I’m really excited to see Gumby painted! I painted this car last in 1980, so it was overdue, and I am very happy with the result. This car will be built over the coming months in the style of the silver and red fuel injected Bugeye we have featured here extensively this year.
Because Gumby will be modified with all the best trick stuff (like fuel injection), I 
was not limited to the stock Bugeye color palette. Gumby was originally cherry red from the factory, and in primer when I purchased the car in 1978. I chose Jaguar dark BRG for the 1980 paint job (the former dark green finish is shown at left with snow), and love that color on the car. But I wanted to do something special, and spray my old friend with my ultimate color choice for the car that is so intertwined with my daily life. The green Bugeye we recently sold called “Gerry” really got my attention… that color just looked right on the car. That got me pointed in the right direction, and I checked out every late model variant of that color, on Accords, Kias and even a late model Grand Marquis (they all have a nice metallic green available). A late model Aston Martin Racing Green won my heart, it was metallic green like Gerry, with more silver, and this is the color we ultimately used, in a two stage modern formula. We will accent the silver with anthracite racing stripes and anthracite wheels, to bring out the silver in the car. You will see the result as we build the car in the coming months!
Bugeyes were originally sold with a small color palette. They were available in green, yellow, beige, white, dark “cherry” red and light blue. Early cars were available in “dark green” initially, and that color was later changed to leaf green after car 9920. The original Speedwell blue was also changed (at car number 9420) to a slightly darker Iris blue. Primrose yellow was only offered until car 9605, then that color was dropped and beige became available.
We have noticed that many of the Nevada Beige Bugeye’s have been repainted in Old English White, we hardly see Nevada Beige Sprites anymore. These are great period colors. We’ve gone off the map with Gumby, and this car will showcase the many mechanical innovations we routinely use to make these wonderful cars even more user-friendly on modern roadways.
