Spridgefits:
to add another data point - i'm 6' and 250+ (once you hit an eighth
ton, you sort of quit counting), and i fit in a spridget
just fine. who needs room for your left arm? you mean you actually
roll up the windows? geez, some people. come to think of it, i have
noticed some interference with my right knee on spridgets with consoles.
Reliant Robins:
there's one living in San Jose about 8 blocks from
my house - belongs to the father of a friend of mine. This is a real
museum - 3 or four derelict Isettas, a lovely half-covered
Morgan 3-wheeler, a 50-something BSA, a gorgeous yellow Triumph sidecar
racing bike, a Morgan 4/4, .. and that's not to mention my friend's
Riley Elf (Mini with a trunk & funky front end) which is being restored
to 'S' specs. _fabulous_.
SF#1 - i want to be there when the 12A goes in! pant pant drool.
Progess on the Albatross - Russel, keeper of my old yellow '69 Sprite,
and lurker on this very list, was up from San Diego last weekend, and
we got a total of about 4 hours work done on the bugeye. we did manage
to get my new MiniSpares 45DCOE manifold & linkage sorted out, which I
have been agonizing over for some time now. we also got about halfway
through to very belated water pump replacement on Peace, my '66 sprite.
thanks to whoever posted the hints about bourdon tube removal a couple
weeks ago - the slit socket was a brilliant idea. in my case, it ripped
the fitting clean off the radiator, and we had to cut it off, but a lovely
concept nonetheless. luckily, i have a spare downflow, so we should be
back in business shortly. I, however, did spend most of Thanksgiving
weekend working on the bugeye, and we may actually be driving in January!
yow! stay tuned.. the biggest decision i have
left to make (that i know of now) is the exhaust system. i've got
an LCB (not the monster), and i was planning to use an RC40 tailbox for
a muffler, but Vizard's 2nd edition mentions Cyclone Sonic Turbo mufflers
as a cheap and very effective solution. anybody tried these? i've found
a place in Mountain View that can get 'em, and i may even order one today.
Smoothcase gearbox newsflash: Russel and i were crusing the EPA (that's
East Palo Alto, not Environmental Protection Agency, for you non-SFBA
people) junkyards, ostensibly looking for his old Minor. Said Minor had
been deposited in one of these junkyards 5ish years ago, with a good
ribcase tranny in the boot. Since Russel's (late my) Sprite's gearbox
is down to the knee on it's last leg, a nice ribcase would be, shall we say,
useful. No luck on the Minor, but we did find what appears to be a
reasonably solid smoothcase (out of a '63 sprite, according to the paint on
the box). It shifted smoothly, and the bearings felt decent. the guy said
$150. Sounds like a deal to me. In fact, we probably should have taken it
home, but i'm already one rebuilt ribase ahead in the transmission game,
and russel didn't want to check it back to SD. go for it. last yard along.
On cleaning electrical stuff:
There was a post a while back from someone wondering what solvent to use to
clean out a wiper motor. I swear by that evil ozone-depleting (no doubt)
electric contact cleaner made by several people. it seems to be identical
to the brake cleaning stuff, and in fact some brands say they'll do both.
excellent solvent, and leaves no residue.
Whoops, gotta run - lunchtime!
hans
have fun
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