Early Sprites have a
very interesting rear suspension geometry that gives them
a mild dose of roll-oversteer in stock trim -- four-wheel
steering 1959-style.
Thanks for answering a question I was about to post ... I have a
Bugeye with the quarter-elliptic rear springs and was curious about
the effect that suspension had on handling. I can back up your
observations with an anecdote - I autocrossed a Bugeye with middling
success (I always finished in about the middle) for a couple of years
in the early 70s. One afternoon I swapped rides with a friend in his
(then new) 1275cc Midget. I proceeded to plow over half the course
markers on my first run as the Midget seemed to have all the quick
turn-in of a cruise ship. Or maybe the problem was I had trouble
jumping from 42hp to 65hp all at once. I did manage to get
straightened out in a later run and won First-in-Class in the Midget
(my only autocross trophy).
I also traded rides one afternoon with a friend who owned a mid-60s
small block Vette. About as far away from a Bugeye as one might
imagine. We exchanged the expected observations ... I explained that
keeping the Sprite on the highway involved simply *thinking* about
turning the steering wheel. No actual motion was required. Then,
when driving the Vette, I had the unaccustomed pleasure of actually
seeing the speedometer needle move when I pressed on the accelerator.
I have a theory: the accelerator pedal in a Bugeye is connnected to
the volume control, rather than the carburettors. It gets louder, not
faster.
- Ralph Droms (On leave from Bucknell University)
NRI rdroms@nri.reston.va.us
1895 Preston White Drive, Suite 100 (703) 620-8990
Reston, VA 22091 (703) 620-0913 (fax)
|