It isn’t all muscle cars and lumbering trucks that fill my list of automotive wants. In fact, there are some little cars on the list as well. I’d love to have an MG GT, Sunbeam Tiger, Lotus Cortina, or the car you see above and below a 1960 Austin Healy Bugeye Sprite. To be specific I want THIS CAR not a stock one. What you see here is a wide body version of sorts that has a much larger wheel/tire package than stock and they perfectly fill the wider fenders both front and back. It also has the stock engine and that would be the first and only thing we would change in this car.
The 2.3L Ecoboost engine that is being installed in the Ford Mustang would turn this car into a literal monster. It would have to be backed with the same manual box that is in the Mustangs which would be fine. Weight wise it would probably be heavier than the four banger that is in there now just because of all the associated turbo stuff. The power output is several times greater though so it wouldn’t detract from the fun of driving the car, that is for sure.
I think a setup with that turbo motor in this exact car with suspension components that were boxed and beefed up would be hilarious on an autocross course and a road course given the chance. If you have never been around one of these cars, they make a Miata look big. The intention when these were built was to have something that would actually fit in a motorcycle shed over in England. They became popular here and were built from the late 1950s right into the 1970s. The look of this one is perfect. Totally muscled up but not over the top.
Ok I’d paint it, too.
Check out the photos and then hit the link at the bottom for the link with tons more
As the owner of a MGB (sbc,custom frame and suspension, 4-speed) I know the best thing you can do to an old English car is replace everything under the body, this is a perfect candidate. Have seen just about everything in Midgets ( including 426 Hemi), it seems to me a modern 2Litre 4 would be the way to go, N/A at 250hp-300hp would be crazy fun at approx 1500#, mine has aprox. 375hp at 2300# and makes me grin like a little kid. Repaint for sure.
If you want a car that runs and handles like a modern car buy a modern one and leave neat old shit like this alone . It’ll probably be more fun thrashing this on the street with it’s weber carb growling than it would be tiptoeing around with some powerful engine with the potential to kill you. You don’t have to get to 60 mph in 3 seconds and do 150 to have fun.
Install a Moss Motors supercharger on the stock Sprite engine and enjoy a significant boost in HP without the grief of making a Frankenstein. http://www.mossmotoring.com/force-fed-bolting-on-a-moss-supercharger-kit/
True, the Eco boost would be a great package. Being a Mopar guy, though, I’d do some junk yarding and find a turbo Shelby or build up a GLH type power plant. If that guy from Kentucky can run in the 9’s with an Omni, what do you think this thing could turn? Mopar made a bellhiusing adapter in the ’80’s to turn their bangers around for rear wheel drive applications…
Needs a Mazda 13B rotary. Compact, light and plenty of power with a turbo maybe a Procharger to deal with lag. Needs to be AutoX’d.
Eco Boost!
21st century brakes and suspension would be essential to handle all that power and prevent certain death at the first full-power corner…..
Instead of a Ecoboost 2.3L, I’d contact Huber Performance for a turbo 2.3L.
I’d want to stick a Motus KMV4 in it. A 4 cylinder influenced by the LS engine, and it even sounds like a v8.Id have two center angled exhausts out the back, Jag E Type style. And yeah, definately paint it.
Turbo 13B. Mad horsepower in a tiny package. 500hp at 10K oughta be enough.
for some reason the rotary engines do not seem to fit well in these, have not seen a clean installation (hood clearance, firewall, etc.), there is a few out there that are fast, just lots of mods.
Needs an LS…
“Fa-ra ra-ra-ra, Ra-ra. ra-ra. It’s smiling at me.” -Christmas Story
Sorry, that’s all I can think of.