From its
service history, my Frogeye/Bugeye was in Scotland before immigrating to West
Germany in the late 80’s and returned to the motherland – the UK – in 2018.
In this 30
year period, the car was on and off the road and received various modifications
including:
- Hazard light kit
- Front disc brake conversion (using
last 60’s Spridget parts)
- 1500 midget front springs
- Rear telescopic shock absorbers
- Extra radiator fan
- Weber 45 Carburettor
- 3-2-1 Exhaust manifold
- Electric fuel pump
- Black Mohair roof
- Black respray
- Chrome luggage rack
- Various chrome adds-on
- Triumph GT6 wheels
When the car
came back to our shores, it ran too rich and could be hesitant. A fuel pressure
regulator was missing and the Weber needed to be tuned properly. The previous
owner decided to go back to basics: mechanical fuel pump, Twin SU HS2 carburetors, and standard exhaust manifold.
The following
picture is a caption of the original internet ad and shows how the car was when I purchased it:
This very
small car (about 1 foot smaller all around than the Elise) is full of charm and makes people smile when they see it 😍. As my daughter puts it:
“it’s a Princess
car” (not an Austin Princess thankfully).
Mid-December 2019, I gave it a quick heath inspection and went
for a shakedown drive. With its 660kg powered by 948cc engine producing ~40bhp,
this road runner should not get me into trouble with the Rozzers. This was a lot of
fun, taking the corner barely touching the brake trying to keep the momentum.
And yes, I
broke down during the first proper drive… 😅 The ignition cable under the
dashboard got undone.
Since then,
the wiring was fixed, the luggage rack and the front bumper were removed and I
am slowly getting accounted with the car.
As I play around with it, I’m drafting a list of
things that need to be serviced or modified to suit my preferences.
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