BugEyeGuys

Very boring.

September 18, 2026 by bugeyeguy

We throw-out a lot of wheel cylinders. Water gets into the brake fluid and causes corrosion on the cylinder bores (remember to change your brake fluid often). Wheel cylinders are a weak link on every classic car. That’s another reason why we love front AND rear disk conversions. Calipers seem to last on average 6-10 years, and it is quite rare to see wheel cylinders last that long.

Below is a wheel cylinder that looked new on the outside but is clearly not new inside. You can see imagine how corrosion and rust is doing damage to the bores of the cylinders. We replaced these, and make sure to keep an eye on yours!

Need to rebuild your brakes? Take a look below at some of the parts we offer in our parts catalog, or click here for our full selection!

*“Wet” rear brake shoe rehab kit (All Bugeyes/Spridgets)*

*EARLY rear brake spring kit (Bugeye only)*

*Rear wheel cylinder with parking brake boot (Bugeye only)*

What’s the diff?

September 18, 2026 by bugeyeguy

This is a post to help you know which differential is in your car. The stamping on the top of the casing tells all. These are the numbers of teeth on the ring and pinion. Divide the two and you’ll have the rear axle ratio.

Sprites work great with every ratio. 4:22 is the stock axle ratio you’ll find in most bugeyes. Starting with Mark III Sprites and Mark II Midgets, a 3.9 rear axle ratio became optional, which is better on the highway, and with the 1275 Engine you lose a little off-the-line acceleration, but the 1275 can support a lower ratio because of additional horsepower.

After 1975, a 3.7 differential was used in the 1500 midgets, and some people like that for the additional reduction, but a five speed transmission is really the best way to improve your highway cruising RPMs… in fact, the reduction in RPMs from the five speed is much greater than a reduction from changing the rear axle ratio. The optimal set-up seems to be a 3.9 Diff with a five speed but there’s nothing wrong with a 4:22 and a five speed as well, because you keep great acceleration at hand, but drop the RPMs in fifth gear when that’s desired.

*501 with the factory 4-speed and a 4.22 diff turns roughly 4200 RPMs at 70 MPH.*

*Adding a five-speed’s overdrive and a 3.9 differential brings the 70 MPH RPMs down to around 3300! Big difference!*

We can pretty easily provide a five speed transmission kit for our clients (whether we build it here or send you a kit). Differentials are a little harder. Most of the differentials now are starting to whine due to wear and it’s difficult to properly clearance them and rebuild them with new bearings. We do sell the bearings and also the gear sets if you have a rebuilder that can assemble it properly for you, or you can hire us to do that as well.

Give a call if you’re interested! Or keep your existing differential, and buy one of our five speed’s below!

Ford five-speed kits are a great way to add overdrive to your Bugeye and lower cruising RPMs! Click the photo above to learn more! (We also are developing a Suzuki five-speed conversion that is also available for pre-order, call us for details!)

1997 M Edition Miata NA for sale!

September 18, 2026 by bugeyeguy

If you are looking for a great sportscar at a great price, this Miata is worth a serious look. It’s fun, fast, reliable and solid. It’s also comfortable and fits a wide range of people (without the limitations of smaller cockpits on most classic English cars).

Why a Miata on this site?

I bought this particular example from a friend last fall, and we have since put a few thousand hassle-free miles on the car. The odometer now shows just over 92,000 miles. This is a good one to own since it is a special edition with a great color scheme. Now, it’s time to make room for a new one (an ND) so this one has to go.

It’s hard not to love Miatas… they do everything well. They don’t have the cuteness of a Bugeye (and there’s a bit more plastic than I prefer) but overall it’s an extremely competent sports car that you can jump into and drive without hassle. And it has weather gear that actually works including a brand new top we just fit to the car!

In this video, I mention the rear window is shot… that’s incorrect, a new top with a new rear window has since been fitted!

There’s a lot about these cars that anyone can love. This particular car has about 93,000 miles on it and has been very well-maintained. Everything works and it drives really well. The car was garaged all of its life by a single owner, (who sold me the car).

The new top looks great and has a zip down rear window, a delight if you want lots of airflow and shade!

This is a very nice example of a very desirable car!

So if you’re looking for a very useable and fun convertible that may also appreciate in value, this car and the price can’t be beat. In addition, this particular car is the last year of the NA series and being an M Edition, it also should outpace other Miatas as they continue to increase in value.

M Spec cars in 1997, BTW, come with a full compliment of special features, including a Nardi wood shift knob and parking brake handle, 15″ polished 6-spoke alloy wheels with high-performance tires, cut pile carpeting, stainless sill plates, air conditioning (sadly, not working on this example), Premium Sound System with CD player and headrest speakers, exterior badge package , M Edition logo on seatbacks and tachometer, custom floor mats, and the Mazda “popular equipment package” which included: power steering, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power mirrors, Torsen limited slip differential, cruise control, power windows, power antenna, and rear sub-frame brace.

Additionally, the M Edition Miatas were painted a special color not available on any other Miata. In 1997 that color was called Marina Green Mica, and all 1997 M Edition Miatas were painted this color, and all of them were outfitted with tan interiors.

Give a call if you’d like to adopt this one! We can deliver it anywhere in America and it needs nothing… just a new driver to enjoy. Tires are from 12 of 2022. Click “read more” below for the full compliment of photos!

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Restored 1974 Tesla powered Midget for sale at a radical discount! New price!

September 18, 2026 by bugeyeguy

New Price! Now $39,900

We’ve drastically dropped the price on this EV Midget in order to find it a new home quickly! An electrification of this quality would cost in excess of $120,000 to complete! What a steal!

