Tom:
Well, it's obvious that you have but one course of action to maintain
marital bliss. You need to quickly sell the Bugeye and buy a modern car
with all the safety features, like a M***a. In hopes of sparing you
additional delays in making your wife happy, I'll be glad to take that
dangerous old car off your hands:-) Then again, you might want to remind
her you had the Sprite first!
It's true that Spridgets do not come close to today's safety standards.
However, neither do most of my cars, including my daily drivers. In my
opinion, they're plenty safe enough! I would think the lack of
energy-absorbing bumpers and "crumple zones" would be of more importance
than a steering column, though I would strongly recommend seat belts.
I detest Government-mandated safety features on cars. I think I should
have the choice to drive a new car designed like a Sprite, as long as
I'm aware of the lack of safety features! I kind of see this as akin to
riding a motorcyle, which has remained legal while sports cars have
gotten heavier and heavier!
My Corvair has one of the most dangerously designed steering columns
I've ever seen (and Nader didn't even mention that!) The steering box is
in front of the front crossmember! This means there's nothing but
sheetmetal between the box and whatever you're plowing into! The column
is a straight shot to the wheel. By 1967, the column was collapsible,
but many racers found the easier way was to change the steering shaft
geometry slightly and install a universal joint from another car. As
long as the shaft is not completely straight, the universal will work to
displace the movement and keep the wheel from moving straight back. And
thats the goal!
(Oh, even though I was joking about getting rid of the car, it sounds
_exactly_ like what I'm looking for. So... if you do decide to do
something rash, please let me know!)
Bill Elliott
Lake Mills, WI
Tom Zuchowski wrote:
>
> I am well on my way to getting my Bugeye back on the road after 9 years in
> the garage. But an totally unexpected problem has arisen.
>
> My wife of 5 years was very supportive of the idea of getting it running
> again until she realized that the steering column doesn't collapse, nor are
> there seat belts. Now I'm running into domestic trouble that I'd sooner
> avoid.
>
> I admit that I wouldn't mind having a collapsing steering column. Does
> anyone have any good info on adapting a collapsible steering column from
> another car?
>
> My Bugeye was raced many years ago and has 1275 engine, disk brakes, and
> home-brew wiring harness. It is obviously not even remotely original and
> would not suffer from the modification.
>
> Thanks for your advice.
>
> Tom Zuchowski
> '61 Bugeye
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