Well everyone now knows that a few of us managed to "refresh" a 1967
sprite and give it to Peter Caldwell.
The sprite was last registered in 1973 so it was basically a 5 year old
car sitting for 27 years.
I sanded it to bare metal, did some minor body work, gave it a garage
paint job (my first color spray) redid all the brakes except calipers,
semi new... make that a homemade exhaust system (BTW JC Whitless has a
$14.95 muffler that fits and sounds great)
Gave it new points and plugs, used the original cap and rotor, original
hoses, and it still has the cloth covered heater hoses, gave it a "we
tight" carpet job and kept the original interior in tact.
As you know we drove it from NJ to WI in a couple days at 65 mph +.
The heat works, the lights work, in fact it was more fun then the
electric motor of a chase car that followed us with one headlight out
most of the trip. I either drove or rode in it from home to Chicago.
Someone wanted to know what the consumables were. We used 1 qt of oil, 1
set of points, we broke 1 speedometer, and I think 4 tanks of gas.
Lots of coffee, and Ron couldn't pass any pitstops, he can't hold his
coffee.
The trip went well after a rough start with a stiff steering rack.
So after a return to my house for a spare rack, I had already
disassembled, found the problem, reassembled, and reinstalled the rack
in the Sprite before those guys got back to the car which was 10 miles
from my house at a friends were I yanked the rack.
The steering problem was a bit of rust under the felt washer where the
pinnion meets the steering column. Oil that felt!
Peter and Ron talked me into going with them the morning they left.
My return flight(s) were much more "evenfull" then the drive out in the
Sprite!!! Let's just say I packed for 3 days and was gone 5. I should
have been home Wednesday, not Thursday. I was in the air Wednesday but
missed a connection due to weather.
All in all, a hell of a trip! Great guys, with great wives, It was
better then home with the hospitality. And if you mud up a white floor
away from home, you get a "that's OK, don't worry about it" from the
host wife.
When I mud up MY kitchen floor, I catch hell from my own wife.
If anyone gets out to Madison, I recommend the New Orleans take out for
lunch.
If anyone gets to Roscoe, IL, I say head north to Madison for food.
Special thanks to Lynette Soave for her gracious hospitality putting up
with me AGAIN.
And to Peter and Jane for everything.
Oh yeah, thanks for the lift to the bus Ron.
--
Frank Clarici
Toms River, NJ
Just enough Sprites Again
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