This 1974 MG Midget represents all of the best qualities of a top-flight restoration: new wheels and tires, stayfast canvas top, top notch paint and interior work, and so much more. Now, couple that with the expert electrification undergone by the Bugeyeguys team, and you end up with what may be the nicest roll-up window Midget in the world! You will not find another one like this!

Here’s a unique chance to purchase an all electric 1974 MG Midget conversion we just did in 2025. With just 450 miles on it since the conversion, it’s virtually brand new, and health issues for the current owner sadly force a sale.

We started with a beautifully restored Midget with new paint and interior, upgraded everything that wasn’t previously restored, added rear tube shocks, and fit five Model S batteries and a the same direct drive motor we’ve used in all our Bugeye electric rocket ships. The performance is quite impressive.

Range is about 100 miles, which I found to be quite useful for local drives. More range might be nice for your everyday driver, but for a classic Midget, 100 miles works out just fine for most. Regenerative braking is excellent, and one pedal driving is easy. It’s a great set up for anyone with left leg physical challenges, easy to operate with just one foot.

*The HyPer9 electric motor shown in the background is the same motor we have employed in our last three EV Bugeye builds. This was taken during the conversion process.*

You are buying a massive amount of labor and work to fit this equipment into a small package, and it’s all done to a very high standard…. fit-out beautifully and a work of art! Now fit with Minilight wheels, but both alloys and wire wheels (all with good tires) come with the car.

The Tesla batteries are recycled from a crashed low mileage Model S, tested and ready for a new life, and then sold to us by a Tesla reseller. Coolant lines run through the car to keep the batteries optimized, all on a closed loop with an ignition coil sized water pump. That circuit also cools the computer that manages everything. Charging takes about 5.5 hours on a household or public level two charger. You cannot use a level three Tesla supercharger. The system is designed for overnight driveway or garage level-two charging at your house.

The seller spent in excess of $120K for the restored Midget and to have us build-out this beauty (and it took a year to build)… You can buy it now ready to go for $39,900 complete and ready to enjoy this Fall. If you want a super cool classic car that hums along quite nicely, give a call! This is a steal!

Click “read more” for some more photos, including some of the conversion process!

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Striking 1955 Austin Healey 100 BN1

September 18, 2026 by bugeyeguy

Reduced! Now Available for $59,995 Also this week, we fixed the driver seat bottom and now it looks like new!

Here’s a special car! The 100 series is much more nimble than the 3000s and is one of my favorites. We’ve dropped the price to $59,995 to help this car find a new home. That’s a great price for a very stunning car!

This car has about 27,000 documented original miles. There have been about four owners, and there are wonderful old service records back to the 60s. If you are looking for an unmolested 100, this is worth a serious look. It was purchased by our customer in about 2015 at a Bonhams auction. He put about 2000 miles on the car and has now asked us to sell it for him.

The car has been repainted once and still looks great. The interior was renewed in 1987. The leather driver’s seat has a stain and small tear but is still quite nice. Tires are beautiful Dunlop racing tires. Stunning to look at, and a bit hard. We can change to radials if the new owner desires.

Runs and drives great, OD works great, three speed gear box is fully synchronized and in great shape!

You can see my video tours below if you’d like more information! Call if you have questions!

Click “read more” below for a full suite of photos!

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Superbly restored and upgraded 1960 Bugeye for sale!

September 11, 2026 by bugeyeguy

This 1960 Bugeye Sprite called “Dragonfly” (AN5L 48240) is a very nicely restored car and has a bunch of nice mods… Ford five speed gearbox, 1275 engine, front disc brakes with vented rotors, aluminum radiator, HS4 carburetors with lifetime K&N air filters, premium Panasport Mag wheels, and so much more! The car looks sharp. This is a very solid car that will reward the new owner with lots of fun!

What impresses me most about this car is the quality of the underlying restoration. I believe it was done in about 2011, and as you can see the Rotisserie photos in the photo gallery, everything was done right. The car was stripped and re-welded and repaired and filled and properly done; it’s now 16 years later, without a single blister or imperfection, and that’s the sign of high quality workmanship. I’m particularly impressed by the beading on the tops of the fenders which don’t show any flaws. The car shows about 1500 miles on the speedometer, and I’m guessing they zeroed-it out when the restoration happened, so it hasn’t been used a whole lot since it was restored.

Dragonfly’s interior is well-appointed in black leather with red piping to match the stripe on the car, and it’s all in fantastic condition and is very comfortable to ride in. A tonneau is included and fits well; there are also a stayfast canvas soft top and very nice side curtains with glass panels (originals used plexiglass) that are included, each in beige Bugeyeguys pouches for safekeeping.

There are on this car a few little assembly issues that I don’t love… I’m not crazy, for example, about the reproduction starter knob -it’s just a cheesy silkscreen. I’d want to change this to the original type that we sell in our parts catalog.

And lap belts as well are not my favorite-they flip out of the car and can damage the rocker panels, and of course they’re not as effective as the three-point inertia real belts that we would want to install.

*The air filters have been removed for tuning – a set of K&N lifetime air filters are included.*

The tires are from 2011… There aren’t many miles on them but they’re aged-out even though they seem to work fine. I would just change them to new Michelins.

And the steering wheel is too small. I am not a fan of 14 inch wheels because it upsets the nice balance of driving a car with a large wheel as originally designed. Steering input is greater with a small wheel, and they’re just not as much fun to drive this way, so unless you’re a big person I would change it to a 15 or 16 inch wheel. But these are all just trim details that can be easily fixed. Anything on this car can be repaired, but the foundation in the work that was done during the restoration is really where the value lives. It’s very difficult in today’s marketplace to build a car this sound. We’re here to help and happy to help the new owner deal with the trim issues… but the foundational success story here is not to be discounted.

Click “read more” below to see the full suite of pictures and give us a call if you’d like Dragonfly to be your next Bugeye!

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