Just wanted to add my thanks to everyone at Sprite Spree for another
wonderful time. It was great to see old friends, meet new ones and put some
faces
and cars to list names. Thanks to Rick, Cindy, and all the other folks who
made this possible. My bugeye (the cherry red/white hardtop with Lucas roof
lamp in Larry's movie) survived the 500 mile trip each way, despite its 948
engine with 4:55 gears running at 5500 rpm all the way. The car was built as a
replica of the '59 Sebring cars, one of which was driven from Sebring to
California after the race. Those guys were tough! My co-driver, Bill Wood,
took the
Sprite back to Massachusetts, while I rented a Buick Century (Harley Earl is
my co-pilot) to attend my son Brian's graduation at St.Joe's Univ. in Philly.
We loaded up his belongings in his $1,000 '89 Jetta for the trip home and 20
miles out of Philly on the PA Tpk, I watched as the Jetta lunched it's engine
in a cloud of blue smoke. We bade the Jetta (Pittsburgh Edition?) a fond
farewell as several quarts of oil poured out of the block onto the flatbed.
Fortunately, the Century had enough room for all the college detritus,
including
Brian, and we made it back home uneventfully.
On to the Golden Anniversary Sprite. This is in the daydream stage, but
I've admired the Sprinzel fastback Sprites since I first saw them. I've been
looking over the Archer's Garage conversion and am thinking of going in this
direction with my next project. I'm imagining a sort of ultimate road Sprite.
I'd like to do the conversion on a box Sprite. (Daniel, do you know if the
Archer fastback top and bugeye rear can be installed on the later cars?) After
having Frank tear past me one night on the highway back to the hotel, I won't
be satisfied until I have an ungodly amount of power. I'm thinking Mazda
rotary, 5 spd, and RX7 rear axle. Might even go with a modern heater/air
conditioning system while I'm day dreaming. I know we've got a couple of
Ro-Spridget
guys on the list and I'm looking for some input on suspension, wheel and tire
suggestions to pull this off that would make this a comfortable (relatively)
and good handling ride with the ability to put the power to the ground without
outrageous fender flairing.
If I do this, I'd hope to have it done by the 50th anniversary. I've
even thought about the color (Healey Golden Metallic Beige (natch) with a red
interior). Anyone who wants to share the daydream or offer some helpful
suggestions, please reply.
Happy Healeying
Rick Neville
Rowley, MA
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