tag:dreamwidth.org,2017-07-03:3233733tehhumitehhumitehhumi2018-12-13T01:33:52Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2017-07-03:3233733:1563Han Solo's old project car2018-12-13T01:33:52Z2018-12-13T01:33:52Zpublic0<p>My dad has a classic car as old as he is - a 1958 Austin Healey Sprite, also called a “Bug Eye”</p><div class="media-holder media-holder-draggable media-holder-figure show-controls" draggable="true" contenteditable="false"><figure data-orig-width="1280" data-orig-height="960" class="tmblr-full"><img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/892b48d3b41f481d88c6ed87bb3db84e/tumblr_inline_p1pczipVle1rs0kuj_540.png" alt="image" data-orig-width="1280" data-orig-height="960" /></figure></div><p>(image source: <a href="https://classiccars.com/listings/view/666867/1960-austin-healey-bugeye-sprite-for-sale-in-stratford-connecticut-06615">ClassicCars.com)</a><br /><br />To give you a scale, the top of the windshield is about 3 1/2 feet high</p><p>In factory condition, it was not a fancy car in any way.</p><p>It has one side mirror and no central rear view mirror.</p><p>Front and rear bumpers were an extra feature, that my dad’s Bug Eye never had.</p><p>Same with the radio - there’s a small piece of polished wood where you would expect the radio to be.</p><p>There are no door locks.</p><p>There are no windows.</p><p>There are no exterior door handles - just reach over the side and pull the interior handle.</p><p>There is luggage space for maybe one small duffle, as the roof takes up the space behind the passengers.</p><p>It has a realistic top speed of around 65 mph, and take about 20-30 seconds to reach that. <br /><br />It has 43 horse power.<br /> </p><p>On top of all that, it has run for maybe ten of the last twenty years.</p><p>I have never seen the roof put up.</p><p>The windshield wipers don’t work.</p><p>It has a perfectly circular five inch dent on the left quarter panel, where all the paint has rusted away.</p><p>The speedometer is inaccurate - my dad knows what speed he’s going by when he has to switch gears.</p><p>To repair it last time, we had to call a flatbed truck. That’s because the ground clearance is five inches - too short to be towed without damaging it.</p><p>At the moment, the brakes are stuck - it cannot move from the garage.</p><p>Also, British cars of that era are known for leaking oil. I don’t know how true this is in general, but it is definitely true in this case.<br /><br /> </p>Why am I telling you all this? Because when Kylo Ren ordered his troops to fire on the Millennium Falcon, I realized immediately that it was the Bug Eye. Kylo Ren saw his dad’s college friend driving the Bug Eye with a teenage mechanic riding (and holding a) shotgun, right in the middle of a war-zone. The emotional state is such a precise blend of anger, envy, and confusion at how that thing’s even running.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=tehhumi&ditemid=1563" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments