Journal: Impish Sprite
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There are 2 entries in this Journal. Status: Member Location:  Valley of the Sun, USA |
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A Beginning
Created on 2008-07-02 07:34:31
"Honey, let's buy a convertible..."
That was the start of the conversation. I had just gotten my final release to go back to work and my wife was trying to find something that we could do together that wouldn't have me working on something with only two wheels and a motor. She wanted a Miata, but it was not in the budget for us.
After some searching, we came across this beauty on Ebay. A local sale and the owner was very willing to allow us to come out and see it. We were hesitant at first, the price for what we were looking at was very very low, and we honestly expected the bidding to break $2K, which was the top of our budget for the purchase of the car. Someone out there wanted us to have this car. We won the bidding for $1300.00 and were very happy.
The car is a 1962 Sprite. A previous owner had two Sprites, allegedly a 1952 and this 1962. Disappointed with the lack of a trunk entry for the 1952, he took the sheet metal from the front of the 1952 and swapped it in place of the sheet metal on the 1962. A conversion that my wife and I fell in love with immediately.
The motor ran, the car moved, though barely, she was in need of some TLC and wrenching.
Once the car was home, diagnostics was started. It was determined that there was a severe head gasket leak and the DCOE40 needed to be rebuilt. It was also determined that either the clutch had gone out, or the transmission needed a complete overhaul.
Pulling the engine, and subsequent tear down of the head reveled that the head had seriously warped, and cracked from the #1-#2 cylinders. How warped? oh about a quarter of an inch twist warped enough for you?
That put the brakes on the build for a long time as different avenues were searched. One avenue, a 2.5L aluminum Nissan engine, which is still a possibility. The scale tells me that the Nissan motor is 20lbs LIGHTER then the stock A-series 1098. That was a year ago...
"Honey, for father's day, I want a $500 budget to work on the sprite..."
That was my comment the weekend before Father's Day of this year. Something my wife smiled about, and made happen. Currently I sit waiting for parts to arrive. An order to Moss Motors scored me some new head studs/nuts/washers and a Major Front End Rebuild Kit. I have since scored a replacement head, and a disc brake kit off a newer Midget. Still need rotors, but I need to get the chassis back into rolling about even though it won't be driven yet, so the brakes working or not at the moment an issue.
More to come as I get the chance to work on it more.
That was the start of the conversation. I had just gotten my final release to go back to work and my wife was trying to find something that we could do together that wouldn't have me working on something with only two wheels and a motor. She wanted a Miata, but it was not in the budget for us.
After some searching, we came across this beauty on Ebay. A local sale and the owner was very willing to allow us to come out and see it. We were hesitant at first, the price for what we were looking at was very very low, and we honestly expected the bidding to break $2K, which was the top of our budget for the purchase of the car. Someone out there wanted us to have this car. We won the bidding for $1300.00 and were very happy.
The car is a 1962 Sprite. A previous owner had two Sprites, allegedly a 1952 and this 1962. Disappointed with the lack of a trunk entry for the 1952, he took the sheet metal from the front of the 1952 and swapped it in place of the sheet metal on the 1962. A conversion that my wife and I fell in love with immediately.
The motor ran, the car moved, though barely, she was in need of some TLC and wrenching.
Once the car was home, diagnostics was started. It was determined that there was a severe head gasket leak and the DCOE40 needed to be rebuilt. It was also determined that either the clutch had gone out, or the transmission needed a complete overhaul.
Pulling the engine, and subsequent tear down of the head reveled that the head had seriously warped, and cracked from the #1-#2 cylinders. How warped? oh about a quarter of an inch twist warped enough for you?
That put the brakes on the build for a long time as different avenues were searched. One avenue, a 2.5L aluminum Nissan engine, which is still a possibility. The scale tells me that the Nissan motor is 20lbs LIGHTER then the stock A-series 1098. That was a year ago...
"Honey, for father's day, I want a $500 budget to work on the sprite..."
That was my comment the weekend before Father's Day of this year. Something my wife smiled about, and made happen. Currently I sit waiting for parts to arrive. An order to Moss Motors scored me some new head studs/nuts/washers and a Major Front End Rebuild Kit. I have since scored a replacement head, and a disc brake kit off a newer Midget. Still need rotors, but I need to get the chassis back into rolling about even though it won't be driven yet, so the brakes working or not at the moment an issue.
More to come as I get the chance to work on it more.
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This page last modified December 01 2007 20:50:32 pm
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