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Car Photo of the Day: What is that?
Yes, this is a car. Know which one?
15 thoughts on “Car Photo of the Day: What is that?”
Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite, in Old English White.
Indeed it is. =)
Woohoo! I’ve got a ’59 in my garage right now, in the middle of a refurbishment. Unmistakable headlights!
Very nice! Got any photos to share?
There are pics on my site: http://www.drooartz.com in the Tunebug section (I paid for the car with money earned playing music, hence the name).
Ah, too late. But I would have gotten it. I’ve been looking for a LBC and a bugeye is at the top of my list.
Mark…ever *driven* a Frog-faced Sprite? They are…ah….underwhelming.
And, if you’re over 5’8″ and your shoe size is greater than 8..they are a *challenge.* Not to mention some seriously squirrely handling characteristics.
Just a heads-up for ya!
Mark’s a glutton for punishment.
“Mark’s a glutton for punishment.”
So am I, to a point….;)I mean, hey, come on, I own an E-Type!
I guess I come at this from a rather jaded viewpoint, having had to work on all manner of cars over the years. I’m like you, in some regards, inasmuch as I am *unimpressed* by a car’s ‘aura,’ by dint of it being a Ferrari/Lambo/DKW/_________(fill in the blank).
I can appreciate certain cars for what they were in their era (Auburn Speedsters, say), but I’m spoiled by driving modern stuff that doesn’t leak, doesn’t break, starts, runs, stops, lather, rinse, repeat, no drama!
Drove one many years ago. Performance-wise it’s no E-Type but it does have its own unique charms. I was planning on having my feet surgically reduced 😉
I’m open to suggestions though…. I basically want a fun, simple, roadster that won’t cost a small fortune. Not looking for a basket case but don’t mind a rolling restoration.
I’ve also been looking at early TR6s (I owned a ’69 for a while). And in a similar vein but not an LBC, Datsun 1600 or 2000. Sadly, an E-Type is out of reach of the budget.
I’m 6’1″, size 13 extra wide shoes, 200#, and I fit in the Bugeye just fine — I had a TR4 before it and the Bugeye feels roomier inside. Not roomy, but roomier. 🙂 It helps that the doors are hollow shells. I put on a smaller diameter wood-rimmed steering wheel and that made a difference in knee room.
They’re definitely not fast (42hp out of 948cc) but that’s solvable. Mine will have a built up 1275 from a later Midget with around 100hp, not bad for a car the weighs around 1400#. Parts are inexpensive (and many are shared with the later Sprites and Midgets) and the car is about as basic as they come, so everything is pretty easy to work on. I choose it because I wanted a classic car on a small budget, and this had the look and charm I wanted at a price I could handle. It is a 50s car, though, so will need more attention than a new car for certain.
MGB is a nice roadster, and very reasonably priced to buy and maintain. Quite a few of my friends have TR6s, and they’re all quite fond of them
Mark, for fun and cheap, here’re a few of my suggestions, in no particular order:
-MGB: You can get a rubber bumpered one and with a small amount of work, get it to go as quickly as the more-expensive chrome bumpered version;
-TR-8; still pretty cheap, be careful of the downrated Rover gearbox, fast and fun!;
-TR-7, roadster: Much maligned, mostly wrongly, cheap, handles like a fiend, and it doesn’t rattle;
-Alfa Spyder: Not at all fast, but an enjoyable ride. Early examples can be rusty so stick with ’85s and onwards;
-TR-4: My *all-time* fave LBC. More leg room than a TR-6, built like a truck, rides like a truck, durable as their tractor heritage;
-Datsun 1600 roadster: Stay FAAAAR away from the 2 liters, they’re fast, so long as they don’t break, which is often! The 1600 handles as well, looks exactly the same, far more reliable, and affordable. Major drawback? Replacementp parts, especially the tin-wormy body panels are nicht, zilch, zip, nada, GONE.
As for this comment: “I’m 6′1″, size 13 extra wide shoes, 200#, and I fit in the Bugeye just fine.”
“fit AND fine” aren’t at all believable! Fit, yes; comfy, NFW. Although they can be hotted up and disc-braked, they STILL handle awful. I’d even go a Spridget before a Frog-face!
Thanks for the suggestions…. I’m 6’2″, 210lbs, Size 14AA skis, er, feet. I know I fit in a TR6 comfortably.
I found the foot room in the E-Type a bit cramped, especially between throttle and brake. WIth different shoes it could be a bit better. Fitting into an E-Type is a problem I wish I had 🙂
I know I don’t fit in an Alfa well at all.
Thanks for the Datsun 2000 advice.
I’ll keep looking around (which is at least haf the fun)
vroomie, we’ll have to respectfully disagree on our opinion of the Bugeye — no problem there, that’s why they make lots of different cars for us to play with. Something for everyone! 🙂
I sorta share your pain: 12EE and long legs. (The fat stomach isn’t too big a worry, since it just *squooshes* around things; when I drive Tweety [drove, since any *real* driving was before 1983….sigh], I wear size 11 climbing shoes (chuck wasn’t the first with the idea!). I can’t walk in them very well, so keep a real pair of shoes in the car. It makes me able to do all the fancy schmancy clutch work one needs to do with a Moss gearbox!
You don’t fit in an Alfa Spyder? Well, there is such a thing as differing proportions in body types (which my be the reason drooartz can claim a fit in a frogface) but I fit quite well in a Spyder.
Try a TR-4 (non-IRS); they’re roomier than a TR-6 precisely because of the solid rear axle, and they run juust nearly as fast. With a well-working 7-speeder in them (OD on the top three cogs) they are a BLAST to drive!
Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite, in Old English White.
Indeed it is. =)
Woohoo! I’ve got a ’59 in my garage right now, in the middle of a refurbishment. Unmistakable headlights!
Very nice! Got any photos to share?
There are pics on my site: http://www.drooartz.com in the Tunebug section (I paid for the car with money earned playing music, hence the name).
Ah, too late. But I would have gotten it. I’ve been looking for a LBC and a bugeye is at the top of my list.
Mark…ever *driven* a Frog-faced Sprite? They are…ah….underwhelming.
And, if you’re over 5’8″ and your shoe size is greater than 8..they are a *challenge.* Not to mention some seriously squirrely handling characteristics.
Just a heads-up for ya!
Mark’s a glutton for punishment.
“Mark’s a glutton for punishment.”
So am I, to a point….;)I mean, hey, come on, I own an E-Type!
I guess I come at this from a rather jaded viewpoint, having had to work on all manner of cars over the years. I’m like you, in some regards, inasmuch as I am *unimpressed* by a car’s ‘aura,’ by dint of it being a Ferrari/Lambo/DKW/_________(fill in the blank).
I can appreciate certain cars for what they were in their era (Auburn Speedsters, say), but I’m spoiled by driving modern stuff that doesn’t leak, doesn’t break, starts, runs, stops, lather, rinse, repeat, no drama!
Drove one many years ago. Performance-wise it’s no E-Type but it does have its own unique charms. I was planning on having my feet surgically reduced 😉
I’m open to suggestions though…. I basically want a fun, simple, roadster that won’t cost a small fortune. Not looking for a basket case but don’t mind a rolling restoration.
I’ve also been looking at early TR6s (I owned a ’69 for a while). And in a similar vein but not an LBC, Datsun 1600 or 2000. Sadly, an E-Type is out of reach of the budget.
I’m 6’1″, size 13 extra wide shoes, 200#, and I fit in the Bugeye just fine — I had a TR4 before it and the Bugeye feels roomier inside. Not roomy, but roomier. 🙂 It helps that the doors are hollow shells. I put on a smaller diameter wood-rimmed steering wheel and that made a difference in knee room.
They’re definitely not fast (42hp out of 948cc) but that’s solvable. Mine will have a built up 1275 from a later Midget with around 100hp, not bad for a car the weighs around 1400#. Parts are inexpensive (and many are shared with the later Sprites and Midgets) and the car is about as basic as they come, so everything is pretty easy to work on. I choose it because I wanted a classic car on a small budget, and this had the look and charm I wanted at a price I could handle. It is a 50s car, though, so will need more attention than a new car for certain.
MGB is a nice roadster, and very reasonably priced to buy and maintain. Quite a few of my friends have TR6s, and they’re all quite fond of them
Mark, for fun and cheap, here’re a few of my suggestions, in no particular order:
-MGB: You can get a rubber bumpered one and with a small amount of work, get it to go as quickly as the more-expensive chrome bumpered version;
-TR-8; still pretty cheap, be careful of the downrated Rover gearbox, fast and fun!;
-TR-7, roadster: Much maligned, mostly wrongly, cheap, handles like a fiend, and it doesn’t rattle;
-Alfa Spyder: Not at all fast, but an enjoyable ride. Early examples can be rusty so stick with ’85s and onwards;
-TR-4: My *all-time* fave LBC. More leg room than a TR-6, built like a truck, rides like a truck, durable as their tractor heritage;
-Datsun 1600 roadster: Stay FAAAAR away from the 2 liters, they’re fast, so long as they don’t break, which is often! The 1600 handles as well, looks exactly the same, far more reliable, and affordable. Major drawback? Replacementp parts, especially the tin-wormy body panels are nicht, zilch, zip, nada, GONE.
As for this comment: “I’m 6′1″, size 13 extra wide shoes, 200#, and I fit in the Bugeye just fine.”
“fit AND fine” aren’t at all believable! Fit, yes; comfy, NFW. Although they can be hotted up and disc-braked, they STILL handle awful. I’d even go a Spridget before a Frog-face!
Thanks for the suggestions…. I’m 6’2″, 210lbs, Size 14AA skis, er, feet. I know I fit in a TR6 comfortably.
I found the foot room in the E-Type a bit cramped, especially between throttle and brake. WIth different shoes it could be a bit better. Fitting into an E-Type is a problem I wish I had 🙂
I know I don’t fit in an Alfa well at all.
Thanks for the Datsun 2000 advice.
I’ll keep looking around (which is at least haf the fun)
vroomie, we’ll have to respectfully disagree on our opinion of the Bugeye — no problem there, that’s why they make lots of different cars for us to play with. Something for everyone! 🙂
I sorta share your pain: 12EE and long legs. (The fat stomach isn’t too big a worry, since it just *squooshes* around things; when I drive Tweety [drove, since any *real* driving was before 1983….sigh], I wear size 11 climbing shoes (chuck wasn’t the first with the idea!). I can’t walk in them very well, so keep a real pair of shoes in the car. It makes me able to do all the fancy schmancy clutch work one needs to do with a Moss gearbox!
You don’t fit in an Alfa Spyder? Well, there is such a thing as differing proportions in body types (which my be the reason drooartz can claim a fit in a frogface) but I fit quite well in a Spyder.
Try a TR-4 (non-IRS); they’re roomier than a TR-6 precisely because of the solid rear axle, and they run juust nearly as fast. With a well-working 7-speeder in them (OD on the top three cogs) they are a BLAST to drive!