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Visit with Trevor

SaxMan

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My wife's aunt and uncle live in Louisville, and we recently went out to visit with them. While out in Kentucky, it gave me an opportunity to meet Trevor in person. Trevor was very accommodating and let me and Jessica take a spin in his Midget while he drove his BE.

Even though it wasn't "Baby Blue", Jessica knew exactly what to do with "Baby Green". I think she is definitely excited with anticipation:
DSC_0191 by David Cohen, on Flickr

After the ride. Still happy. People weren't sure if my daughter was that tall or if a Midget was that small. The answer is yes.
DSC_0193 by David Cohen, on Flickr

Trevor's Bugeye:
DSC_0194 by David Cohen, on Flickr

It was the first time I've ever been able to drive another LBC besides my own. It definitely gave me a good baseline. Trevor's Midget is fitted with the Datsun tranny. I found the gates narrower than the ribcase and it took some time getting used to where the gears actually were. The motor was baby-butt smooth and purred at idle. The car's handling was a bit more taut thanks to the bigger tires and wheels. My initial impression was that Baby Blue was a bucket of bolts compared to this car, but once I drove Baby Blue again after my return, I realized that wasn't the case. Baby Blue's driveline is a LOT noisier than the Trevor's Midget. I'm not sure if that is because of the Ribcase versus Datsun tranny, or if I do have issues in the driveline.

It was great to be able to put a face and voice to the name. The short drive wore Jessica out and she zonked almost immediately when we got back to my wife's Aunt and Uncle. They have a "green" garage -- Tesla Model S and a Chevy Volt. Got to drive the Volt. Really nice car. A/C was a bit on the weak side, but that was it.

Thanks again, Trevor!
 

Jim_Gruber

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I got to visit with Trevor and Ugly Bug in Cincinnati 2 weeks ago when he came up from Louisville to the Cincinnati British Car Day Show. Bugsy IV could not make it that day but we got the chance to spend 2 1/2 hours talking Spridgets, British Engineering, Forced Induction( there is a Supercharger under that bonnet), Haywire Theories, Future Engineering endeavors, and in general two guys BS'ing about our toys. A great guy to know.

PS Bugsy out and about this evening for a nice ride. On the move on his own since Sunday but the fettling continues. Traced a gasoline smell to a faulty Forward SU FLoat. That one was sticking open continuously and the one in the back was stuck shut. The backone got fixed with some Gumout. Front one no joy with the same treatment still kept leaking. Swapped front carb float bowl and jet with one from my spare 1275. About 20 more miles on the car tonight, 30+ on Sunday. Gas down to a 1/3 tank Fillup 3.23 gallons and BTW Fuel Fill Cap worked just fine with the hinge on the bottom and cap release on the top. Click the release and gravity takes over. Full tank reads 3/4 Full. So much for a calibrated fuel tank.
 
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David, it was good to meet you and your daughter in person. Next time we'll plan more of a drive. If my wife had been in town we could have driven the spridgets to the outskirts of town and met you where there are some real driving roads.

The steering is heavier in the Midget partially to the larger tires, but the bulk of the tightness is due to the new rack with only about 100 miles on it. The engine in the midget does purr thanks to its low compression and stock cam... but it is also way down on power. The datsun transmission is MUCH quieter than a ribcase. It is my cruising around car and my Bugeye is my thrashing down rural roads car.

Jim, I was thinking I'd go up to Dayton for the car show, but I think I'm actually going to take my Bugeye to the StreetRod Nationals in Louisville that weekend. They have an "autocross" and I want to see if the bugeye and I can shame some 100,000 "pro-touring" cars. I'm also going to take the windscreen of the bugeye at streetrod nationals and just putter around looking at cars with a nice unobstructed view.
 

leecreek

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I got to visit with Trevor and Ugly Bug in Cincinnati 2 weeks ago when he came up from Louisville to the Cincinnati British Car Day Show. Bugsy IV could not make it that day but we got the chance to spend 2 1/2 hours talking Spridgets, British Engineering, Forced Induction( there is a Supercharger under that bonnet), Haywire Theories, Future Engineering endeavors, and in general two guys BS'ing about our toys. A great guy to know. PS Bugsy out and about this evening for a nice ride. On the move on his own since Sunday but the fettling continues. Traced a gasoline smell to a faulty Forward SU FLoat. That one was sticking open continuously and the one in the back was stuck shut. The backone got fixed with some Gumout. Front one no joy with the same treatment still kept leaking. Swapped front carb float bowl and jet with one from my spare 1275. About 20 more miles on the car tonight, 30+ on Sunday. Gas down to a 1/3 tank Fillup 3.23 gallons and BTW Fuel Fill Cap worked just fine with the hinge on the bottom and cap release on the top. Click the release and gravity takes over. Full tank reads 3/4 Full. So much for a calibrated fuel tank.
Jim Here is what my brother and I found after the run to Lake of the Ozarks. The gas cap was a fight to r+r. My brother installed a new gas tank in the late 80's Cap never fit easily after that. Well we measured down the fill up pipe at his house on the way back and I do not remember the numbers but the length of the fill up was just too short to get a hand hold on the cap. When I was getting ready to paint the Sprite in 2008 I removed the tank to cut and extend the Fill up tube. I cut it off about 1-1.5 inches above the tank to put on a hose. Looked and measured the stub left in the tank and it was over 2" long inside the tank. Since the fuel tank is not vented but the cap is I slotted the extension inside the tank just below the welded top with a cut off wheel on the Dremel. Now I am getting a fuller tank. Before the gas gauge started dropping rather quickly. Now moer 'back to normal'. My brother said they must have made the tank on a Friday or Monday. Just my experience here. YMMV He calculated by the numbers and said it gets a little more than a gallon and a quarter in the tank as the tank quits filling once the level gets to the fill tube.
 

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Jim_Gruber

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So you cut a slot in the side of the Fuel Filler Tube down at the tank to allow that air to purge. I see how that would work. However I made my cut to fix the neck being too short right at the top of filler neck. Your fix unfortunately won't work for my situation. But good to know.
 

leecreek

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Its a cut inside of the pipe inside of the tank that lets it vent out. 1/4 inch down from the top from the inside. The reason why your fuel gauge does not read full.
 

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Jim_Gruber

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Unfortunately, it is not accessible to cut a vent hole there as I'd need to cut the tank neck off in order to get to that area. I'll just keep my eye on the gas gauge.
 
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