I'm fresh back from a week of vacation in the high Sierra and my wife was
kind enough to drive the kids up in the van while I drove the bugeye. I put
400 miles on it over the week, driving up and down Hwy.49, Yuba Pass, Gold
Lake, Sierra Buttes lookout, etc. On the way up I saw two MGBs and a TR7
caravaning down 49. Honks and waves. On the way down I passed another MGB
on the way up. More honks and waves.
Most of the time was spent at or above 5000 feet. The mixture seemed a bit
rich by the time I reached 5000 feet, and two flats lean on the carb put it
right for the week. The turbo was a great asset. The motor pulled strongly
up fairly steep grades in fourth gear with 2lbs of boost showing on the
guage. Other than the gassy smell and crackling pop of the exhaust when
coming down long descents, the performance was excellent. Thank goodness
I'm exempt from smog controls as I imagine the hydrocarbons must skyrocket
on the shut-down, gear-braking descents. The oversize aluminum radiator I
fitted just before I left was a blessing. Absolutely no overheating no
matter how hot the day or how long the climb.
I got the expected ton of comments and looks, including a long and detailed
history of the resort owner's past English cars. We've been staying at this
lake resort for 12 years and the owner is reknowned for being tight-lipped.
Suddenly we're brothers under the hood, and he went on about his long lost
big Healey and his beloved Fiat 124. The looks on the faces of the hikers
at the Long Lake trailhead when I pulled up with my 11 year old and her best
friend double belted in the passenger seat to go hiking were priceless.
The 5-speed made it possible, as I couldn't imagine being tolerated in the
Interstate 80 traffic at the 60 or so miles per hour the 4-speed would
reasonably allow. Most of the way back from Grass Valley on, was at 70+
mph. Its going to be hard to do without the thrill of the bugeye while I
take it apart this winter to paint it, but the week in the Sierra will not
soon be forgotten.
(No, I still haven't had a chance to fit the 1.5" carb to the turbo, so no
test results yet.)
Best regards to the list
Glen Byrns
59 Bugeye
|