Bittersweet day: Tunebug has sold

[drooartz]

It's a bittersweet day here in Utah, as I just received payment for the Tunebug so he is officially sold. He's off to a new home on the east coast. The new owner sounds like a good guy, and he's aware of the BCF so you may hear from him at some point.

Sad to see the little car go, but it was time. I needed to get my stress levels down, and one less car was a necessary thing. If all goes smoothly the car should be picked up at the end of this week -- I've got some packing to do so that I can get the spares ready to go.

It was a good 5 years, and I've no regrets. Thanks again to y'all for the help and support over the years, it was appreciated.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

So... what city/state? So we can watch for him.

 

[drooartz]

Off to Maine. Tunebug's now lived on both coasts (I got him from near San Diego).

 

[JPSmit]

congrats but sad too.

 

[Gundy]

I'm glad it wasn't a long drawn out sale Drew.
I'd bet it is going to a good home.
Mimi sure was sweet driving into town today
but the wife's MGB is head and shoulders above the Sprite as a cruiser.
We had a great trip into the mountains for some sushi the other day in the B.
Enjoy your B and best of luck to Tunebug!

 

[jlaird]

FIVE years, gesh Drew how could it have been that long.

 

[elrey]

Just remember; the car may be gone but the stain on the garage floor is forever. Happy memories, may your stresses melt away. --elrey

 

[regularman]

I'm glad it wasn't a long drawn out sale Drew.
I'd bet it is going to a good home.
Mimi sure was sweet driving into town today
but the wife's MGB is head and shoulders above the Sprite as a cruiser.
We had a great trip into the mountains for some sushi the other day in the B.
Enjoy your B and best of luck to Tunebug!

Gundy, I am curious as to why the B is a better cruiser. I drove my first bugeye sprite not long ago and it certainly does have a much bouncier ride than my midget for sure. Is that what its all about?

 

[AngliaGT]

Drew,

That's good/bad.Now you can drive your B out here
& see the Redwoods.
But what will you do with ALL of that money?

- Doug

 

[drooartz]

But what will you do with ALL of that money?

Sink it into the B, or the BMW, or the house, or the guitars, or the mandolins, or the basses, or...

Gundy, I am curious as to why the B is a better cruiser. I drove my first bugeye sprite not long ago and it certainly does have a much bouncier ride than my midget for sure. Is that what its all about?

The B's ride is substantially better and there's a lot more room (leg room, shoulder room, etc). I can drive the B for a few hours, get out of the car, and still walk. Questionable in the Sprite -- I just can't stretch my legs enough, and I really like taking long trips. I drove both cars back to back a few times this summer, and there is definitely a difference. Both fun, but different.

The B is still a sports car, though, and I can flog it through the twisties plenty hard enough, and then pop it into overdrive for the cruise on home. I also like that the B is essentially stock, compared to the huge alterations I did to the Sprite. I've found out that I'm more of an originality guy than I thought I was. Wouldn't have guessed it, but there it is. That said, I'd still like Hap to do to my B's motor what he did to the Sprite's. That would be fun.

I like both cars, but I've found that I have a hard and fast one-car-at-a-time rule if I want to be happy. Otherwise this hobby turns into a massive pool of stress and I start to actively hate it. That's where I've been for a goodly part of this summer, so it was time to sort it all out. A very hard decision, but the right one.

FIVE years, gesh Drew how could it have been that long.

Is hard to believe, Jack. Been quite a journey.

 

[Gundy]

I'm glad it wasn't a long drawn out sale Drew.
I'd bet it is going to a good home.
Mimi sure was sweet driving into town today
but the wife's MGB is head and shoulders above the Sprite as a cruiser.
We had a great trip into the mountains for some sushi the other day in the B.
Enjoy your B and best of luck to Tunebug!

Gundy, I am curious as to why the B is a better cruiser. I drove my first bugeye sprite not long ago and it certainly does have a much bouncier ride than my midget for sure. Is that what its all about?

Well, my BE isn't set up for cushy rides. More of a hold on
here we go type ride. Definitely not a boulevard cruiser.
I recently took both for extended drives of about 100 miles.
The soft ride of the B and the torquinesss of that B engine
makes for a fantastic cruiser. Quiet exhaust means we can
blast our favorite tunes and actually hear them.
The BE's stereo is a waste of time even belting it out
through 200 watts and boom box speakers.
If I had to chose one and one only it would still be the BE.
The B just isn't a throw it into a corner then mash the gas kinda car and that is my style of driving.

