[Spridgets] Shake Down Cruise

[rrengineer at dslextreme.com]

Went on a shake down cruise today in 107 degree weather from San
Bernardino to Fallbrook, California at Bob Kitterer's house.  I figured it
would be a true test.  I don't know who got the worst punishment, the car
or me.  Took a day off of work to work on the brakes before the LotO road
trip.  One thing it taught me is that I will be damn glad to have the
Bugeye on the trailer behind my air conditioned truck on the way out
there.  The Bugeye does NOT like hot weather.  Under a load, it backfires
through the carb over 4000 RPM.  It puked oil out the crankcase vent
drilled into the side of the block and steamed out almost a gallon and a
half of water from the radiator just before it got to Bob's house.  It
also pings under acceleration all the time.  We let it sit for a couple
hours so the car and myself and my son Justin (he will be at LotO too)
could cool down first.  I think Justin and I drank as much water as the
car did to cool down.  After a call to David Anton at APT, we swapped out
the plugs that were BP6ES to BP7ES.  David says the copper core are the
best for our cars. He also said it sounds like the car is running lean and
needs higher octane fuel, not to mention an aluminum radiator from Tom
Colby.  Well, I may be able to drop some 107 Octane Booster in the tank
before I leave, I don't think the aluminum radiator is in the cards.  We
timed the engine to 30 degrees with the adjustable timing light after
changing the spark plugs.  It runs smoother, but it still pings.  I need a
different needle in the HIF44 carb and some octane booster.  What's the
temps supposed to be like in the Ozarks next week?
Mike MacLean
60 Sprite
56 BN2
P.S. Bob says hi to you all and wishes he could be there next week.