Aloha all,
I'm new to the list and pretty pleased to have found it. I have a '78
Spit, which was my first car, then given to my Dad when I went away to
school, and now, 12 years later, is coming back to me, much to my wife's
chagrin. I got her (the Spit) for a cool $1000, and immediately discovered
the "joys" of TR ownership (Lucas, Prince of Darkness, etc)--but when she
ran well, there was nothing like it. Born under a damn lucky star, I have
watched as my Dad has put *endless* time, effort, blood, and $$ into
rebuilding her, not to original condition, but improved. As she comes back
to me I have some choices to make. Since she's nowhere near stock I am
free of any guilt about mods, and to be honest I can never leave anything
alone (you should see my Ducati). I would welcome any constuctive input on
the following:
5 speed conversion (a fellow in New Zealand has a complete
bell-housing-back kit, and electronic OD makes me leery)
SuperliteŽ wheels (13x6, 13x7, or 14x6 with a lower profile tire)
VDO clocks (the Smiths are about shot)
cam/piston/con rod/porting upgrade (already have a Weber, headers, exhaust,
suspension)
quality roll bars (most I've seen are awful)
Moto litaŽ vs PersonalŽ steering wheels
CorbeauŽ Avanti bucket seats
Dad put another $7K into the car's mechanicals, so really, much of this is
simply personalizing it with the cash I never had as a teen. I figure
another $6-7K, or so, which my wife tells me is absurd for a Spit, which
you can buy here on Oahu for $2500 in nice condition--but she's a
Philistine and is not to be trusted ;)
I figure Miatas go for that much, and they're a dime a dozen. Opinions? Oh
yes, an actual tech question--Dad relayed to me that when he's too festive
with the gas pedal, the woodruff keys in the rear are prone to failure.
Granted, he can be rough on vehicles, but is it something that can be fixed?
Thanks,
Paul
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