Jim_Gruber
Yoda
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Ask Bill Mayer - 60FROG.
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Thoughtful upgrades for a BE
- Thread starter twas_brillig
- Start date
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Gundy
Luke Skywalker
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The wind wings do help. It is still an open roadster but they do help. Look cool too...IMHO.
I also like braided lines for fuel and oil cooler. Alloy valve covers, braided lines,aluminum
radiator and polished SUs make for a bling effect as you raise the bonnet.
One bit of bling I want but don't need (already have chrome alt) is one of those itty bitty
MED alternators. Ceramic inside/out coating of headers is practical improvement and
keeps em pretty too.
Because my car is blue I put clear lens beehives on front with some out of production
Silvania blue dot bulbs. Very cool blue dot till signal then it is orange.
Again, something most would not notice but...dang they are cool.
Bluemax and I snagged some of the bulbs off eBay a few years ago. Hehe...we even bought spares.
The blue dot is neat. Sort of floating inside the clear beehive.
I also like braided lines for fuel and oil cooler. Alloy valve covers, braided lines,aluminum
radiator and polished SUs make for a bling effect as you raise the bonnet.
One bit of bling I want but don't need (already have chrome alt) is one of those itty bitty
MED alternators. Ceramic inside/out coating of headers is practical improvement and
keeps em pretty too.
Because my car is blue I put clear lens beehives on front with some out of production
Silvania blue dot bulbs. Very cool blue dot till signal then it is orange.
Again, something most would not notice but...dang they are cool.
Bluemax and I snagged some of the bulbs off eBay a few years ago. Hehe...we even bought spares.
The blue dot is neat. Sort of floating inside the clear beehive.
smaceng
Jedi Knight
Offline
Since Jim Gruber brought up 60Frog, I thought I would chime in, as I was the primary builder.
I bought the 60 BE as a painted body, but not much else provided was very good. I wanted a car which looked original, but added safety and performance features that made the car more enjoyable. Here is my list as I remember it. Car is currently owned by Bill Mayor in San Diego.
1275, .020 over, with mild cam, 9.5 to 1 compression. powder coated exhaust manifold, disk brakes at the front, electronic control box, additional fuses and relays (by Bits4Brits...may not be in business) located under the dash, rear wiring harness routed in the sill, Tourist Trophy steering wheel with shift knob to match, 5-speed Datsun conversion, 3.9 to 1 differential, Facet fuel pump, resized master cylinder for disk conversion, and to add bling....a red tonneau cover, VTO wheels with custom centers. Bill has added a red hood, and engraved windshield wings, and maybe other stuff. I really enjoyed the car, it would rev easily to 6K and beyond, held the curves like glue and the 5-speed made cruising on the freeway a blast. Cheers, Scott in CA
I bought the 60 BE as a painted body, but not much else provided was very good. I wanted a car which looked original, but added safety and performance features that made the car more enjoyable. Here is my list as I remember it. Car is currently owned by Bill Mayor in San Diego.
1275, .020 over, with mild cam, 9.5 to 1 compression. powder coated exhaust manifold, disk brakes at the front, electronic control box, additional fuses and relays (by Bits4Brits...may not be in business) located under the dash, rear wiring harness routed in the sill, Tourist Trophy steering wheel with shift knob to match, 5-speed Datsun conversion, 3.9 to 1 differential, Facet fuel pump, resized master cylinder for disk conversion, and to add bling....a red tonneau cover, VTO wheels with custom centers. Bill has added a red hood, and engraved windshield wings, and maybe other stuff. I really enjoyed the car, it would rev easily to 6K and beyond, held the curves like glue and the 5-speed made cruising on the freeway a blast. Cheers, Scott in CA
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I bought my Engraved Wind Wings From Philips Plastics in Phoenix Arizona.
He no longer makes them, but I was able to get him to make two more sets that are not engraved. His engraver retired. I now have a spare set and Jim Gruber has the other set.
I am currently investigating a modern updated Radio Mobile 20X Radio from a company in England. If you look at the Drivers Handbook dated 1958 you will see that this was the radio that came as an option back then.It only comes with negative ground so I would have to convert to negative from positive.
60 FROG is a wonderful Bugeye and has won 36 Trophies , quite a few of which were British only shows.
I will be showing 60 FROG this weekend on Saturday at an all comers show and then on Sunday at British Car Day where 60 FROG was first in its class last year.
When Scott says he was the Primary Builder he is being modest as he was "THE BUILDER". I am proudly the "PRIMARY DRIVER" now.
One other thing that I have added is a center console with a cup holder. The console comes in black but I was able to find a Red leather Cover to go over it.
He no longer makes them, but I was able to get him to make two more sets that are not engraved. His engraver retired. I now have a spare set and Jim Gruber has the other set.
I am currently investigating a modern updated Radio Mobile 20X Radio from a company in England. If you look at the Drivers Handbook dated 1958 you will see that this was the radio that came as an option back then.It only comes with negative ground so I would have to convert to negative from positive.
60 FROG is a wonderful Bugeye and has won 36 Trophies , quite a few of which were British only shows.
I will be showing 60 FROG this weekend on Saturday at an all comers show and then on Sunday at British Car Day where 60 FROG was first in its class last year.
When Scott says he was the Primary Builder he is being modest as he was "THE BUILDER". I am proudly the "PRIMARY DRIVER" now.
One other thing that I have added is a center console with a cup holder. The console comes in black but I was able to find a Red leather Cover to go over it.
OP
twas_brillig
Jedi Knight
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It's been quite a few years since I kicked this thread off, and would appreciate what people are doing/thinking these days. We haven't had our BE running for a very long time (hopefully, this summer, pull it out of storage and figure out why the rear wheels lock up when shifting (tranny? (it's a rebuilt Datsun 5 speed) or the diff? Suggestions requested). Thanks, Doug
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Been pondering this and wondering whether it might be an allignment issue with the driveshaft?
1. Has the transmission be reworked at all? Does it shift easily?
2. One way to test would be to disconnect the drive shaft. (I am sure there is a way to plug the drive shaft hole) and shift it without the diff attached. Then you can determine where to start looking.
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Can you elaborate a little on the "rear wheels lock up?" If it is related to changing gears I would think it unlikely to be the diff. As little space as there is for any movement in the tunnel, I also think it unlikely for the driveshaft to get far enough out of alignment. You stated the gearbox was "rebuilt" but has it ever worked since the rebuild? This really sounds more like wear in the shifting mechanism letting it engage two speeds at the same time.