SOLD! Congratulations to Kate from Connecticut on our 306th Bugeye sold! Be on the lookout for Kate & Skye at the Northeastern Austin Healey meets!
This is a very nice car. It came to us from Washington State and it’s a great restoration, in an accurate “Cherry Red,” the original red offered by the factory (the factory color was more of a burgundy, as shown, than what we normally think is cherry red). AN5L 15027 is a 1959 Bugeye we call “Skye.”
She has the 948 engine original to the car mated to a Datsun five-speed transmission. This means that she has a fully synchronized gear box which is easy for anyone in the family to drive. The overdrive fifth gear makes faster speeds quieter and more fun.
Brakes are upgraded as well… front disk brakes from a later Sprite are fit as well as later dual piston rear wheel cylinders from a later Sprite too. The car stops well!
Come for a drive with me in the video below! In this particular video, you’ll get a window into my process of evaluating the cars we buy. No matter how hard we try to collect information from sellers, every car we buy is full of surprises (sadly), and our job is to clean up the issues and properly inventory repair any issues and/or make a plan to address them with the new owner. Check out the narrated video below!
The car is fit with an awesome Abarth twin-tipped muffler, a hot period commodity for 948 Sprites. You often see these for sale for $500 and up, as this is an attractive unit with a great note and it makes the car sound like a giant killer.
She also has a spin on oil filter conversion and flip forward nose for better engine access. This particular flip forward kit also integrates the front bumper which is nice, (most of those kits require removal of the front bumper). This flip-forward upgrade also includes rocker panel locating pins to help keep the nose in place and aligned, a nice feature! There is also a nifty prop rod fit on the bonnet too to help hold the lid open.
We’ve just put in a new master and slave cylinder, repaired the exhaust leaks and tuned the carbs… she runs great! You can see in the video above that the radius arm bushings need replacement, which we will do for the new owner. Also, you can see that the shift tower needs adjustment for proper spacing, and we will do this too for the new owner. The tires are older and the driver’s footwell is a bit soft, these are optional repairs we can discuss with the new owner. 25,364 miles are showing, but we have no way to verify the actual mileage.
The top is good and so are the side curtains. Wire wheels and five speeds are popular, as are disk brakes, so this is a nice package!
Skye will take you there!
We’ve replaced Skye’s floor pans since she has been at the shop. Click here to see the updated results!
