I got a glimpse of this book while at the tech session at Steve McGee's
place last weekend in Sacramento. Paul A brought it along. It intrigued me
enough to want to buy a copy of my own... looked pretty good.
Gerard
At 7:44 PM -0700 6/28/00, Ron Soave wrote:
>FWIW, I recently received the latest edition of Daniel
>Stapleton's "How To Power Tune Your S/M For Road and
>Track", and I heartily recommend it. It is a nice
>complement to Vizard's "epic", and it is obvious from
>the type of information given that Stapleton regularly
>drives a Spridget on the road, and the information is
>useful for many states of tune and budget. It is less
>exhaustive than Vizard, but still contains a lot of
>information. He references Vizard's book frequently,
>and I think the combination of the two is a wise idea.
>
>
>--- Brad Fornal <toyman@digitex.net> wrote:
>> If you are willing to get the books, Tops on your
>> list should be a Bentley
>> Manual (reprints the owners manual and shop manual
>> in one) that was
>> invaluable to me when I got my first "Toy" car.
>> Second I would recommend the
>> "Original Sprite and Midget" as a reference to what
>> each series of the cars
>> had to offer and if you were to find a basket case
>> it would help with photos
>> of how some things should look and it has production
>> and chassis #'s to help
>> you determine if what you are getting is truly what
>> the current owner says
>> it is. I have heard of the I.D. plates being
>> switched from time to time. And
>> as always, remember, there are many of these cars
>> still to be found, so
>> don't panic and jump on the first one you come
>> across. See if any other
>> listers are in your area that can offer help and
>> advice on selecting a good
>> project (they are all projects, some are just closer
>> to that fabled state of
>> completion than others). Best of luck and welcome to
>> the list, Brad Fornal
>>
>> "Geoffrey P. Muttart" wrote:
>>
>> > Hi Brad & welcome from a Lurker!
>> >
>> > What part of "Eastern " Canada are you from? If
>> you're truly in the
>> > East, then you're close to me and Terry (another
>> Lister) here in Nova
>> > Scotia and you should consider joining the British
>> Automobile Touring
>> > Association of Nova Scotia (with members from all
>> of the Atlantic
>> > Provinces and beyond - see: www.BATANS.ns.ca)
>> >
>> > Spridgets are great cars to work on yourself, if
>> you're willing to learn
>> > a few new cuss words. Parts, for the most part,
>> are easy to find.
>> >
>> > Performance is in the eye of the beholder (as is
>> beauty). You'll see
>> > lots of comments in the archives about 5-speed
>> conversions, 1275 cc
>> > blocks, etc., and Bugeyes vs. later Spridgets vs.
>> Spitfidgets For me,
>> > there's nothing more beautiful than driving a
>> Bugeye with a 948 cc down
>> > a winding country road (and not much that's more
>> painful than spending a
>> > lot of time on the highway at 110 km/h but I used
>> to do it regularly).
>> > There are lots of quality books on mechanics and
>> body but this List tops
>> > them all! If you're interested in originality, I
>> suggest you get the
>> > Sprite Concours Standards.
>> >
>> > The biggest challenge you'll face, I suspect, is
>> locating a car in
>> > Canada that is relatively rust-free. The body is
>> the expensive part of
>> > maintenance, in my experience. I recommend
>> developing contacts in local
>> > Clubs to assist with finding the car that's right
>> for you.
>> >
>> > Geoff Muttart
>> > gmuttart@mtdc.ns.ca
>> > Bugeye Sprite
>> > Nova Scotia, Canada
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Brad Stevenson" <bstevenson@imagictv.com>
>> > To: "Spridgets" <spridgets@autox.team.net>
>> > Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2000 5:05 PM
>> > Subject: Looking for a little guidance
>> >
>> > > Hi all,
>> > >
>> > > I've been lurking on your group for a few days
>> now, so I thought it
>> > only
>> > > polite to introduce myself.
>> > >
>> > > My name is Brad Stevenson and I live in Eastern
>> Canada. I've been an
>> > LBC fan
>> > > ever since I was I teenager, but for reasons of
>> practicality I've
>> > never
>> > > owned one. I currently don't have a garage at my
>> house or an abundance
>> > of
>> > > extra $$, however by this time next year I plan
>> on being in a position
>> > where
>> > > I have a garage and perhaps a little extra money
>> to spend on some
>> > > non-necessities. So, for now I'm doing my
>> research to try and minimize
>> > any
>> > > huge blunders when I go to purchase my first
>> LBC.
>> > >
>> > > The things I consider to be important in a
>> little sports car would be
>> > > 1 Performance
>> > > 2 Looks
>> > > 3 Price
>> > > 4 Availability and price of parts
>> > > 5 Availability of resources (advice, tech books,
>> local mechanics, etc)
>> > >
>> > > Living where I do, there's not a lot to choose
>> from. I'm prepared to
>> > do a
>> > > little traveling to get something worth while.
>> I'm certainly not a
>> > mechanic,
>> > > but I'm not completely mechanically declined
>> either. Given a book, I
>> > can
>> > > usually learn to do anything. I would say my
>> budget to get started
>> > will be
>> > > less than $5000. This car isn't intended to be
>> my only vehicle, so
>> > down time
>> > > won't be a problem.
>> > >
>> > > Alright, so I'll just get to the questions:
>> > >
>> > > - Is this just crazy for some one of average
>> mechanic ability and who
>> > can't
>> > > afford to have a 'real' mechanic always working
>> on my vehicle?
>> > >
>> > > - I guess given the things that are important to
>> me, I'm leaning
>> > towards say
>> > > 67 - 74 MG Midget. This seems like a reasonable
>> entry level purchase,
>> > based
>> > > on what I've read so far, but I'd like to hear
>> what the voices of
>> > experience
>> > > have to say. Hopefully not "My God man, don't
>> buy one of them!"
>> > >
>> > > - Any specifics books you recommend I read over
>> the next few months?
>> > >
>> > > I picked this car because they seem reasonably
>> priced. Reasonably
>> > plentiful,
>> > > so there should be some parts around. They are a
>> damn fine looking
>> > car, and
>> > > seem to have a bit more guts than some of the
>> earlier Spridgets.
>> > >
>> > > Anyway, I'd sure appreciate any advice/words of
>> wisdom anyone might
>> > wish to
>> > > share. Also, if anyone would like to take the
>> time to give their
>> > thoughts on
>> > > a compare and contrast discussion around Midget
>> vs MGB (given the
>> > criteria
>> > > above), I'd be real interested in listening.
>> Possibly same discussion
>> > on
>> > > Spridget vs. TR6?
>> > >
>> > > All right, time to take a breath.
>> > >
>> > > Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy
>> post! I truly look
>> > forward
>> > > to hearing your comments and opinions.
>> > >
>> > > Brad
>> > >
>>
>
>
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