This is my rendering of the perfect road and track car, drive here to the track , have fun , drive her home.
I call her "Jail Bait" because "she'll get you in trouble" if you go too far with her !

In driving this around on the street , you don't think it has too much of a sleeper look do you. I didn't want to put racing stripes on it and attract attention from the police !

Reminds me a bit of the Baby Cobra replica:



http://www.sportscarmonitor.com/blog/1045259_only-in-japan-baby-cobra-replica-is-a-rolling-cartoon

Don't think I've ever seen anyone Cobraize a Bugeye with those types of flares before ... looks really cool.  I could do without the lexan spoilers though.

Hey Rick,
Thanks for the link , I never heard of a baby cobra , I always thought the Bugeye or Frogeye Sprite was like a little baby cobra just begging to be re-powered with more HP.
The Lexan spoilers are not just on there for looks , this car weighs 1500 or less and would be powered by a Ford Duratec all aluminum engine with 300+ HP and I would dare say capable of speeds of 180 mph so the spoilers are there to keep it on the ground.I like the fact that they are clear and you can see whats behind you rather than the aluminum barn door spoiler on the green Sprite below !
As for the fender flairs they are molded into the fiberglass racing parts from Spridgetech , great looking parts and I would bet you will be seeing many in the future ! Everything is available now to build this car and at reasonable prices. True I did add the brake cooling slots and the oil cooler bulge around the front air intake from a Cobra that makes it look like a Cobra a bit.
Another thing is unless one of these Cobra replicas has 700+ Hp you will eat it's lunch if he tests you !

When are you going to build this beast William?  I like it!

Here's my real-life much modified Sprite over here in the UK. Front is glassfibre but the rear is steel apart from the flares.
It runs a tuned 60's pre-crossflow Ford motor. "Only" 110bhp but fun enough for road use!

Dave ,
The Red track car is a dream track car based on an MG Midget and fiberglass Bugeye parts I don't intend to ever build it too impracticable . Now the blue car pictured above I am making part for it now and when I get a little further along I will start a journal with lot of pictures and how it was done. I am powering it with a Duratec Ford engine and for now other than the two 45 webers it will be stock. It still will put out about 200hp at that. I will build a stronger Duratec engine later if I feel I want more power. I may just find 200hp in a 1500 lb car may be as scary as I want ! After all you can only take it too as much as the tires will hold after that all the power in the world will not make any difference.
William

Chris,
Nice car and I bet 110hp really makes it go ! Tell me Chris would you like to have more power than the 110hp you have or is that just right for the tires and set up you have?    
William

Thanks William,

I think 110bhp is enough to be honest. Maybe not for a track car, but on the road its great. It'll do 0-60 in about 7 secs and top speed is in excess of 110mph. In a car this small it feels plenty fast enough to me!

I'm running 15" alloys with 195 60 15 tyres and the grip is unbelievable - go kart stuff! The axle is also a Ford unit (in fact all the running gear is) from a 60's Mk1 Ford Cortina GT with a diff ratio of 3.54:1. No more broken Sprite axles! Do you know those cars over in the States? The only mod to the suspension is telescopic shocks at the back - front is stock.

Time permitting I may submit a photo gallery story of the car. This car was hot-rodded in the early 1970's with just a few modern extras. I restored it 3 years ago after long term storage.

QuoteTime permitting I may submit a photo gallery story of the car.

We'd love to see it!

Yes Chris Please,
I would love to see a how to if you have pictures !
William

Hi William,

nice art work you have going there. Great to see someone plan things out in advance.

My opinion, and take it for what it's worth (free), is that old cars like this should be remade in the spirit of their times.  So the aero stuff that may produce results on a mod-class cone racer is not right for a 50 year old car. The Lexan spoiler belongs on a Miata, a child of that era. The Sprite deserves tricks appropriate to its age.

Kind of like you would not like to see a 50 year old movie starlet (Sharon Stone?) wearing tattoos like Angelina Jolie (or Megan Fox?).  A sprite with a wing is like your grandma getting fake boobs.

:O

The flares are sweet though, and totally age appropriate. Like a lovely older woman in a sexy flattering dress!

