At this same time I’d finally taken the new windshield glass and rubber and frame to local glass shop as recommended by the local British parts supplier. Synonym of “quick” used in their business name. Not really I’d guess, or at least not quick on Bugeye windshield installations. They had it 2.5 weeks. I figured it’d really take the guy ~15 minutes but silly me.
Pull the engine Friday night. Do some cleanup, split it in the morning, buddy comes by to observe removal and installation of the clutch. He has to do one shortly on his B. I volunteer to assist when the time comes. Once the old clutch was removed it was obvious why it was slipping. The springs are so worn there is hardly any pressure on the disk when engaged. New one should enable me to put all 50 bhp (give or take) to work climbing Sylvan Hill now. Yeah. While the engine is out I’m able to identify one of the many oil leaks that is actually fixable. I order a couple of parts for that. Drop the whole thing back in and button it up.
While the engine was out I took advantage of having the distributor on the bench to replace the vacuum advance, points and condenser. Now, the dumb part…I’ve been there before, when I was ~16 years old and didn’t understand ignition systems very well. You’d think I didn’t learn my lesson. When I was 16 I replaced the points during routine tune up. Put the little nylon washer on the points mounting pin in the wrong location and ended up grounding the points to the distributor. Engine wouldn’t start. Thought I’d killed it for good. My dad came to my rescue and helped me get it figured out and running again. Good things, dads, just there to help you when you’re 16 and really need them. Anyway, after installing the renewed distributor in the car, and w/new needles and seats there’s fuel in the float bowls. The car won’t start. No spark. I’m deflated again. It should start. Dang, I’m frustrated. A very good friend who once owned a B that he built to 200 bhp and is an SU wizard drops by to help. We run thru the usual trouble-shooting process. I tell him about my experience at age 16 with points and a little nylon washer. He thinks I have the generator low voltage lead and the distributor / coil little wire switched. So, we switch them. Car still doesn’t run. We switch the wires back. Pull the distributor to look at the points. I see the little nylon washer is in the wrong place. Fix that and have the distibutor in the car and the engine is started in minutes. Yiipppeee!!! I’m feeling much better. He spends a few minutes and tunes the carbs w/Unisyn given my by good friend Jeff Butts. Very generous good friend, that is. Engine is running as crisply as I ever remember it.
That evening between rain storms I take my 7-year old son Micah out for a ride in the neighborhood. It’s running great and even has a little spring in its step. Sure is windy though with out a windshield. Reminds me of riding a motorcycle, though I figure if we get pulled over w/o a windshield we’re toast so head home with smiles on our faces.
The next week the “quick” glass shop calls to say the glass is in the frame. They had to “bone it in” for some reason. The installer had all sorts of carefully chosen words to describe it. Figure if I ever break it again I’ll just drive it that way. Same advice for other Spridget drivers. They only charge me $100 for the work so I figure I’m in good shape and will be driving that night. Silly me. Now I’m paranoid about breaking the windshield before I can get it installed. Then I have these two pieces of rubber the local shop sold me and I figure they combine to form the windshield to body seal. I spend a lot of time looking at them, and the frame, and the bulkhead mounting location, and the old one which I saved though it was disintegrating to dust. Can’t quite make sense how they work together. Turns out the 2nd piece must not even go to my car. The first piece was all that’s needed. I didn’t realize that until after it was installed.
The piece of rubber runs the length of the frame and is supposed to be held in place by a slotted / groove sort of thing. I casually try and fit it in with my bare hands. HAHAHAHAHA. My SU friend helps we work on sliding it in from the end. We even open the slot a bit with the Dremel but can get only ~2 inches slid in until we’re applying as much force as we’re capable of generating and getting nowhere. And, that brings out my paranoia about breaking the glass before it ever gets a chance to get a flying rock chip. I go to the SpriteSpot web site and post a question in the Bugeye forum section. Get four hits in two days. Three people of done it and they tell me how. Liquid hand soap to lube, blunt screw driver to force it in, work your way along a ¼” at a time. Yeah, right. I can’t get any of it in and it won’t stay in when I do. It is just way too tight. Don’t know if the part is wrong or if the original British workers were just very skilled at doing this. I get a razor blade and trim it slightly to create a higher chance of it fitting and staying. Then, I work for 2 and a half hours 1/8th inch at a time, get my wife to hold the frame when I get to the ends. That includes getting it over half way installed before I figure out it’s backwards. Pull it out and start over. Finally, it’s done. And it looks great. I don’t need that second piece of rubber they sold me. No idea what it goes to. I install the windshield on the car and take my 11-year old daughter McKenzie for a drive. Wow, this is great. No clutch slippage. Probably somewhere between 50 and 55 bhp, and I can use all of it. Car has a real spring it’s step, well, for a 948 cc Bugeye that is. Good Friday evening, late. Done.
Well, it’s rained pretty much ever since so it hasn’t been out. Nearly drove today but was 42oF and I didn’t want to subject my carpool buddy to that. So, maybe next week. Anyway, it’s running strong and should be good for the Summer w/o any major more crud. Of course there’s always the unforeseen. I’m waiting for those copper washers to fix the oil leak, and for preventative measures ordered a new rear brake flex hose to replace the one that’s been on the car since new and is looking suspect. That should be an easy fix followed by bleeding the brakes. I hope.