We take the restoration of Spridgets for granted. Those who subscribe
to this list are somewhat mechanically inclined and do most of the
work themselves. There are others of course who have no mechanical
ability at all, or those who can afford to hire out. I'm moving close
to where this guy lives and inquired about the paint shop he used for
his car. His response,
"It is all metal cause he dipped the bonnet and did the body part
replacement and hammering (to get the curves right) in his shop. It
escalated from a "driver" paint job (est = 4k) to 16k but there was
much more than paint. The wheels, the interior, the new chrome grille
& bumpers, the attention to detail under the hood, and under the car,
for that matter, the polishing of the aluminum cockpit surrounds & the
windscreen frame, etc.---it all mounts up. He had the car for almost 3
months full time. It is really to nice to drive anymore"
Bugsy will not get a $4k "driver" paint job more likely a Maaco $299
Special. I am glad though that there are folks who love their car so
much that they are willing to invest this much money in restoring
it. This isn't a money making business. All of us have far more
invested in our cars simply because we love the little critters. No
one ever bought a Spridget for the purpose of making money on
restoring the car. We all bought them because they are so damn much
fun to drive.
Jim Gruber
Bugsy '68 Sprite (future Bugeye in disguise)
Dayton, OH
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