Thinking of buying a project car with a smaller engine than my XS

[Bergman16]

There's a 59 Bugeye sitting in parts near my brother's house. 948 cc. The opposite of bulletproof Japanese engineering, but I love those things.

Wife would blow a gasket (just like all Austins are wont to do, come to think of it).

It would sit in a pile until I retired in 10 years.

[mrhammer2u]

Don't you have a hard enough time with space working on the XS? She might make you sleep in it.

I might be thinking of another XS'er in Harlem...

[Bergman16]

Ha, no, it would sit at my brothers house in Peachtree City for many years until I retire and move out of this paradise. Kurt could put it together for me!

[Gmac]

Think no A/C

In the land of heat and humidity A/C is king.
That and having a ride harsher than a poorly sprung XS...

The cool factor is pretty high though.

[TopCatGr58]

What a Bug Eye Looks Like

I had to google it to refresh my memory, I had seen them but didn't remember that they were called that!



T.C.

[Bergman16]

And I'm 6'3". They make no sense at all.

Folks do race them still.

[MaximPhil]

Hi Bergman16,
The Bugeye or Frogeye as the Brits call them is a real gem.
Well worth saving. while some have retained the all original purity many have done fairly extensive modifications. A few years ago I rode along with a friend in his ( hell of a time squeezing 6'2'' in ) with 1275cc motor trying to catch a Dutch guy in an 850cc in the countryside around Le Mans. What a blast.
Phil

[natemoen]

My dad had one when he was young and hated that thing like no other! Complains constantly about how he was always having to fix this or that. Couldn't get parts, always had to special order things from England, blah blah, blah....



Then again he is always trying to buy one again.

[Bergman16]

I've had two spridgets (not a bugeye) and aftermarket parts are much easier now I'm told. The crazy lever shocks used to be $275 each rebuilt. Now folks are making those and other things like hydraulics, radiators, etc.

I spent two years as a military brat in England in the early sixties and never lost my love for crappy brit cars. It's a sickness but a fun one.