Way back in 1978 when I bought Gumby, I never imagined that in 2016 I’d be sitting at my BugiMac in a restored quonset hut surrounded by ten other Bugeyes writing a post for the Bugeyeguy website. Hard to believe it was really 38 years ago that I found Gumby in the New York Times Sunday auto classifieds, which was the 
bible at the time for classic cars in the New York metro area. Try to imagine a time when classic car classified browsing was exclusively organized around the Sunday morning newspaper, instead of our current reality of 24/7 smartphone browsing!
Anyway, Gumby still carried a number of remnants of that former 
time, particularly a horrifying wiring rats nest, which worked remarkably well for all these years and thankfully never ignited. It’s now in the dumpster, as it is time for this car’s facelift. We have welcomed Gumby into this new millenium by stripping it completely, as we prepare to make it into a cool new flagship. Gumby also got a new battery tray this week, and most of the rust repair is done, so the car will soon head to the paint shop.
Gumby will be custom, our first “B-type” Bugeye, with a color-matched head fairing and hard tonneau. (I have always lusted after D-types).
Our head fairing is done (see previous posts) and we have just finished the template for the D-type inspired fiberglass hard tonneau, which should be ready next week. The slideshow below showcases pictures of that template development and testing. You’ll see a sneak peak there of Gumby with his head fairing and tonneau installed, in prototype form. The hard tonneau, by the way, is designed to secure to the side curtain screws and fit in the boot if needed.
This car will also showcase other new developments and we’ll keep you posted here!
