another strange bugeye on ebay

[mightymidget]

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Austin-He...7b362a210#v4-37

The car caught my eye because of color, pretty car but then I started crying when I checked it out. That car such a nice body

 

[RickB]

Interesting, there's a guy nearby who had a Bugeye tub and he was going to do the same thing - put in a motorcycle engine/trans.
If all you have is a tub...

 

[lbc_newbie]

I agree, MM.... what a great color. It's really a good looking car outside of the butchering.

Good grief, though...is there ANYTHING that can't be put in these little cars? How about a Cummins Turbo-diesel??

 

[Gundy]

Who needs a speedo and tach in the dash anyway.
I'd much rather look down at a console while driving.
If I had it I swear I'd put a kickstand on it.

 

[JPSmit]

reverse?

 

[JPSmit]

Good grief, though...is there ANYTHING that can't be put in these little cars? How about a Cummins Turbo-diesel??

OK not a Spridget but

https://jalopnik.com/5576338/mini-equipped-with-11+ton-v18-diesel-engine

 

[Gray_Cat]

Later Goldwings had an electric reverse, not sure when that originaly became available or maybe they added it to this set up.
Roy

 

[theleisure]

geez, they put in a motorcycle engine but couldn't find a way to avoid cutting a hole in the hood. wtf.

 

[livinginthepast]

Look, Rick; they took your hood scoop. ;-)

Wow, I really don't like the way they cut away the sheet metal behind the driver's seat. I agree - nice color.

 

[Gundy]

I can't believe they forgot to use Harley mufflers.

 

[regularman]

I wonder if those side pipes ever drag?

 

[mightymidget]

The seat cut out, and the dash are real killers for me.
The Bugeye dash is one of the really neat parts of a Bugeye

All the body gaps are so good, could have been a really nice Bugeye and worth a lot more than what it is worth now

 

[bthompson]

Cute...but it ain't a Bugeye, IMO. It's a four-wheel Gold Wing that looks vaguely like a Sprite. Why do people <span style="font-style: italic">DO </span>this stuff?? What's wrong with the original engines?!

I get the same gut-wrench looking at Jaguars and Rolls-Royces with Chevy smallblocks thrown in them. For me, an engine is the heart and soul of a car. With any other engine, it's just a kit car.

Funny, but related: I was getting my weekly fix of Jay Leno's Garage today. Just before work, I checked out his '15 Hispano-Suiza aero engined beast, '16 Autocar coal truck, and '07 White Steamer. (I just love that he <span style="font-style: italic">drives </span>this stuff!)

As I was motoring across town with Nigel, I was reflecting on what wonderful cars Spridgets are. It was hot and humid, top down, no radio, but the drive through the back roads was just magical. It was loads quieter than the Hispano, double the top speed of the Autocar, and not nearly as complex to run as the White. I could hear the tires on the pavement, the ticking of the rattlecube, the engine, the transmission, the diff, the exhaust. You hear <span style="font-style: italic">everything </span>in these cars--you're <span style="font-style: italic">connected</span>. The little long-stroke 1500 is torquey, and just as happy to pull down low as the A-series engines are to rev up high, just where it wants to be on those back roads for a nice relaxing drive. Perfect. Who would want to put a gold wing in one??