Air filters are often neglected on A series engines. Perhaps because people often fiddle with their SU carbs, filters are removed and cars sometimes show up here with no filters at all. They play a vital role in protecting your engine.
Foam is an unfortunate but popular choice for filter material. There are some very high quality foam elements, but too often, cheap foam gets saturated with oil and decays over time. We have seen quite a few filters with no filtration at all because the foam has fragmented and been digested by the engine. We have had much better results with the K and N products featured here… they last for life and don’t decay.
Here’s a photo of a typical cheap foam element pancake filter. Notice the foam is long gone, and the mesh is quite coarse, which would allow anything up to small stones to enter your engine.
Stock H1 Filters
If you have H1 stock type 1 1/8 Bugeye carbs, your air filter options are limited to the stock type of screen spark arrestor shown at left. There isn’t much fine filtration in these, but they work adequately, and are copies of the originals that would have come with Bugeyes when new. They look great! Unfortunately, you can’t put the K and N filter shown below on these smaller H1 carbs.
K&N filters for HS2
Stock HS2 Filters
“Pots & Pans”
If you have HS2 later type 1 1/4 inch carbs on your Bugeye or Spridget, you can use our new K and N cone filter. They last a lifetime and can be cleaned and re- oiled with the recharge kit (which we also sell) when they get dirty. These actually fit under the hood of a Bugeye or other Spridget. Pancake filters are sometimes suggested, but they will hit your hood with disastrous results. This cone type fits nicely and the one you need for your car.
Another option is what I call the “pots and pans” air filter assembly that came on later Spridgets with HS2 carbs. We have some of these original assemblies for sale. These work with paper elements inside, which we sell, or you can use K and N filters inside these too, which we sell separately. These filters have a more vintage look and are a viable option at a lower price point than the K and N cones.
Lousy air filters will restrict air flow to your engine. Nothing is worse than perfectly tuning your car and putting on air filters and changing everything when less air gets into the engine. I love the K and N products because the tune stays the same in filtered or unfiltered mode.
We’ve added these filtration options to our catalog so you can do it right. We routinely use the filters we sell on customer cars with great results. Click here to head over to our catalog and get a set of air filters for your Bugeye.
