Bought a '59 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite

[blazing]

Check out these two sites they have done allot to these cars.

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~roethler/

http://the-mite.com/mite5.htm

The rotary has been done I don't have the links anymore but if you search I think they a pretty well documented.
Good luck with the project,I had a 70 mg midget project I got rid of last summer.
Here are a couple forums.

http://www2.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgbbs

http://www.spritespot.com/

[McCoolidge]

thanks to everyone for your input!

[alpinaclone]

Bugeyes were pre British Leyland ;) Good luck with the swap though, should be a fun car.

[McCoolidge]

I'm pretty sure I am going to put a 13b in it now, I have an RX7 parts car that I can take the whole drivetrain from. I won't put the original British Leyland junk back in it, its not worth the time, it's not going to be a collectors car.

[alpinaclone]

Good find, if it's not a rot box. I have done work on a few of those, and agree with the guys that say to stick with the stock engine. They are fairly stout engines, it's just all of the sundry bits that give those cars a bad rep. There is a huge aftermarket too. If
I recall correctly, Toyota or Nisan, (I can't remember which) ripped of the desiegn for thier early cars. If you must do a swap though, a Hyabusa engine would be bad ass, and small enough to fit. :)

[McCoolidge]

Does anyone know of a good british car forum? I have been looking and it appears they dont exist? I need to see a good amount of non-stock BL cars.

[SamE30e]

you should try a rotary. im putting one in my 76 spitfire. in concept it should work great because the cars are really light (1800 in the case of my spitfire) so a lighter engine would help with handling and rotarys can be mounted fairly far back because they are rather short. probably not very reliable but a fun idea. i have a 12A and a 13B sitting in my garage but no fuel delivery parts for either:(

I have a 12a engine and tranny in my garage that I don't want.. I'm too lazy to take it apart and part it out..

I know I can get some coin for the housings and rotors, and my brother can't use them for his FB.

[AlarmedBread]

Damn, I want!

Nice find man, hope to see it out this summer. :)

[AndrewBird]

A/B series engines are not at all unreliable. I beat on the one in my MG all the time and have NO problems. It sees redline at least once every time I drive it.

IMO, if you're going to sell the car afterwards anyway, you would be a lot better off keeping the original engine and trying to make the car as original as possible. British car enthusiasts are worse then the guys over at s14.net when it comes to originality. Putting a rotary in it would drop the price by half, I guaranty it.

[damith]

Pictures Pictures Pictures pls.

I used to own a Austin Morris Minor 1000cc back home. heavy as hell, but shell was strong.
mine had the light green color as in this pic

[McCoolidge]

flip it for profit

I would, but in its current state it is unflippable, and its a sweet graduation present.

[Hick]

flip it for profit

[McCoolidge]

I wouldn't do a M10, or any BMW engine. They are all too large and heavy. You really aren't going to have room in that thing for something large unless you butcher half the car to make it fit.
A rotary makes good sense, but they have some quirks that need to be dealt with such as the height of the output shaft being unusual. The poor fuel mileage shouldn't matter in a car like this. However, the worn apex seals would be. Nice rotary donor engines are getting hard to find, and rebuilding them is expensive.
Optimally, you should be sticking something of similar physical size in there. Suzuki Swift GTi engine with a Samurai trans would be a good choice. Even an old-school Ford Cortina/Pinto/Capri 1.6 pushrod engine wouldn't be bad (not the later OHC engine which is too tall). Some Toyota or Datsun engines may fit, but for rwd you're looking at really old stuff that won't be easy to find.
My suggestion? Stick with the A series for now. You should have no trouble finding a 1275 out of a newer Sprite/Midget that will bolt right in there and have you running in no time. With the right combination of parts, they run well.
The reliability isn't so much the engine as the rest of the car. British cars are not well built. Never have been. Some good engineering but poorly executed. The rear axles in Spridgets are notoriously weak. Any huge power increase or engine swap will demand new axles at a minimum, and probably a whole diff/assy.
If you can keep the A series engine cool, it should not give problems. Upgrade the cooling system, keep the fluids clean (and in the car), and get your tuning right and you may be surprised how good it can be.

Would a 13b work? I have the whole drivetrain for one, if I could shorten the driveshaft and half-shafts could it work?

[willybustaE30]

id do a LS1 swap, there lite & a six speed to compensate for the tall gears in the rear end. we did that to one a few years back @ the shop.
we eventally put a ford 9' w/ low 3.0 ratio.
the car was sketchy but would almost kick anythings tail on the street.

there is a future project comin in "hopefully" 48 ford anglia.

[ddavidv]

I wouldn't do a M10, or any BMW engine. They are all too large and heavy. You really aren't going to have room in that thing for something large unless you butcher half the car to make it fit.
A rotary makes good sense, but they have some quirks that need to be dealt with such as the height of the output shaft being unusual. The poor fuel mileage shouldn't matter in a car like this. However, the worn apex seals would be. Nice rotary donor engines are getting hard to find, and rebuilding them is expensive.
Optimally, you should be sticking something of similar physical size in there. Suzuki Swift GTi engine with a Samurai trans would be a good choice. Even an old-school Ford Cortina/Pinto/Capri 1.6 pushrod engine wouldn't be bad (not the later OHC engine which is too tall). Some Toyota or Datsun engines may fit, but for rwd you're looking at really old stuff that won't be easy to find.
My suggestion? Stick with the A series for now. You should have no trouble finding a 1275 out of a newer Sprite/Midget that will bolt right in there and have you running in no time. With the right combination of parts, they run well.
The reliability isn't so much the engine as the rest of the car. British cars are not well built. Never have been. Some good engineering but poorly executed. The rear axles in Spridgets are notoriously weak. Any huge power increase or engine swap will demand new axles at a minimum, and probably a whole diff/assy.
If you can keep the A series engine cool, it should not give problems. Upgrade the cooling system, keep the fluids clean (and in the car), and get your tuning right and you may be surprised how good it can be.