Ed's mostly filtered rantings aside, the one thing that gives me pause is
that the beads on this particular car are near perfect. No filler
encroaching, no rust. I've seen a few others where the beads looked much
less well preserved.
I'm sure the world will be glad to have a few perfect examples of bugeyes in
future generations, but this almost certainly won't be one of them. From a
PPO pop-riveted passenger floor pan to the 'novel' cutouts in the tranny
tunnel to the spliced front frame bits, disc brakes, radiator, and
absolutely every part of the power train from the fan to the U-joint. The
dash, the steering wheel, the wheels, the wheel studs, the seats, and just
for good measure, the rear-view mirror are all non-original.
The best way to return my car to original is to sell it and buy one that is.
To me the car is as original as it can be. It was a hot rod when the PO and
I got through with it the first time in '69 and nobody was worried about
preservation at that point. Since this car has been a sh*t-hot little
monster for 31 of its 42 years, I consider it to be a period restoration
true to its past. (insert sound of sustained bi-labial fricative).
Regards,
Glen Byrns
'59 bugeye
'59 Traveller
(hey, I bet I could use wood grain shelf paper and really 'spruce' the
Traveller up!)
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/// (If they are dupes, this trailer may also catch them.)
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