• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!

    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

A sincere thank you

drooartz

Moderator
Staff member
Gold
Country flag
Offline
A little over five years ago I decided that it was well and good time to stop thinking about getting a vintage car (a dream since I saw my first classic Mustang as a kid) and go out and get one. As part of that process, I did a bit of Googling and found this little place called the British Car Forum.

It has been a long trip since that fateful day when I first signed up. I saved money from my gigs, bought, and quickly sold, a TR4 that was more project than I wanted. Bought a Bugeye Sprite that was just what I wanted, then spent the last three years with the car off the road, rebuilding all the mechanicals. The registration of the Tunebug today brings that process to a close. The rebuild project is now finished -- let the repair projects begin!
grin.gif


This has been a difficult few years for me. I started this with essentially no mechanical experience and have struggled with the learning curve and my own time constraints, trying to fit in car work around my family, day job, and music work. Through it all I've had this group of folks provide technical and moral support time and time again. I can honestly say that I would not have gotten this far without y'all.

There are too many to name here who have helped me directly, but I did want to call out a couple who were particularly significant. Grantura_MKI, who volunteered his time and experience to look over the Tunebug for me in person and give his expert opinion prior to my purchase; tdskip, who also offered to look the car over and who has kept up my spirits over the years; DrEntropy for the tech and confidence boosts, all the fellow Spridgeteers for their willingness to share the years of knowledge I lack (spritenut, jlaird, Trevor Jesse, regularman, ChrisS, the list goes on and I'd list you all if I could); Hap Waldrop for the amazing engine and carbs, and for being willing to share your wisdom with a young guy like me; and the late, great Tony Barnhill for parts, advice, and for being the sort of car guy (and all around person) I hope to be.

I've said this before -- the British Car Forum is a great example of how the Internet *should* work. Basil, thank you for making this place possible, and a heartfelt THANK YOU from the Tunebug and me to all of you. May your roads be curvy and your carbs be synced.

tb_wopole.jpg

<span style="font-style: italic">The Tunebug, alive and on the road again, April 27, 2010</span>
 
Beautiful Drew. Both you, and the Tunebug need to "Live long and prosper".
BTW, those Utah plates are great!
 
Most gratifying!!! Drew, ya did it all with determination and grace. I'm certain it has as much to do with your determination as with any of us who poked you inna butt. Admirably done, sir.
 
Good job! It is beautiful. Hope you find lotsa twisty bits...
 
Terrific news! I love stories like this! Now I need to get off my big behind and get my own project completed! This gives me some extra motivation!
 
Drew,

You owned a T***ph?I can't believe that you
were a "lowlife" like that!I still respect you.
All kidding aside - I agree with your observations.

- Doug
 
Great job, Drew!
You are a tribute to the British Car Forum.

I bought my first Spridget (a Bugeye) over 40 years ago. Spridgets are <span style="text-decoration: underline">still</span> my favourite sports cars, bar none.

Your car looks excellent; I hope you have many, many years of fun with it. :thumbsup:
 
AngliaGT said:
You owned a T***ph? I can't believe that you were a "lowlife" like that! I still respect you.
I still have one even, Doug... it's just got only two wheels. :smile:

aeronca65t said:
I hope you have many, many years of fun with it. :thumbsup:
I do as well. At least it now feels like a car instead of just a lot of work.

The strangest thing is that after all this time, this will be the *first* time I've every drive a fully-functioning sports car. I still don't really know what it will be like. Looking forward to finding out, though.

Basil said:
Those cars always look like they're smiling!
My wife thinks so as well (see my signature for her quote). It's a happy car. :smile:
 
drooartz said:
The strangest thing is that after all this time, this will be the *first* time I've every drive a fully-functioning sports car.

gotta say that statement is probably a tad optimistic for an LBC - just ask Jack. trust me, you'll be ironing out bugs for the next 40 years
:jester:
 
JPSmit said:
gotta say that statement is probably a tad optimistic for an LBC - just ask Jack. trust me, you'll be ironing out bugs for the next 40 years
Okay, maybe I should have phrased it this way:

"The strangest thing is that after all this time, this will be the *first* time I've every driven a sports car that doesn't break down every time it leaves the garage."

I've already had more (relatively) trouble free drives in the last week than in the past 4 years.
grin.gif
 
Field Day in June is my target, Rich. I need to get some local miles on for break-in before I venture as far as Salt Lake.

Also needs to stop snowing!
 
Back
Top