Why are Sprite door knobs so varied? Just when we think we have fondled every variety of Home Depot drawer pull, a new variant arrives. Whether brass or wood, Bugeye owners have been creative over the years. Almost every Bugeye comes to us needing some sort of knob-job. So what gives?
Early cars had it made. Cars up to AN5L 10343 had solid bars to operate their latches, as shown in the photo above. No knob was needed. These worked splendidly, and for some unknown reason, the factory went with a shorter handle with a hole, designed to receive a knob.
The knobs were held onto the latch with a splined twist rivet that was pressed into the latch from behind. This was not one of the best designs to come out of Britain, because these have mostly vibrated apart. Bugeye knobs are almost universally missing. I am betting they came loose, fell into the door pocket, and, as the masonite pockets rotted away, fell onto the roadway, and joined all the other British car parts found on the side of the road.
Industrious owners were not to be defeated, and made custom knobs in wood turning class, or stole the finest knobs in their kitchen (while their spouses were not looking) and cobbled together their own custom Bugeye Sprite door pulls. The world used to be that way. Things would occasionally fall off of cars and people would make things to fix them.
Life was good.
Now, we are getting a little more serious. And so we demand a proper knob that looks like the one that came from the factory. Only this knob is better than ever, and comes with a nyloc nut on a machine thread stud that will withstand whatever vibration you throw at it, even if one of your SU carbs stops functioning at idle, or two of our spark plugs become fouled with oil. These things will stay on through the next dinosaur age.
The correct knob is shown above. Click here if you would like to order a pair.