Please take a look at your battery hold down… we too often see what is shown below, which is a flat metal strip on a slippery plastic case, begging to slide into the terminals to make sparks and then fire.
We suggest that you get a sealed battery with the terminals on the backside against the firewall. Typically a Bugeye with the original positive-ground configuration takes a group 24 battery, whereas with negative ground cars, we use a group 24F. We also strongly suggest using an angled battery hold down (which we sell here) for the leading edge of the battery. Secure it with nyloc nuts so it can’t loosen. And you will have a nice insurance policy that your Sprite won’t ignite at the wrong time.
We have only had one fire in nearly 20 years, and it came from a sliding battery on a newly-arrived car with no hold down. The battery hot lead hit the unshrouded (and grounded) heater cable and sparks lit the plastic battery box on fire.
Don’t do that to your Bugeye Sprite!