My car is going to have stock fenders with skinny wheels and tires, followed around by lots of tire smoke.

Cheers,
Greg

PS, sports racing cars only started to add aero devices in the mid-late 60s. Look at what Porsche went through with the 917 at LeMans... lots of trouble before they got it stable at speed. Spoilers in '68-'69, wing in '70 (or close to that.)

A subtle aluminum sheet spoiler riveted to the boot could be done nicely...

Besides, a clear barn door attached to a sprite is still a barn door. It won't make a 1958 chassis any quicker than a 1998 Honda.

Hey Greg,
Well I like what I like and you like what you like . I'm know some will like it and some will not , the only one I have to please is me. It is not on there for looks , it is to keep the rear end from becoming the front end and I can see through Lexan better than aluminum . The car is being all moderned up after all the drive train is 2009 , this car is not for a purest , it has started out as a MG Midget and is mostly fiberglass, even some carbon fiber goodies ! It's a little street racer , hot rod , show off ! It's not going to be your normal Bugeye , Frogeye Sprite. Hey look what Carol Shelby did to the little AC , I bet AC owner had a stroke in the mid 60's . Oh well.
William
I guess you like the green car and not my blue car , I don't see a lot of difference.

Funny how even us "modders'  have a line we're not willing to cross.  Some of us are only content with "period" mods. Others like William take it to the next level.  My best guess is that Donald Healey would get a boot out of anything that would make his designs faster.  Have at it, William, make DMH proud!

Here Here Rick !
You can see his beautiful design right through the CLEAR Lexan , better than sticking an ugly piece o' tin on it !   I M O
I love the period racers and they are quite fast and I love the looks of the Bugeye or Frogeye as the brit's call them.
I don't think I made the car look bad and if you don't like it , THAT"S OKAY too ! We all know not everyone has the same taste and I for one am glad everyone does not like the same thing. I love seeing all the different ideas everyone here have and some I may use

I just watched a custom car place in California take an old GTO body and put it on the new GTO ! I guess some old GTO guys may be flopping around on the floor , but I thought it was cool ! It went to a drifter car guy .

I'm for doing what ever custom you want to do to "your" car, bet your proud of it and I can't wait to see what you did , even if it's not my cup of tea it's your baby and your hard work ...... Good going guys !

William

P.S. Love those 3000 's almost impossible to find a nice one any more and you have a nice one I'm so jealous :-)

RE:  ...I just watched a custom car place in California take an old GTO body and put it on the new GTO ! I guess some old GTO guys may be flopping around on the floor , but I thought it was cool ! It went to a drifter car guy .

I saw an episode of Street Customs where where West Coast Customs did that for an actor -- forgot who but the car was cool.

A '49-'51 Mercury will also drop right onto a late (mid nineties, I think) GM chassis/drive-train. This useless tidbit of information probably belongs over on the "when is an MG no longer an MG thread."

Interesting anyway, I thought.

Rob,
Yes West Coast Customs, I couldn't remember the name but the GTO was built for X Games class drifting champion Tanner Faust , they delivered it to him at the track and he drove it with one of the guys who helped build it. I thought it was funny after the ride when he said gee you didn't scream or anything. You might could call Tanner an actor as he host Speed Chanel's Supercars Exposed but I think he is more known for his driving skills , I think calling him an actor would be stretching it a bit and I bet it would get chuckle out of him !

Hey Dan ,
Not really getting off subject , we where talking about mods to cars some may consider over the top like my taking a MG Midget and making it into a Sprite , not so much that as other have done it before but that I am putting Lexan spoilers on it God forbid ! Some will like it some won't , Oh well !

Cheers All,
William

Will,

Don't be too jealous of the 3000.  A Sprite will outhandle one any day of the week and with some motor upgrades will outperform a stock one as well.  I'm waiting to see you build that dreamcar of yours.  It's going to be great!

Actually Will, I was confusing two episodes maybe.  The episode I was thinking of was where they put a 68 charger on one of the modern charger or challenger chassis.  They  did it for Gary Dourdan of CSI.

I also saw the episode of the GTO for Tanner but didn't recall that being a chassis swap.

