Here's my story about an (almost) 30-year
relationship with one particular Sprite.
I bought this car in 1979 while I was a senior in High
School. Back then, it barely ran and was finished in gray primer. Since then, I have
replaced just about every part on the car (some have now been replaced a second time).
I’ve taken the engine out three times, most recently installing a rebuilt 1275
engine from another car. The stock engine was just 948 cc. That’s tiny.
It’s such a simple car to work on that it only took
me a day to remove and replace the engine last time. Other projects are not so simple;
I recently rebuilt the brake calipers. That was a messy job that squirted brake fluid
everywhere and required lots of new little springy pieces, which periodically shot
around the shop. This was necessary because the brakes were seizing. The
caliper seals were old and
corroded so the brakes would work and not stop working! The pads would smoke, the
engine would labor and finally, on my way to my hospice volunteer course one night,
the car would barely roll. So I parked it in front of someone’s house, put out my
thumb and got a ride from the first car to pass.
Although I sometimes arrive at my destination with
dirty fingernails, this is all part of the “fun” of owning an old British car.
Weather protection is almost useless so I generally use
it with the top down, like a little open cockpit biplane. It’s windy and sometimes
cold but I am always in touch with my surroundings and completely available to notice
any adventures in my path. In the Bugeye, you do not cruise down the highway insulated
in a sealed climate controlled cabin. There is no radio, no cruise control and
certainly no GPS. In the Bugeye, you spend your time driving. You listen to the sounds
of the engine (and for the sound of parts breaking or falling off) You focus on the
surrounding traffic (lest you get squashed) and you actually stop to ask people for
directions.
Weather protection is a relative term.
Although I often drive the Bugeye on the highway at 60
MPH, comfortable top speed is about 45 MPH, ideal for motoring down back roads, with
little between you and the adventures lurking on the roadside. As such, you actually
stop in front of a house with an unusual array of lawn ornaments, to compliment the
owner. You pull into an apple orchard to taste the fresh cider. You stop at a roadside
rest and actually take a rest, so you can perhaps notice the particular way the trees
are in bloom... or shedding their leaves. Stopping seems easier the Bugeye than in the
seductive cocoon of a modern car, in which the urge to stop for an adventure can be
all too easily dismissed in favor of proceeding to the destination.
The Bugeye is not my only car but I try to use it as
much as I can. I have driven the car about 5,000 miles in the past year, which is more
than I drove it in the last ten. In the summer of 2001, I replaced the engine, top,
and side curtains, to make the car useable year round, unless it’s raining or there’s
snow on the ground.
That summer I also repaired the one speed heater
blower. Peter Egan, one of my favorite automotive writers, once said that the heater
on his Lotus produced the heat of a hamster blowing through a straw. Now, with my one
speed fan on “ON,” I have heat that would rival a panting raccoon.
This car is my everyday adventure-mobile.
I'm a career and life coach and I specialize in helping people bring more
vitality into their lives. I help people find joy. I help people design
fulfilling careers that make a lasting difference. I help people extract
themselves from the soul killing work that is rampant in our culture. The
Bugeye is the ultimate envoy for this message. It's a car that says that
life is meant to be lived. It is the antithesis of the Toyota Camry. It is a
car that invites people to come out and play. (For
more information about my coaching services, click here)
It’s so cute and so non-threatening that people of all
ages are drawn to inquire, “what is that?” It’s almost impossible to park it
without having a conversation with people nearby. It encourages people to share
passionate stories about their past. It makes people smile. It seems to open up the
possibility of people actually relating to one another in front of parking meters, in
bank drive-thrus and in shopping center parking lots. This car facilitates
relationship adventures. That’s why I love the Bugeye.
It wasn’t always this way. I’ve owned this car
since 1979. It never used to be such a novelty. But in the last ten years in
particular, we seem to have become insulated in big cars that all look somewhat the
same. Along comes the Bugeye with its smiling face and something wonderful happens.
People seem to open up and become human once again.
A simple visit to the gas station (to fill up the
7.2-gallon tank) continually draws baby boomers off the main drag, to pay a visit and
tell of childhood memories in Dad's first sports car in the 50s or 60s. On the
highway, most overtaking drivers slow down and peer over their right shoulders with a
smile and a “thumbs up” for the little Bugeye and the possibility that a mundane
drive to town could be such an adventure. Children universally acknowledge the Bugeye
with a giggle.
Vital Stats:
This car is # 14,908 of about 50,000 Bugeyes
manufactured in England between 1958-1961. In 1962, it was replaced by the Sprite Mark
2, which was nearly the same car but lacked the distinctive frog headlights and as
such was not nearly as popular. Austin Healey went out of business in 1967.
Sprite Mark IVs were still imported into the US until 1969 and I am told
there were also Sprite Mark IVs available in England until 1971.
This particular car has a 1275 cc 65 horse power engine, 2 seats, a
marginal top that barely keeps out the rain, one speed non parking windshield wipers and plastic
side curtains. I've also upgraded the front brakes to disks and added an
anti roll bar in the front, both from a later MG Midget.
The Bugeye was marketed as the poor man's sports car and cost just $1795 in
1958. Roll up windows and a radio would have pushed the price of the car out of reach
of the target market, although an AM radio was optional. The cute little headlights
were originally designed to be of the "pop up" variety, but because they
couldn't afford the tooling, Austin Healey was forced to simply stick the headlights
on the front of the car, and this is how the Bugeye was born.
The current value of this car is about $12,000. I
bought this one in 1979 for $1100. You can buy a decent Bugeye for about
$8000 and a
restored one for about 12,000-$20,000. A decent later model AH sprite without the
bugeye nose can be bought for about $5,000-$10,000.
British sports cars are really easy to maintain. With a
good manual and set of tools, anyone can learn to fix them, although I wouldn’t
recommend an old British car unless you like to get your hands dirty. A lot.
Gas mileage is about 32 MPG (better with the
original 948 cc engine). Range is about 200 miles.
Parts are readily available and relatively inexpensive. A water pump, for example, is
only $26. A brake disk, $28. The Bugeye shares many parts with later Sprites and the
MG Midget. There are several good catalog companies who stock almost every piece of
these cars. Other parts are available used, from wrecks.
