Pinion seals, (like everything else in our world), leak.
We change a lot of them. And while the $2.49 seal this is often a great solution (click here if you need one), we all need to be very aware that there is often more to the story. The seal is only part of the battle. What rides on the seal is often the issue.
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Quarter elliptical leaf springs on Mark 1 and 2 Sprites are an integral part of any restoration, and a frequent part of the upgrade work that routinely goes on in our shop. Many of the original springs are fanned out or “exploded.” Road dirt seems to get jammed under each leaf, which contributes to this issue, and can lead to a need for leaf spring replacement.
Add to that the recurring load of (usually) a single driver and a lot of miles over 60 years and you might find a pair of springs like what you see here. In this case, the driver side spring is starting to invert, as you can see in the picture below. This causes the car to sag on the driver side. So the remedy is a new set of leaf springs, (which you can find by clicking here).
We try to avoid removing the springs because we prefer the ride quality and ride height of the original. But If you want to level a car which is sagging as shown, you have to change the springs and then lower the rear end of the car with our shims (which are sold in our kit).
Here’s another installment in our Sprite video owner’s manual. In this edition, the focus is weather equipment, which applies to all mark one and two Sprites.
Above is my white Bugeye “Cole” rigged with our red soft top and side curtains, as shown in the video below. This Sprite is my “winter workhorse” (at least when the roads are dry). Meanwhile, my wife has her blue Bugeye “Iris” set-up with an original blue hardtop, so we can use both cars through the winter. Both cars have good working heaters and blowers, which makes a difference too.
We don’t take them out if the roads are salty, but in our region, we enjoy many perfectly good driving days with temperatures in the 30s and even 40s, with dry roads. We used both Bugeyes extensively through this November, for example, and even if a big storm means a break from driving, we’ll often get a rain storm to wash the roads clean once again, for another few mid-winter weeks of salt-free driving. Thus we never have to put the cars “away for the winter” and can keep them exercised periodically all winter long.
Your climate may not be as favorable to such “shoulder seasons,” but if you live in a place that has mild winters, the weather gear shown here can make a big difference and extend your driving season dramatically.
We sell new tops, new side curtains, new top bows, top bags and window bags, all at your site. We also sell fitting templates and fittings in our parts catalog, so you can be sure to get all the fasteners in the right location on your car. There’s no better way to run holiday errands than in your Sprite!
You might not have looked an original bias ply tire for a stock Bugeye Sprite recently, but they were thin. And slippery.
They didn’t put much stress on the original caged ball bearings that came on the Bugeye Sprite, no matter how hard you drove ‘em, because the tire was the weak link and slid before the forces exceeded the design limitations of the original wheel bearing.
Fast forward to the modern bug eyed driver (like me) who is ripping around turns flat out with 165 series (wider than stock) tires with maximum adhesion and soft radial rubber and you’ll begin to understand why this post might be particularly important for you. These modern tapered wheel bearings are significantly stronger and a superior design which will help your hubs manage the bearing stress you are regularly dishing out. That’s why on just about every car that comes to our building gets these tapered wheel bearings as shown. It’s a really smart thing to do for your car.
Over the years we’ve had one caged bearing lock-up on one car (fortunately at a slow speed) but for my money I think this is one of the best upgrades any Sprite owner can do. These will fit every Spridget from 1958 through 1980. Click here to get yours today and give your bearings a break!
These little L shaped rubber buffers are often missing on cars that come to visit, and thus we add them all the time. They also dry out, crack and become rock hard, so they need to be changed periodically.
The hard part is locating them, and so in this post, we have the proper dimensions so you can situate yours properly. These dimensions shown will help you drill holes in the correct location, at least fore and aft. Your car should have those original holes in place, but if your rockers were replaced, or your car had recent bodywork, the holes might be gone so you have to recreate them.
Locating the buffers on the perpendicular axis is more challenging, because many front fenders bend into the inner fenders. You might find that the buffers have to be trimmed slightly to make everything fit. Of course, the best solution is to bend the wings so they are parallel with the rockers before you mount the buffers, but this isn’t always possible if new paint is involved.
This is one more important detail to get right on your car. These rubbers will help damp the nose, protect the paint and make your car more rattle-free!
The clamps that secure your rack to the car should have a bit of rubber filling the void between the steering rack and the rack clamp, which locks the rack in place. If missing, the rack will be loose on its mounts and potentially wiggle, as you can see in the video below, which diminishes the tight steering we all know and love. Take a look at yours!
In the video below, I am trying to move the right front tire by holding it at 9 and 3 and the entire rack is moving side to side. Idealy (of course) there would be no movement or lost motion and the rack would be held steadily in place by the clamps.
If you see this happening during your “shake test,” you’ll want to add some form of additional rubber spacer between the rack and the clamp so this doesn’t occur. A piece of rubber from any old inner tube should be sufficient. I suspect these shims often go missing during restoration.
As shown in the photo above, we offer new steering racks if necessary but they don’t wear out often. You’re more likely to find the clamps loose and rack boots worn (click here to purchase new rack boots), but the rack itself will be fine. However, be sure to check and make sure the lack of this bushing isn’t causing your grief before you replace the entire rack. (If needed, you can find the rack by clicking here.)
