I'm happy to report that Bugsy is almost back on the
road again after having a transplant of a steering
rack, lower A-Arms, Kingpin, and Spindle plus getting
new front springs and a pair of Peter C's rebuilt
front shocks. Driver's side is complete and all parts
and pieces have been successfully removed from the
passenger side, wire brushed, painted and ready to go
whenever I can find 2-3 hours of spare time this week.
Anyone contemplating replacing fulcrum pins all I can
say is good luck. Pulling the complete lower A-Arm is
a total PITA and just about the dirtiest job I ever
attempted on Bugsy. Wish I had a sandblasting cabinet
but a wire brush in the drill press cleaned up most of
the really dirty stuff.
Pulling the A-Arm bolts where they connect to the
frame can be either a real PITA and you face a
significant risk of damaging the mounting points if
you don't have the proper tool to do the job. Haynes
Spridget Restoration Manual recommends using a small
wedge type ball joint splitter and I concur on this
one. I was able to use a large heavy screwdriver to
move the bolt slightly or either bent the mounting
point slightly, don't know really which one happened
but it was enough of an opening that I could drive in
the ball joint splitter in there and with sufficient
leverage and the proper tool the bolts pulled free.
Lots of advance lubrication with Liquid Wrench is
recommended.
I'm anxious to get this job finished so I can finally
get away from solving mechanical problems, still need
to do rear shocks, and on to bodywork and new paint.
After all this is a LBC. What would one be without
mechanical problems but now I think I can go down the
road with confidence in the handling of Bugsy and know
that one wheel or the other isn't going to be falling
off due to excessive fulcrum pin wear. Driver's side
was really getting to be that bad and was the source
of major shake, rattle, and roll, every time I hit a
bump with the front wheels.
My advice to anyone thinking about embarking on a
restoration quest after 11 months so far with Bugsy.
1) Get a manual, Haynes Spridget Restoration Manual is
a great text with lots of useful stuff including major
parts devoted to retoring rusted out sections of the
Spridget. Lots of tips on welding in new panels.
2) # 1 comfort and performance upgrade - REPLACE the
webbing on the driver's seat cushion bottom. You can't
believe how much a $16.95 part will make in your
driving comfort.
3) # 2 comfort and performance upgrade - REPLACE Front
Shocks with a pair of Peter C's rebuilt units. I can't
believe the difference in driveability and handling
that just replacing the front shocks gave me. When I
first got Bugsy anytime driving at any speed over 50
mph felt like I was absolutely floating along ready to
go airborne. Shakes, bumps, and rattles were magnified
and I had no confidence in my ability to drive this
car in any type of aggressive way. Buy new or rebuilt
front shocks.
After that it's all cosmetic or mechanical mysteries
or electrical puzzles to solve. Get out and drive with
the top down, crank up the tunes(new Beach Boys 20
Vibrations Greatest Hits CD brings back some fond
memories), and go have fun.
=====
Jim Gruber
Bugsy '68 Sprite (future Bugeye in disguise)
Dayton, OH
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