BugEyeGuys

Summer of Bugeye

May 2, 2025 by bugeyeguy

It’s time to hit the road and live your dreams. (What are you waiting for?) Here is the story of three intrepid souls who are living it up this summer, each one on a road trip to remember in their favorite sports car.

*George’s Bugeye, in the trailer used to deliver it to our shop. No trailer needed for the return trip!*

*Ray and his Bugeye, called “Dudley”, loading up for a transporter ride to Bugeyeguys World Headquarters!*

Eric will be driving his “new” Bugeye (red Baron) from our shop to Oakland, California to ship his car home to Hawaii. George is driving his Bugeye from our shop to Milwaukee. Ray is driving his Bugeye from our shop to Minneapolis. We have a budget in each case to prepare machines that can make the journey with ease. The pressure is on!

Bravo to all these road warriors. These are our favorite adventures. These three sojourns will make countless people smile this summer. Dozens of cell phones that will lean out of highway windows to capture these happy Sprites as they traverse America. These Bugeyes will lay down a wide swath of smiles on highways and byways and we are honored to support this upwelling of roadway joy.

*Ray’s dashboard after we have worked our magic. What a transformation!*

We are busily putting our experience (with more than 500 of these cars sold and transformed, to date) to the test as we prepare cars that are up to the task.

There’s much work to do… these are some progress shots… stay tuned!!!

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Fulcrum doldrums

May 2, 2025 by bugeyeguy

A tight and fresh front suspension is key to a comfortable (and safe) driving experience. Over the years, suspension components age out, wear out, or just plain fail, and this can cause headaches for anyone faced with this reality.

A Bugeye’s front suspension is a simple system, yet one in which the utmost care must be taken to ensure proper operation. The front suspension on this Bugeye has had all new components installed and is ready to rock and roll!

Unlike a more modern car, which would employ ball joints in its front suspension, Bugeyes and Spridgets alike (and many other British cars from the era) use what is known as a “King pin” front suspension system. Whereas a ball joint pivots in whatever direction is necessary for proper suspension function, a King pin is a rigid link between the upper control arm (or in the case of a Sprite or midget, the shock absorber) and the lower control arm, and utilizes a screw, known as a fulcrum pin, to obtain its travel.

*An expoloded diagram of a Bugeye’s front suspension.*

Of course, as with any metal-on-metal component, these fulcrum pins wear against the control arm’s threads over time, creating wear, and, ultimately, slop. In the photo below, you can see what we can only describe as the most worn-out fulcrum pin perhaps in the history of British automobiles, pulled from a Bugeye in this week for a suspension refresh.

*Wow, this fulcrum pin is very worn! You can see how worn the threads are compared to the mostly intact inner-most threads on the left side.*

A worn fulcrum pin such as this is not only unpleasant in terms of driving experience ( a tight front end is good!), but also poses a safety concern. Pictured below are a few examples of other severely worn suspension components, all of which warrant a hard look at a complete suspension overhaul.

*Badly cracked lower control arm around the fulcrum pin.*

*Incredibly worn and pitted king pin. This condition was caused by excessive wear and a lack of proper lubrication.*

The best course of action you can take with your front suspension is to take the opportunity to install all-new front suspension components. New complete drum brake king pin assemblies are not available new, and as such need to be rebuilt; we have all of the components available in our major rebuild kit, which you can order by clicking the photo below or by clicking here. the only downside to this is you will need to ream the bushings for the king pin once they are installed, which requires special equipment.

*Our front suspension major rebuild kit includes everything you see here. You will need to ream the bushings for the king pin once installed. Purchase your kit today by clicking on the photo.*

Though a full king pin refurbish is a wonderful way to reset the clock on your Bugeye’s front suspension, a much easier and better way to proceed is by taking the opportunity to convert to front disc brakes. Our front disc brake conversion kit comes with a brand new, pre-fitted front disc brake king pin assembly (meaning no bushing reaming needed), as well as all of the braking components necessary to convert to the superior front disc brakes. Later Sprites and Midgets will already have front disc brakes, and as such, this kit will serve as a rebuild kit for your brakes and front king pins. This, coupled with two new control arms (sold separately), new lever shocks (also sold separately), and some smaller items like new rubber bushings, and and your front end is better than it was when it was fresh off the factory floor! Click the photo below to learn more!

*Our front disc brake conversion kit allows you to replace your Bugeye’s old, worn front drum brake suspension with a brand new, much-improved disc brake suspension! Click the photo to learn more!*

Additional parts that you will want to consider changing while you are rebuilding your front suspension are pictured below; among them is another great front end upgrade, our tube shock conversion kit, which eliminates the oft-leaky front lever shocks and replaces it with a much more durable, much easier-to-service tube shock setup! You can learn more about the front tube shock conversion by clicking here for a handy article regarding them. Click the photos below to learn more about the other front end components available in our parts catalog, or click here for our complete line of front suspension components!

*Control arm bushing kit, all Bugeyes/Spridgets*

*Control arm bolt kit, all Bugeyes/Spridgets (2 kits required per car)*

*Shock absorber bushings, set of four, all Bugeyes/Spridgets*

*Front tube shock conversion kit, all Bugeyes/Spridgets*

*Front lower control arm with fulcrum pin, all Bugeyes/Spridgets (sold individually)*

*Front sway bar kit, all Bugeyes/Spridgets*

*Rebuilt front lever shocks, several grades available (premium lever shocks shown)*

The sound of a toasted Sprite gearbox

May 2, 2025 by bugeyeguy

Every Sprite gearbox has some wear, and they do just fine if you are nice to them, even when they are worn. In fact, “Gumby’s” gearbox whined more than normal in first gear since 1978, but with no additional grinding, it lasted just fine for 36 years and was only removed in favor of a five-speed conversion.

But a lot them get abused due to operator error, and this is a sore spot for me, because it’s a lot of work for us to build inventory of rebuilt gearboxes, and to get good gearbox parts. If we could all learn to love these wonderful little gears, they would last just fine, but due to operator error, many boxes are failing before their time.

*An example of what can happen if the wrong move occurs while shifting your Sprite’s gearbox.*

(Rib)Case in point, the car featured in this video came to us a few years ago, and the gearbox has a bad noise on deceleration in all gears. It sound like a loose gear tooth is rattling around inside– a remove and rebuild is required. Take a listen, and please join the army of educated British car drivers who are most kind to their gears.

There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of or intimated about with a non-synchro first gear. Just be at a standstill before engaging first and/or reverse, and all else will be fine!

Should your gearbox sound like marbles in a blender, we offer a full line of transmissions and all related parts (such as clutches, hydraulics, mounts, and more) to get your Bugeye back up and shifting properly! Click the links below for some of the transmissions we offer, or click here for our full parts catalog!

Excellent Restored 1960 Bugeye Sprite for sale!

May 2, 2025 by bugeyeguy

Available for $36,995!

This is a 1960 Bugeye we call “Stanley,” (AN5L 37059) and this is a good one! He’s got a strong four speed transmission, a 1275 engine and front disc brakes, as well as handsome wire wheels. But most importantly, this car enjoyed a high-level restoration that was done quite well. If you are looking for a good car that is nicely restored, this one is worth serious consideration. There are no blisters or paint imperfections, dents or dings. This is a very clean car. The interior is also excellent.

This was an Arizona car with no rust that was restored about ten years ago in the Southwest and then was in Ontario for a time before we sold it to its most recent owner in 2021. The car has resided in a garage on Martha’s Vineyard since.

Before heading out to the Vineyard in the spring of 2021, we performed over $4,000 in upgrades and repairs to prepare it for new ownership. We installed an aluminum radiator, new fuel tank, pickup line, and solid state electric fuel pump, LED lights, new three-point retractable seat belts, a front sway bar, Pertronix electronic ignition with new coil, new rear shocks, new slave cylinder and fresh rubber brake hoses, a new battery, and more! All of this was done approximately 250 miles ago, so essentially everything is still brand new!

