On Mon, 7 Apr 1997, Christopher Albers wrote:
> you're right, there has been some flaming going here as of late
> (i.e., the guy who asked for all that free stuff). But in my view the
> current exchange regarding original vs. modified is mild and has not
> quite reached the point of flaming. I can definately see merit in both
> positions. I have chosen to ride the fence, making my only visible
I also see both sides of this. If someone proposes dropping a V8 into an
Alpine, it's logical to ask why they don't just buy a Tiger instead. On
the other hand, one can sometimes eliminate a serious flaw with a few
suitable mods, and that may be well worth doing.
A case in point is my bugeye with a tuned original engine. It is a joy to
drive, until one has to take it on the highway. Droning for miles at 4000
rpm is no fun. So I rarely do it, depriving myself of a lot of pleasure.
Four speeds are just not enough with an engine smaller than a liter. If I
were to replace the 4 speed with a Datsun 5 speed, the car would be
transformed on the highway, and even more fun on country roads.
It takes a perverse dedication to originality to want to preserve serious
flaws that can be easily and reversibly eliminated. A Datsun engine in
the Sprite would be going too far (...I think...) but if Donald Healey had
tried to drive a bugeye on US interstates, I bet he'd have stuck in a 5
speed.
I am already wondering about my Series V without OD... Does anyone know
of a good 5 speed conversion for it?
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons(at)northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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