3500 Miles in a Bugeye Sprite

It was asked of me for probably the 985th time in our 34 year marriage – “What on earth did you buy that for”? The answer was simple. I thought it was cute; I always loved its prominent headlights, and it was such fun to drive. All reasons why I recently undertook a 3500 mile trip in my Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite to the 40th Anniversary celebration of the Healey in Breckenridge, Colorado.

During the 1991 Austin-Healey Conclave at Sturbridge, I decided that the Bugeye was going to accompany me to the Rocky Mountains in 1992. I had become quite attracted to this beguiling little automobile while driving it daily over a 2800 foot mountain pass on my way to and from work each day. However, while my infatuation with the Sprite lasted for many months, a small doubt was forming in the back of my mind, as I struggled up the pass in third gear, trying unsuccessfully not to hold up the line of bigger cars behind. Assessing what could be done evolved to a simple solution – get a bigger motor, tune it up, and be able to go faster, easier!

Of course, easier said than done, but I thought to myself – “I have a few contacts at Moss Motors, they should know what to do -so I’ll talk to the people at Moss and in a few weeks it will be ready and done”! Optimist that I was! Nine months later and just four hours before I was to leave for Colorado, the Bugeye, with a supercharged, balanced and blueprinted 1275cc motor was finally completed! Comments from all sides were unanimous: “You should test it for 500 miles minimum locally before you depart” and “you’ve got to iron out all the bugs”. My answer was “I don’t have the time for all that – It’s an English car after all, we must have faith, so let’s go for it’- I did, and here is the rest of the story.

Day one: 5:00 p.m. departure (the California desert can be a bit warm in August!). After the first three miles, I ascertain what 60 mph is on the tach, as we’d had to change the rear axle for better cruising – so 3500 rpm seemed about right. Other questions now kept coming into my head. Would it be very noisy? Does it keep its cool in the heat? Could I handle 3000 miles over the next 15 days? What kind of gas mileage would I get, remembering the small gas tank? What would the oil do?

The above were all answered the first day. The noise level was bearable: the Sprite kept its cool even in Baker, CA, where at 10:00 p.m. at night it was 102 degrees! I got lousy gas mileage, probably running too rich. Luckily I had two gallons of gas in a spare can; we ran out in Santa Clarita. CA, where I watched the oil pressure steadily drop to zero! I added (our quarts there and then, and then one quart every 50-60 miles until I reached the point (after 2000 miles) where I was able to fix the offending crankcase breather, and, oh
yes. the miles were no problem, a joy every one of them!

Day Two: 5:20 a.m. departure. 92 degrees and a long climb of over 16 miles to 3000 feet, but an easy climb with the blower working perfectly. I nearly froze as the temperature fell to probably only 40 degrees, but I was trying to reach Las Vegas early, as they had predicted 109 degrees by midday! The car was running great and at St. George. Utah. I turned east towards Page, Arizona. This was high country so it should not only be beautiful, but a bit cooler at 95 degrees. I was starting to relax and enjoy the scenery. I am not a professional writer so it’s hard for me to describe the beauty, but to say that nowhere else in the world are there such stark and magnificent views than in northern Arizona could be an understatement. This viewing is made even better by driving an open car. simple as a motorcycle to handle, but without having to wear a helmet.

I got through Page and into the Four Comers, the only spot in the contiguous United States, where four states meet: Colorado, Arizona. Utah, and New Mexico. During this portion of the journey. I started into the higher mountain passes and the supercharger really came into its own, but an other noise was also apparent! I stopped and lifted the hood, looked in, but as everyone knows, to some people, lifting the hood is really only a gesture – you have to know what you’re looking (or and I didn’t! The noise was intermittent and I diagnosed this as something “wrong” with the starter, which I finally traced on the next day. I also remembered that somewhere along the way the tach had died and I was left with a speedo that was haywire, jumping in 20 mph increments continually! A good shower, a good meal and a good bed were all found in Durango and after watching them put the steam trains away for the night, I called a customer for advice on where to find a shop, and slept well before waking up next morning for…

Day Three: Drove to Dan’sSports Cars in Durango. where I was able to diagnose my problem, (generator bearing) before Dan Torollan arrived for the day. I lubed the generator and the noise stopped. Success I thought, but only for a hundred miles. I met Ron Leonard of Sports & GTs, the Moss Distributor who recommended Dan’s, and chatted until 10:00 before leaving to complete the first leg of the trip. Eight miles out I remembered I needed gas, and on turning back to Durango passed three big Healeys going the opposite way up the pass. Having obtained gas, I started back on one of the most beautiful roads in the world, climbing to 10,600 feet at Coalbank Pass and then 10.910 feet to Molas Divide Pass to arrive in Silverton where I met up with the three big Healeys. Their plates said South Carolina and I was duly impressed! I said, “If you don’t mind. I’ll follow you.” I continued with them to Quray, Montrose and lunch. On the route to Gunntson, I noted the Bugeye had passed the one thousand mile mark and the ego (with highly modified engine compartment) could no longer be contained! The opportunity came when we hit a high pass with two parallel lanes going skywards. Did I feel bad when I sailed past the big Healeys? What do you think?

I lost the other cars in Gunnison as I had to fill up with oil, but met some more Healey drivers. As you come closer to an event, you naturally meet more like minded compatriots, I climbed up to Leadville and down the mountain in rain to Route 70, turned left instead of right and ended up going over the Vail Pass twice! The eastern climb back to Breckenridge was really tough, though.

The next few days were spent in enjoyable company at the Healey Conclave, but it was not all fun and games. The altitude was 9200 feet: I had to replace the generator and re-tune the carb. Dick Lunney, the editor of Chatter, the excellent Healey magazine, generously gave me his spot on the hill climb, where I took a third place. Not too bad, but I nearly lost it on turn four, which cost me precious seconds.

Day seven: 7:20 a.m.. left for Ketchum. Idaho, to rejoin my wife. The distance looked like 800 miles, but a great drive, seeing parts of the U.S. I’d never seen before, such as Kemmerer, Wyoming, home of J.C. Penney, and Bennington, Idaho, where I found a gas station with a gravel drive, lifted the hood and investigated no boost and excessive noise from the engine compartment again! After removing the belt from the blower, the noise ceased and I continued my trip, having to stop just twice more. I explained to the officer in Arco, Idaho that I only had two more hours to go to the end of my trip, after a seventeen hour day and the Sprite was like a horse returning to her own barn. This he bought and I proceeded to Belview, Idaho, where the same story worked again – 13 miles from Ketchum and I was “home”!

I spent the next week or so cleaning the Bugeye, doing general maintenance and changing back to dual S.U. carbs. Taking the supercharger apart, I found the drive mechanism was broken, but easily repairable once I returned to California. I decided to drive over to the GOF West in Jackson Lake.Wyoming, without the blower and discovered the Sprite was still a great car with the bigger engine (the Wyoming countryside was breathtaking, with the beautiful fall colors). I had fixed the oil consumption problem, leaving me carrying two cases of oil for future use! The trip to GOF added about 500 more miles, and to date, I have covered about 2700 miles since the engine was modified. I have to close this narrative for now, but I’m leaving in a few days to drive the Bugeye some 900 miles back to Santa Barbara with only one apprehensive thought. I might have to put the top up on the car, some thing I didn’t do through three rain squalls and 2700 miles on my journey to Breckenridge. Now I eagerly look forward to the 1993 Austin-Healey “Conclave” in Louisville, Kentucky.