We remain extremely exited about the fuel injected Bugeye we are building for a client in Michigan, so much so that I am putting the same system in my personal Bugeye. This week, we have situated the high pressure fuel pump and plugged the distributor hole in the block. Now that electronics will manage the spark, the distributor is no longer needed. Check out the video above, in which I also showcase a totally stock 948 Bugeye engine we also assembled.
You might also enjoy the dyno graph pictured for a carburetor-equipped stock 1275 and the fuel injected variant. You can see the peak torque and HP are reached much faster with the EFI system installed and there is a HP gain of about 9, roughly 15%. But we anticipate much smoother run quality and quicker start up, about which we will report once the car is complete.
It’s a delight for us to be able to create a completely stock Bugeye and modified Sprite under the same roof. We are forever grateful that the Bugeye audience is equally strong for stock and modified examples. With most British classics there is a value reduction for modifications, but not so with these cars. Many people want stock, and many people also want improvements to help make these cars ready for modern roadways.
I suspect that these dual markets thrive because Bugeyes were often raced and modified in the 50s and 60s. Modifications are in a Bugeye’s DNA.
In the photos below you can see the nose stripe masking going on. Here, Russ lays out the tape over the red center section so he can spray on the silver to make the stripes complete.