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What’s your Bugeye’s personality?

April 25, 2025 by bugeyeguy

Modifying a Bugeye is easy. Modifying it properly? That’s another story entirely. How far do you go? Where do you start? How much of the original DNA do you want in your build?

We’ve modified hundreds of Bugeyes and we’re always trying to perfect the package. Goldie hits the mark in many ways. The car is aesthetically out of bounds with a pearlescent gold finish-this type of paint job has a bit of a limited appeal. That’s said, it’s quite striking with powder coated wheels, and black stripes. Plus, it’s highly visible on the road, which is not a bad thing. And the interior is stunning. But what’s really special about Goldie is the drivetrain.

This is a super charged 1275 Engine with 8 pounds of boost and an upgraded lightened flywheel and clutch to handle the extra power. 0 to 60 time is a about 10 seconds (you can see me demonstrate this in the video below). 10 seconds is not impressive by modern standards but when you take a Bugeye with a stock 0-60 in roughly 21.5 down to 10 seconds, it’s just about perfect. And it all works seamlessly; idle is smooth, no stumbling, backfires or weak spots.

We have an Audi R8 owned by a tuner in our neighborhood. It’s a fantastic car but he has clearly over-modified it. It pops and snorts and on decelerations sounds like it is about to explode. Our goal is for Sprite modifications to be seamless, to run just as smoothly as our 948 cars with a whole lot of performance added and no downside.

*10.44 second 0-60 time for Goldie, as measured by our exclusive GPS Bugeye speedometer, which you can purchase for your car by clicking here.*

Of course our electric car will do it an eight and that’s really cool too… but 10 is just fine and the noise is spectacular. See if you agree after watching the video above.

Goldie is not for sale. She’s heading to a new home in New York where she’ll live with E3, the blue electric Bugeye, and a lot of other cool cars in a stunning collection.

If you’re looking for a car as special as Goldie is, look no further than Sage, another superb Super Sprite! Click the photo below to learn more about Sage.

*Sage, in many ways, is a similar car to Goldie, built with many similar upgrades in mind. If you’d like to learn more about Sage, click the photo above!*

If you’re interested in those sounds and the overall experience, you can find all the parts to make this happen in our catalog; click the photos below for some ideas, or you can find our full catalog here. Additionally, you can give us a call and we’ll pick up your car and make it just like Goldie, with or without the custom paint job!

*Spridget supercharger kit (1275 engines ONLY)*

*Aluminum radiator (downflow type, 948-1275 engines)*

*Alternator conversion kit (Bugeye thru 1971)*

Sage Wisdom

April 25, 2025 by bugeyeguy

If you are looking for the ultimate Bugeye, this is your moment! This is one of the best we have ever built and it’s for sale.

Sage has the best of everything, in a spectacular color combination. The car is a winner in every way. Check out the new photos! If you don’t care what it costs and you only want the ultimate interpretation of this wonderful Bugeye platform, then Sage is for you!

*One of our nicest custom interiors to date! Super-soft leather and custom wool carpet!*

Sage is a complete rotisserie restoration, with four wheel disc brakes, five speed Ford transmission, and a powerful 1380 Oselli engine worth about 95 HP. The exhaust note is delicious and the car is quite quick.

We drew from nearly 20 years of experience to build the best of everything into this car and then we went off the map with colors and textures to create a stunning completely restored car for a premium driving experience.

The interior is both elegant and utilitarian. The exterior is contemporary and nostalgic at the same time. The driving experience is simultaneously classic, high performance and forgiving. This is the first car we have built with wool square weave carpet and we love the look so much that we made this carpet kit a product in our parts catalog.

If you want the best of the best and you want serious “wow” factor at the next cars and coffee, then Sage could be the next car to add to your stable. Click “read more” for more photos and give a call if you are interested!

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