to expand...

That's why I like the 1275 swap into a Bugeye -- for the most part you take the old engine out, put the new one in.

I have great respect for folks who put an engine swap together and see it all the way to completion. Friend of mine just finished a V6 swap into his MGB, it looks great and really moves. He's more the exception, though, as he has it completed and running. Most never make it that far.
 
I'm kinda partial to the A15 Datsun and 5 speed myself!:glee:


Kurt.
 
I like the 1275 mostly because of it's free revving engine....feels and sounds like a sports car even though it's still under powered for todays standards... when I redline on a regular basis it just seams the engine is saying to me...go for it!!
 
There is a guy on another message board that is fitting a small (early 90's) mazda V6 engine.
 
Trevor Jessie said:
There is a guy on another message board that is fitting a small (early 90's) mazda V6 engine.
Click to expand...

I was intrigued by the Buick 215, small, light and period correct. But looks like the bell-housing is still way too big. I wouldn't mind cutting a hole in the bonnet for the air-cleaner, but I don't want to get into cutting up the chassis.

I really like the sound of 4 bangers and V8's. V6 six never sounds that good. I think the old 8 valve 4's sound better than the newer 16's too.
 
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