Hey Rob,

I don't watch that show regular so I didn't see the charger one. I still had the GTO show on the DVR so I went back and looked . The older I get the more things run together , I guess my brain is getting full. HA!  I was just flipping through and saw the preview and said what the .....
I just had to see that so I recorded it and watched it later, I couldn't believe it turned out that good , I was impressed !
I was right , I though it was a drifter car guy he made it for , I remembered because he took one of the guys from the shop for a ride and I thought it was funny when he said " he didn't scream or anything " he had probably taken some girls for a ride in the past and they screamed their heads off .
I'm not a drifter fan , takes more skill keeping a car in shape around a corner than getting one sideways and ruining the tires. I think it must have been dreamed up by tire manufacturers . :-)  

William

I'm not a drifter, but I am impressed with what some of those guys can do.  I've seen them spin around a cone keeping the corner of the car inches from the cone for 6-8 full circles.  I've also watched them have two or three cars making various drifts in unison -- sort of like synchronized swimming.  I think it takes tons of skill & practice just like any other motorsport... but i'm with you that it was probably dreamed up by the tire manufacturers!

Rob,
I agree there is skill in controlling that which is out of control , in racing go karts I did drift into corners in a controlled manor and it is a natural style of the beast of kart racing. Auto racing is different than kart racing and the drifters are more or less driving cars like karts.
I thought it was a lot of fun when I raced karts and I'm sure the drift cars are fun, I just never have been a burnout fan or a fan of the demolition derby , because it is against my nature to tear things up. I hate seeing the wrecks in Nascar ! I just hate that things get old and wear out , wouldn't it be nice if everything stayed shinny and new ! Not very realistic of me I guess !
William

I will have to join in with the no wing crowd but I would have to go with the clear one on the blue car over the one on the green car.

Hi William,
I actually like your blue car better than the green car, because that's a terrible shade of green! LOL.

Here's a couple of pics of period spoilers that would look right, and work. From this site's great pictorial of the Penske Lola....





Really, my distaste for the giant spoiler has more to do with its size and proportions, not so much the material. (But polished aluminum with bucked rivets is so much sweeter

Those barn door spoilers might make a slight bit of downforce at low speeds, which is what they are intended to do, but they make massive drag at higher speeds.  That's why you've never seen one on a competitive road racing car. Balance is good, right? Weight, drag, speed, efficiency, aesthetics... all sacrificed for a tiny potential increase in rear grip in certain corners. Few drivers have the skill to take advantage of the small improvement that might be had from such a large spoiler, and that advantage would be lost at the sort of speeds that your modern drivetrain is capable of.

The bottom line is that 1960 Sprite will not be competitive with modern race cars unless you go all the way to tube frame and slicks, where upon it becomes a modern race car with a sprite body. Which is sort of cool, I guess, but not my thing. The sprite was intended to be a light, cheap, fun sportscar, and it has done more than anyone ever expected.  But to beat a spec miata, you have to spend many times what it costs to field a miata... which defeats the whole purpose (IMHO, of course).

Having said all that, I have to eat my words. Because I've spent a bunch of time making mods to my car that will do f*@ck all to make it faster. I just like the way they look. (lightening holes in parts to save a pound).  So you make your car the way you want it to look, and I'll cheer you on for having the spirit to go and do it the way you want.  

Cheers!

Greg

PS: that spoiler would be lighter in aluminum. Even lighter if you poked some holes in it.

(Moderator: added image tags...)

Well I don't know how it would be any more drag than the front wind screen and I don't want to go too fast ! I would build something that  is more fun than fast. I like safe now , when I was younger I did crazy. This is not a serious race car, it's a toy ! You can drive it to the track , have fun and then stop by the store on the way home and buy a dozen eggs to make breakfast in the morning. Look fast and make a little noise that is what I was shooting for ! Not looking to set a new lap record at Road Atlanta.  It should be pretty fast for a street car , I just think it looks neat and I want it safe. Too  much drag , nice thing is you can cut it down with a jig saw and sand the edge. I just like things that are wild and different. I will try it out before I paint the car , maybe it will end up smaller but it will be Lexan .
I just want to turn heads and I'm just not into purple Mohawks !