With its brand new seats and fresh 3.6:1 gears, I took the Bugeye out for its first significant drive this morning. Specifically, I took the car across town to the Tucson British Car Register (TBCR) so-called "Phantom" car show. To get there, I took our city's cross-town "parkway," which is like an unknown secret in Tucson. Hardly anyone uses this 2-3 lane, 65mph throughway, especially on weekends. I basically had the road to myself for-4-5 miles... and boy, it was fun!
The new gearing has really transformed the car. First gear is now fully usable, and I can keep it in 2nd, 3rd, and fourth gears much, much longer than before. I hardly got into fifth at all today, in fact. She pulls just as hard as ever, but for longer. Taller gears were the secret to opening performance up. Love it!
I also really like the new seats. Yes, they're tighter than the old (tattered) seats on this driver's big butt, but ultimately they will stretch with time. And they look great in the car. The only downside now is the rest of the interior (not to mention the whole exterior) seems lacking in comparison. In any case, the car got lots of attention at the show today. All in all, it was a good day.