 

[nomad]

Enjoy the B, Drew, I went the other way. Owned a B since the early 70's but when I bought a BE I discovered I much preferred the little cars. I admit that the B has more room than just about anything but the handleing of the little cars is what I prefer. They are just so "tossable" on the twisties! As for tunes I've always thought that listening to anything cept the "raucous stacato of a finely tuned engine" was hopeless at anything above town speeds. I will admit that I consider the small gas tank in a spridget an asset for long range cruising since it demands that you have to stop and stretch frequently. My B had overdrive and high speed wind buffeting was something I didn't like that isn't an issue in later square body spridgets.

Kurt.

 

[regularman]

I'm glad it wasn't a long drawn out sale Drew.
I'd bet it is going to a good home.
Mimi sure was sweet driving into town today
but the wife's MGB is head and shoulders above the Sprite as a cruiser.
We had a great trip into the mountains for some sushi the other day in the B.
Enjoy your B and best of luck to Tunebug!

Gundy, I am curious as to why the B is a better cruiser. I drove my first bugeye sprite not long ago and it certainly does have a much bouncier ride than my midget for sure. Is that what its all about?

Well, my BE isn't set up for cushy rides. More of a hold on
here we go type ride. Definitely not a boulevard cruiser.
I recently took both for extended drives of about 100 miles.
The soft ride of the B and the torquinesss of that B engine
makes for a fantastic cruiser. Quiet exhaust means we can
blast our favorite tunes and actually hear them.
The BE's stereo is a waste of time even belting it out
through 200 watts and boom box speakers.
If I had to chose one and one only it would still be the BE.
The B just isn't a throw it into a corner then mash the gas kinda car and that is my style of driving.

Gundy, next time we meet, you have to drive my midget. I just assumed that a BE rides like a midget and they are very much different. Plus I set mine up for cruising, it has higher gears, pretty quiet, good stereo that you can hear, adjustable lumbar in the driver seat. Tube shocks in the front, etc.

 

[Gundy]

I'm glad it wasn't a long drawn out sale Drew.
I'd bet it is going to a good home.
Mimi sure was sweet driving into town today
but the wife's MGB is head and shoulders above the Sprite as a cruiser.
We had a great trip into the mountains for some sushi the other day in the B.
Enjoy your B and best of luck to Tunebug!

Gundy, I am curious as to why the B is a better cruiser. I drove my first bugeye sprite not long ago and it certainly does have a much bouncier ride than my midget for sure. Is that what its all about?

Well, my BE isn't set up for cushy rides. More of a hold on
here we go type ride. Definitely not a boulevard cruiser.
I recently took both for extended drives of about 100 miles.
The soft ride of the B and the torquinesss of that B engine
makes for a fantastic cruiser. Quiet exhaust means we can
blast our favorite tunes and actually hear them.
The BE's stereo is a waste of time even belting it out
through 200 watts and boom box speakers.
If I had to chose one and one only it would still be the BE.
The B just isn't a throw it into a corner then mash the gas kinda car and that is my style of driving.

Gundy, next time we meet, you have to drive my midget. I just assumed that a BE rides like a midget and they are very much different. Plus I set mine up for cruising, it has higher gears, pretty quiet, good stereo that you can hear, adjustable lumbar in the driver seat. Tube shocks in the front, etc.

Kim, that Midget of yours is very trick. My old '67 Sprite was
a nice cruiser too. The BE is just so slanted toward aggressive driving it stinks in almost any other use.
I LOVE it and would not change it except to make it more
"track worthy".
The B is a GREAT cruiser...stock.

 

[drooartz]

While the MGB feels heavier than the Bugeye (and it is about 600# heavier) it still hustles nicely. I was dicing with a friend's fuel-injected original Mini a couple months ago and had no issues even in the tight stuff.

When I was looking to get an old car, I had the MGB on the list but eventually decided that it wasn't quite "special" enough for what I wanted. While I fell in love with the Bugeye right away, the MGB had to grow on me. I've really come to appreciate how well rounded the B is. It's a great fit for what I want it to do.

Now I just need to start putting some money aside so Hap can build me a motor...

 

[AngliaGT]

How much differance in legroom between a Bugeye,
& a newer Sprite/Midget?


- Doug

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Sorite seatbacks are thinner, and there are not center consoles in Sprites. Other than that they are the same.

 

[drooartz]

Not legroom related, but Bugeyes also have more elbow room as the doors are thinner (no wind-up windows).

 

[SilentUnicorn]

It hurts to let them go.....

Give her a toast to her next life, shed a tear, and move on.

m

 

[DrEntropy]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] the MGB had to grow on me. I've really come to appreciate how well rounded the B is. It's a great fit for what I want it to do.

Now I just need to start putting some money aside so Hap can build me a motor... [/QUOTE]

That's why, when folks come aboard the forum and ask what they should pick for their first LBC, I push them toward MGB's. :wink:


Find a second GB block/head and Let Hap have his way with it. Then you can do a swap-out in a few hours. :smirk: