BugEyeGuys

Why would anyone want an electric classic car?

November 15, 2024 by bugeyeguy

I have been driving two Bugeyes in my spare time this Fall, 501 (first production Bugeye, completely stock, correct and Concours Gold) and E3 (our third electric FrogE). These cars could not be more opposite. Although we live in a world where seemingly everyone has to choose sides, I will tell you that both of these cars are amazingly wonderful and equally special. (I say this because people love or hate electrics conversions and I invite any haters to have an open mind).

*501, the first production Bugeye Sprite.*

Our FrogE is special. She’s super smooth and has fewer moving parts so reliability is enhanced. It has a range of about 115-125 miles depending on how you drive it, and thus a full charge takes about four hours to consume with average two-lane driving. I have found that four hours is perfect for any small classic sports car-most customers drive for about 30 minutes in their Bugeye on average, so four hours between charges is quite practical. You’ll need to install a charger at your house… I did this for $500 after a rebate from the local power company… and now I can charge every night if I like.

*501’s engine compartment, representing a Concours-accurate Bugeye engine bay from 1958.*

*E3’s “engine” compartment, containing most of the componentry required to electrify a Bugeye.*

Check out the video below in which I explain how all the dials work. We are converting two more Sprites this fall; if you have a Spridget that needs a power plant, these electric drivetrains are fast and reliable. Call if you would like your car converted to electric power!

Our ’67 MGBGT in Hagerty Magazine this month

November 15, 2024 by bugeyeguy

I’ve owned and collected lots of different classic cars over the years and this is one reason why we service and restore many different kinds of British classics in addition to Austin Healey Sprites.

Way back in August of this year, I brought my ’67 MGB GT to Nyack, NY for a Hagerty Magazine photo shoot and article celebrating 100 years of the MG marque.

Below is the cover of the new Driver’s Club Magazine which features that story. You can click on the cover to see a PDF of the entire article. That’s me on the cover driving the MGA of author and friend Jamie Kittman. In the story, you can also see the amazing photos of DW Burnett. He is a gifted photographer, the same artist who shot a previous Hagerty article about our company, which you can see by clicking here.

Below you can also see photos I took while Dave was hanging out of the other cars to get the amazing amazing action shots featured in the story. At one point in our day with these three cars, David buried himself in the bushes while we all drove past and the cover photo was the result! I drove all three of the featured cars so some of my photos were taken from the other two cars…

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Leaf Green 1961 Bugeye Sprite driver for sale! Driving video!

November 15, 2024 by bugeyeguy

This is Arty (AN5L 48495), a 948-powered car with an upgraded rib-case transmission and front disc brakes. This car was built in near the end of the production run in 1960 and first titled in 1961. This is a nice car that is great to drive and runs very well! It came to us from Virginia, where it was under the long-term loving care of its previous owner. Arty is nicely painted in Leaf Green, one of the original colors available on Bugeyes when new. The chrome wire wheels are nice too!

New tires were installed today!

We’ve prepared Arty for sale and changed to new 155 tires, replaced both rear wire wheel splined hubs, resealed the rear axles, installed new K & N lifetime air filters, installed new door seals, new seat foam, and removed the non-original interior door handles… all to spruce-up the cockpit and improve the driving experience (and eliminate a bunch of rattles)!

This is a great car at a great price. Take a drive with me in the video above!

We will re-alight the front end later this now that the new tires have been installed. The car also comes with a new wiring harness installed, which isn’t shown, but we will put it in once we get caught up in the shop. This is a big upgrade!

And by the way, the top and tonneau are very nice. Top and side curtain storage bags are also included, as is a set of side curtains.

A matching hardtop is available for an extra fee. We’ve included a few pictures below of the car with the hardtop fit so you can see how it looks with a matching lid if you want to go in that direction, otherwise, the car comes with the usual black soft top and tonneau, which you can see in the gallery below.

This is a nice car with lots of great new improvements. Give a call if you would like to take Arty home!

Click “read more” below for the full suite of pictures!

[Read more…]

1959 Bugeye Sprite for sale: Exceptional restoration! NEW driving video!

November 8, 2024 by bugeyeguy

Check out Crane’s NEW driving video!

Crane, (AN5L 14580) was our 227th Bugeye sold back in June of 2018 (now, we’re up to #422). The car has lived in a climate controlled garage since then with regular exercise (as part of a stunning collection). Only a few hundred miles have been added since 2018. The owner has too many cars and asked us to sell it for him on consignment so someone new now has a shot at an exceptional stock-looking Bugeye with smart and choice upgrades, such as LED lights, a 1098 head (with bigger valves), header and HS2 carbs for increased power on a 948 engine. Front disc brakes were also added for the current owner.

This car was prepared with the best of everything for prior owners so if you want a premium Bugeye that evokes the look and feel of an original car but has great upgrades and is thoroughly vetted by our shop, Crane is worth a serious look.

BTW, we’ve actually prepared this car twice, once for Steve, the current owner, and once for Crane, the prior owner, who bought this car from us in August of 2015 with 35,514 miles. Both of these owners were quite generous with their upgrades to the car, which now shows 36,312 miles, so the car has traveled just 798 miles in these last nine years (Crane also had a large collection of nice vehicles).

Below is my write-up from 2018. All the photos are new. Feel free to call if you’re interested in adopting Crane!

This car is awesome. Everything works. It drives right. It’s fun. It goes. It handles. And it looks great. The new owner is going to get one of the best Bugeyes money can buy.

We sold Crane to the current owner in June of 2018. For him we added electronic ignition, spin-on oil filter kit, new tires, three point retractable seat belts, an improved engine cooling fan and he even had us ceramic coat the already deluxe stainless steel exhaust header.

We also sold the car in 2015 to a different owner (Crane) who had us upgrade the engine with a 1098 head with better performance and new valves, springs and hardened valve seats. (We also put on completely restored larger HS2 carbs, a great upgrade from later Sprites.)

Once he got it, Crane lavished on this little Sprite every indulgence one could offer a four-wheeled vehicle. The car was stored in a what amounts to a museum.

One chronic issue with Bugeyes is a small arc of scratches on the back that usually result from the convertible top chafing this area. While this was fine in 1959, it is not the way Crane rolls, so he had a piece of clear plastic invisible clear BRA strategically applied to the back deck, to make a nifty protective layer between convertible top and painted surface.

*Clear Bra on the rear deck to keep the car scratch-free*

Top and windows are new BTW, and come in their own fleece-lined pouches. So does the top bow, if you prefer to stow it in your garage in its own separate case. You can see the protective pouches for top bow, side curtains and top in the slideshow below.

He powder coated the rims too, and these are some of the nicest original Sprite steel wheels I had ever seen, with not a single mark.

When you run your hand along the finish of this car you can tell it has something different going on, Crane hired the worlds’ finest detailer and I don’t know how many hours he must have spent but the car feels like it is sufficiently protected to last into the next millennium. That detailers receipt is included… he spent more time detailing the windshield glass than most people spend on their entire car. And it looks that good.

This car is not for everyone, but only for the person who wants the best of the best. Comes with its own birth certificate too! (see Heritage Certificate picture above).

Photo gallery below! Click “read more” below for the entire compliment of photos and give us a call if Crane is right for you!

[Read more…]

Probing into better temperature readings

November 8, 2024 by bugeyeguy

This week, we have encountered a few questions regarding the original-style temperature gauges and how they are installed. A properly functioning water temperature gauge is a very helpful tool, so its important to know the best way to install yours!

All Sprites and Midgets until 1977 used some variation of a combination water temperature/oil pressure gauge. Bugeyes used one like you see pictured below, with water temperature on the bottom and oil pressure on the top. These gauges are fully mechanical; the oil pressure gauge is something that requires its own post, so today, we are focusing on the temperature gauge and how to properly hook it up.

Bugeye and Spridget water temperature gauges use a thin metal tube filled with ether connected to a capillary tube that sits in a coolant passage. When the coolant heats up, the ether expands and the temperature needle moves.

