Hey y'al,
The Sprite was picked up a week or so ago from its winter resting place, the
PPP (Peter the Parts Pimp) Sprite Shelter, where it sat safe and warm next
to GiftSprite. My brother Don was in FL this week, so I had an opportunity
to work in his heated (with a lift too!) garage. I completed the Paul A rear
main seal fix, and finished assembling the short block. Tutone Terry Heffron
came over yesterday, and we worked on the interior.
My goal for this MKIII Sprite is to make it a comfortable road car. It has a
'67 1275 (nitrided crank) with an rally cam, Weber, header, etc. I have a
factory hardtop. I think I have a 3.9 with a Quaife lined up for it. The
interior kit was purchased years ago from VB... and it appears after laying
it all out, they sent me a MKII kit instead of a MKIII. Way too late to
return that, so, with a few modifications, it's gonna work
Two of the biggests tasks in making a street Sprite more comfortable are
dealing with sound/heat and seating postition. I drove the Bishop to Texas
Healey Roundup and back over a weekend one year (I live an hour north of
Chicago), so that 34 hour round trip taught me a painful lesson about
seating position. I'd run a Cobra Classic in the Red Rat, and was very
pleased with its comfort. Since this car will be run in all weather except
for when salt is on the roads, it's likely to have a top on for a few months
on either side of summer around here, I needed to choose a seat that's
comfortable, yet allows my 6'1" 215 lardass in with a top on. I've decided
to go with the Cobra Cub. Mini Mania sell these... very reasonable, and well
made.
The sound/heat challenge is requiring some improvisation. A Sprite body had
a tendancey to "drum". The mechanicals are plenty loud, and, especially with
a hardtop on, road noise becomes a "din". We've used a foil backed bubble
wrap insulation sold in home supply stores as heat/sound insulation. Since
this solution is still "unproven", and I'd like the opportunity to easily
reverse this if its unsuccessful, the insulation was "attached" with a hot
glue gun in all areas except the floors. 3m trim adhesive sticks really
well, but is a total pain in the ass if you need to remove it... so we went
with the hot glue gun. A couple of times I had the pleasure of experiencing
just how hot these things get after being plugged in for hours, and, in an
effort to remove some of the burning hot glue from my skin, the skin came
off we it. No pain, no gain I suppose.
We left the floor "unglued" so the insulation and carpet can be removed to
dry the car out after getting caught in the rain someday. All interior
surfaces... footwells, trans tunnel, rear bulkhead, rear wheelwells, etc.
got insulated, then the carpet was attached to the insulation. Before the
carpet went in, it looked like the space shuttle with all that foil. We took
a flat black spray paint, and sprayed all the foil areas likey to be seen in
the seams of the carpet, or in areas not covered by interior trim.
I hope to have the tranny rebuilt by mid-week, and the engine in by next
weekend and ready for a test fire. Hopefully the rear main kit will cure the
majority of the common A series oil leaks. I need to lower the car, and
mount the sway bar. We'd put a new wiring harness in at PPP's, so the
electrical issues should be a minimum. I'm surveying any additional parts
that need ordering. One thing that seems to be an issue is the windshield to
body seal? Anyone successfully put one of these on? It seems to want to jump
out of the channel as you slide it in. Also, the profile of the seal would
seem to need tobe stretched in some odd ways to form the body seal. Any
hints, or sources for a seal known to be 100% correct and installable.
One thing I'm going to need is a handbrake assembley with decent chrome...
anyone got one they want to part with?
Well, I'm off to the garage to resume my search for other parts that have
tried to escape re-assembley by hiding in my completely organized parts
section. (Hah... my garage looks like an automotive flea market blew up).
WST
Flounder
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