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The new, improved Tunebug 2007 plan

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drooartz

drooartz

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Okay, I've been taking to heart the postings on doing this right the first time. I've decided to modify my plans for the year a bit. Here's the new plan--any thoughts or changes I should make?

Summer

1. Radiator and Fuel clean/repair: trying to solve the overheating issus from last year, I'm going to have the radiator cleaned/recored as necessary, and clean out the fuel tank and lines.

2. Drive the newly cleaned out Tunebug as much as possible (still on the 948/smooth case).

3. Strip the 1275 down and have it checked out to determine what needs to be done.

4. Save money.

Fall/Winter, or as financing allows

1. Rebuild the 1275 properly, as a good strong street engine.

2. Select a kit and use the 5-speed with the fresh 1275.

3. Rebuild disc brake front end and install.

I'd like to be able to do more right now, but I'm feeling the financial crunch these days. I'm really glad I motivated to acquire the bits I have over the last few months, but now it's time to take a step back and rebuild the budget for the next push.
 
..... Drive the newly cleaned out Tunebug as much as possible (still on the 948/smooth case).....

Yeah, I agree with this. Sometimes, it's tempting to take things apart, but if it's running right now (or you can get it running decent with your clean-out plan), USE it!
And waiting until you have the money is not fun, but you will get more "seat time" if you keep the car driveable rather than turn it into a pile of parts. Once you get your funding worked out and prep that 1275 (and other stuff), the swap of parts won't really take that long.

I have a 1275 just waiting to be rebuilt and put in the racer. Right now, it has a somewhat pockey 1500 in it and it's tempting to pull it out. But I'm not going to touch anything until the 1275 is fully ready to drop in. If I have to, I can still race the car with it's present 1500...not as nice as a 1275, but I can still have fun and get some seat time.

By the way, if money gets critical, I would place priority on the 1275 engine and the disk brakes. The 5 speed is nice, but the newer engine and brakes are a bigger "plus". The regular trans is not really that bad (at least in my view).
 
I made the same dicision about 5 yrs ago. If that 1275 runs get it in the bugeye. The five speed could take time to find, and you can have a lot of fun between then and now. If it doesn't run, get it to running, install and then move on. I drove a 948 off ond on for about 20 yrs, and that is fun, but all these upgrades are even more fun.
 
Drew:

That sounds like a good plan, taking steps is the best way. Fixing prob and the brake upgrade is a good start. I realize that others have posted directions to take on the engine rebuild and I withheld my .02.

Since you are on a budget, I would recommend, checking all bearing clearances. If they are fine, I would slide in new bearings, deglaze the bores and put in new rings.

If you want to get more punch out of the 1275, the best place to spend it is in the breathing. For this, I would recommend keeping the stock cam, porting the head and changing the intake manifold.

Overall your plan sounds good, the stock ribcase will work fine for you, if you plan on alot of highway driving then the 5spd. is a consideration.

As I have told you in the past, with a stock 1275 in a BE, you will not be disappointed.

Since I have been down this road, if you have any questions, I will be happy to help.

Patrick
 
Thanks all for your thoughts.

I have a tendency to focus/obsess on projects like this--the laser focus can be handy, but it can hinder my ability to be patient some times. Writing my plan out was a way to take a deep breath and make this something I could realistically accomplish. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

This winter has been good for parts acquisition. I've got a few more things to gather up, but the core bits needed for all my planned upgrades (including the 5-speed) are all in hand. Most of the upgrade rebuilding can be done off the car, so I can keep driving while I work it all out. That's really important to me, since I need the seat time to keep remembering why I like this little car so much.

I'll keep pestering y'all with questions, no doubt. And I am planning on the Spridget 50th in 2008, one way or another.
 
Rereading these comments, I'd have to agree that the disc brake con. is a very inexpensive and easy upgrade. Also you'll have a rebuilt front end. My old front end was really good, but my brakes were soft. After the brake conv., they firmed up. If I were to do it again I would step up to the steel braided brake lines and probably do it anyway after everything else is up and running. We are all looking to 2008.
 
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