*The mechanical water temperature gauge hard at work! 190 is an acceptable temperature under normal driving conditions.*

*This one is starting to get into the danger zone. 200 degrees is in overheating territory.*

From the factory, Bugeyes had their temperature probe installed into a bung off of the side of the top tank of the radiator, underneath the upper radiator hose.

The original location for the temperature probe, as shown on 501, the first production Bugeye Sprite. Note the correct “shock coil” in the tube, which helps keep the tubing from breaking through vibration.

The radiator isn’t the ideal location for the temp probe in the radiator because the temperature doesnt increase until the thermostat opens when the engine reaches temperature. This means if the thermostat sticks closed, for example, you wouldn’t know there’s an issue until it was too late.

*The cylinder head on a 948 engine has no temperature port in front of the spark plugs. A water jacket passes behind this circled area. Thus, cars with this head used a radiator temperature probe.*

It’s much better to put the temperature probe somewhere in the engine for more accurate and immediate readings. Unfortunately, if your Bugeye still has a 948 engine with its original 948 head attached, you are stuck with the original placement in the radiator. There is no alternative location present on 948 engines.

However, on 1098 and 1275 engines, there is a perfect alternative mounting location built into the cylinder head!

*If you see this plug in your head in front of the first spark plug, you have access to a better location for your temperature probe!*

In front of the foremost spark plug on 1098 and 1275 engines lies a port that has been cast and drilled into the cylinder head, for the temperature probe. Later Sprites and Midgets sometimes had a different style of radiator fitted, known as a cross-flow radiator, that didn’t allow for a temperature port to be installed, so they relocated the port to the cylinder head, which is a better place anyways. However, you can’t just move the probe straight into the head, as the probe is too long and will foul on the casting, as shown below.

To avoid this, all you need (when you relocate the probe) is our temperature probe adapter and a copper sealing washer. These two components will help you relocate your temperature port correctly and avoid leaks and damage to your temperature gauge.

*The temperature probe adapter needed to relocate your gauge probe. Click the photo to order!*

*The temperature probe properly installed using the adapter. More accurate temperature readings to follow!*

*A shiny, new blanking plug, as installed on one of our aluminum radiators. You can buy the plug here, or a new aluminum radiator here!*

Should you be installing an aluminum radiator in a 948-equipped Bugeye (with no port on the head), you will need to keep the probe in the radiator. Most of the time, the probe will screw in directly without issue. However, occasionally we have found that even when tight the probe can leak through the threads; when this happens, you will need to install the probe adapter in the bung on the radiator top tank first. This will prevent leaks.

If you are looking to upgrade your cooling system or replace your combo gauge, click on the links below for some of the parts we offer, or click here for our full catalog!

*Correct Bugeye & Mark II Sprite combination gauge*

*Temperature probe adapter (All Sprite/Midget)*

*Later Sprite/Midget/MGB combination gauge (will work with Bugeyes also)*

*Down-flow aluminum radiator (948-1275 engines)*

*Premium aluminum radiator (948-1275 engines)*

Rear axle repairs gone wrong

November 8, 2024 by bugeyeguy

When removing and replacing the rear hubs on any Spridget, it’s easy to damage the threads holding holding-on the rear hubs.

The threads on the axle housing are handed… the right side has right hand threads and tightens clockwise (conventionally) while the left side are LH threads (reverse threads). If you mess that up, the threads get damaged, often catastrophically as shown in the video below.

This week, we have a car in the shop with destroyed threads on the driver’s side because someone put the passenger side RH thread nut on the left side, which literally destroyed the entire axle housing.

Take some extra time next time you service this area. If axle nut doesn’t screw-on smoothly by hand, you might have the wrong nut on the wrong side or damaged threads that need to be repaired before you apply torque with a wrench.

We have all of the correct parts you need to replace your axle nuts, including a special wrench used to install and remove the nuts. A lot of people over-tighten these nuts; we would use a torque of 80 ft-lbs. as a guide. Click the links below to learn more about our products, or click here for our full catalog!