December 23, 2014 By bugeyeguy
Our red Bugeye is nearly ready to ship back to the customer in Maryland, with a whopping 128 improvements. We had about 60 items to fix when we got the car, but the project mushroomed into a full-on transformation of every worn part on the car. Jim (the owner) has been a great partner, inviting us to keep improving every step of the way, and the result is one awesome machine.
Come for a drive with me in the video below!
Once the new tach goes in and new top goes on, we’,ll load Jim’,s car in an enclosed trailer and send it south to him for the next chapter! The electronic tach by the way is another innovation we have for sale which allows us to do away with the always problematic tach drive, cable and tach drive generator. This old fashioned system is constantly breaking in the field, and our new electronic tach looks just like the original mark one item, with a secret VDO mechanism inside that works much more reliably. Jim’,s Bugeye will have one of these, and yours can too. Email if you want more info.
Be kind to your Bugeye Sprite gearboxDecember 12, 2014 By bugeyeguy
I love old British transmissions, and their non-synchro first/reverse gears are just not an issue. But I have noticed from riding with a lot of new classic car owners that they sometimes accidentally catch first while shifting from second to third. Grinding is the result. It’,s easy to avoid on a 2/3 shift, you simply keep a tad of pressure to the right as you push the lever forward, and the shifter will jump over slightly so it easily aligns with the synchronized third gear.
People also habitually try to engage first gear while sliding through a stop sign, which also results in grinding. The fix is to come to a full stop and engage first. Alternatively, you can roll through while staying in second.
The other cardinal rule is to be gentle with the shifter, and to use light pressure. With good timing, the gear box will almost draw the shifter into gear, instead of the driver applying excessive force. The goal is to shift quickly but gently. Challenge yourself to be 100% grind free.
If it’,s grinding, seek help, you’,re doing something wrong, or something is wrong with your driveline. If you keep grinding, your gears will (sadly) come to look like what you see in the video below.
We always have rebuilt smooth and ribbed case transmissions in stock, and we can sell you one or install one in your car, but hopefully this post will help keep your gearbox alive and well for generations to come!
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