We do a lot of Bugeye front-flip conversions. Many cars come to our shop for this upgrade (please give us a call if you’d like us to transform your car to a flip nose configuration). It’s extremely popular because just about every Sprite driver has a lower back that has seen a lot of service through the years, and lifting these noses in the conventional configuration is one more stressor for lower back muscles and discs that could use a break.
Switching to a flip nose configuration is the bees knees because it’s much easier to lift the nose from the windshield side and flip it forward, and it doesn’t strain your body at all. The challenge in making this modification is that you can rarely just slap a flip-front nose kit onto a Bugeye and have good alignment, for multiple reasons.
A Bugeye’s nose was designed to be supported on its trailing edge and it’s reinforced to do so, so when you move the hinges to the front of the nose, you’re asking the grille area to support the weight of the entire nose, which it was not designed to do. Bugeye bonnets are heavy, so reinforcing the nose to do this is a good idea, and that’s where our x bracing comes in.
Our X bracing stiffens the area between the front of the fender and the radiator ducting, which adds a ton of rigidity to the nose and keeps it from flopping side to side when open. You can buy the rods if you like and weld them in yourself (we offer the x bracing kit in our catalog, which you can buy by clicking here), but installing bracing on a painted nose is a tricky and complicated endeavor, which is why we encourage you to send us your car and let us tackle it for you!
In addition to X-bracing, sometimes we have to use custom braces around the headlight bucket as well because the noses can crack in this area, especially from prior bodywork or repairs. In the video that I have above, you’ll see Alexander‘s car that’s here from Florida for modifications, and in the case of his blue nose the front and under the grill was extremely floppy and loose. We had to do extensive modifications to reinforce the front of it and to allow the flip nose to actually function precisely each and every time; this way, he’ll get a good fit of his body lines once the nose is permanently mounted in its new flip forward configuration.
On top of all that, sometimes the frame horns in the front that hold the bumper are asymmetrical and will not properly hold the nose when you go to mount it; if the nose is angled because the frames are angled, you’ll never get a nose to fit well, so often times this installation requires some cutting and welding of the frame horns to align them properly.
We’ve got all the parts you would need to do this yourself if you want to tackle this project; click the photos below for more information. If you’d rather have the professionals do it, don’t hesitate to call us. We’ll be happy to get this all right for you in our shop. We pick up cars all over North America without issue and we’re happy to work on your car during the winter months!
