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CURRENT INVENTORY IS SHOWN IN THE SMALL PICTURES JUST BELOW THIS TEXT!
(if a car is not pictured here, it has been sold)

Do the bump

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We have fixed a wide range of Sprite issues over the years, but this is the first time we had to restore a front suspension coil spring bump stop mount.

This is a client’s car we are rebuilding, and one that has been well-used; as a result, lots of restoration is needed. The area in question is the upper coil spring bump stop mount, located above the lower control arm. In the photo below taken of another car, you can see our target.

This bump stop mount had been traumatized during the car’s racing past, and also rusted from moisture sitting above the rubber buffer.

Hence it was just plain gone.

Here’s the damaged mount, with the entire mounting surface missing.
Here’s what the mount is supposed to look like.

We fabricated a new one out of an old spring tray and welded it back together. In the photos below, you can see the process we used.

We started with this used lower spring mounting plate.
We cut the end off, sandblasted, and drilled a hole to match an original upper bump stop mount.
The bad area was then removed.

Viola! After welding and painting, the mount is as good as new! The end result is completely indistinguishable from the factory area and will last for decades to come!

Bugeye Sprite PSA: Your windscreen is not a grab handle!

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Here’s a friendly reminder not to use the windscreen of a Sprite as a grab handle when entering and exiting the car. The design of the frame makes it relatively easy to crack the glass from the stress of a human pulling themselves in or out of the car. The picture above (of a new Bugeye glass crack) was sent to us recently and we thought we would share it with everyone as a PSA. Best to grab above the dashboard, the steering wheel or anything else more solid.

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If your windshield is broken, or your glazing rubber is unsightly and badly cracked, send us your frame for restoration and we will replace the glass and gasket. Frame powder coating is also available to make the entire assembly beautiful! Click the photo below for more information!

Bugeye Sprite windshield frame and stanchion restoration and refinishing service

The Bugeyed Elixir Of Love

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We see lots of great Bugeye custom plates. Many are marque related, such as AN5, Frogi, Frogey, frogari, bugeye, buggy, bugi and the like. Then there are the more personal plates, such as the one above.

Longtime readers may remember Dimitri, the singing Bugeye driver (Check out a post we made about him in 2016 by clicking here). This is his personalized license plate. An Elixir is defined as “a magical or medicinal  potion guaranteed to induce love.” Thus, his plate is pure perfection to me, as it beautifully defines what moves me each time I drive (or look at) a Bugeye Sprite.

But what makes his plate even cooler is that Dimitri has been singing in the opera titled, “L’Elisir d’Amore,” (elixir of love) for several years now. If you missed his prior post, he has been signing and pushing a mock bugeye around stage for dozens of performances, and now here is his very own magical car that actually drives (most of the time). That makes for one really cool license plate!

Bravo Dimitri!

Send us pix of your custom Bugeye plates, and we’ll feature them in an upcoming post!

“Goldie,” a 1959 Super Bugeye Sprite for sale, superb performance and upgrades! Signature model!

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Nearly $100,000 was spent to build out this car. We built it right, and given our experience with hundreds of Sprites, we know how to make a great product. For example, with a supercharged Sprite you need to make sure that the clutch pressure plate is upgraded or you will have a slipping clutch from the extra boost. Goldie has this modification, along with a long list of other upgrades.

This $100k project is available at a deep discount and is on offer for $54,995. Read the post below and give us a call if Goldie would look good in your garage!

If you like upgraded classic cars, this one is worth a serious look. We built Goldie in the Spring of 2021 for a client who wanted the best of everything (he’s now got too many cars and asked us to find Goldie a new home). This five-speed 1275 engine car has a big boost (up to 8 pounds) supercharger kit (and an upgraded clutch kit to handle the extra power) as well as a new ring gear, rear disk brakes and a complete new valve job with hardened valve seats for unleaded pump gas. Just about every part of this car is restored or upgraded within the past four years.

The transmission is a Datsun 5-speed, in excellent condition. In Spring of 2021, we changed the radius arms and changed the rear wheel bearings and axle shafts. Previously, we had put in a new wiring harness, all new copper nickel brake lines and installed new powder coated black rims with powder coated lug nuts. We also put in four new lever shocks and LED lights.

We upgraded the interior hardura mats and custom stitched them with matching gold thread. We then built custom seats with all new foam, also with matching gold thread. And we made a matching custom tonneau too. We also removed and polished the cockpit trim, replaced the windshield and glazing rubber.

The car has a 1275 engine and supercharger, alternator upgrade, new carburetor, spin-on oil filter, electronic ignition, seat belts are upgraded, speedometer is upgraded to a GPS unit, exhaust is better, header, supercharger, high performance clutch for the power upgrade, aluminum radiator, rear disk brakes, etc, etc.

If you want a really zoomy Bugeye, take a close look. This super Sprite is worthy of my signature that lives on the fender, and she was built by our dedicated team of pros, just 387 miles ago. The prior owner has a large collection of cars and only used the car sporadically since we delivered it in May of 2021 so the new owner will get to enjoy a long list of upgrades, which totals more than $40k! Someone will be very lucky to take Goldie to a new home!

Click “read more” below for a full compliment of photos and give us a call if you’re interested!

[Read more…] about “Goldie,” a 1959 Super Bugeye Sprite for sale, superb performance and upgrades! Signature model!

100 pictures of beautiful Bugeye moments

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We just sold our 426th Bugeye Sprite.

I am personally in awe of this accomplishment. I never would have guessed when I purchased “Gumby” in 1979 (pictured below) that we would one day end up with a business born out of a passion for a simple little car with a lot of personality.

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How can we objectively measure the quantity of Bugeyes we have sent to new homes?

It’s a column of Bugeyes 4,792 feet long, bumper to bumper, a procession long enough to reach, well, a bit less than a mile! (ok, they’re small cars)

It’s 281 tons of Bugeyes.

It’s 852 tuned and synchronized SU carburetors. (thank you Terry and Ted!)

It’s 1704 torn radius arm bushings we’ve replaced.

And probably 400,000 truck miles for all the cars we have transported around America and beyond.

But none of this data tells the real story.

About a month ago, we were visited by the owner of a couple of cars that we had a hand either in servicing or selling. He came all the way from Minnesota to meet with us, and brought with him pizza from the finest local pizzeria. The passion our customers exude is palpable, and we are very appreciative of each and every one of them.

[Read more…] about 100 pictures of beautiful Bugeye moments

Ran When Parked

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Ran when parkedI love this photo.

It shows a beautiful buffet of Bugeye engine parts, pulled out of an unsuspecting 948 block many decades ago. Were this a v12 Ferrari engine, people might store the pieces in a more orderly fashion, but with Bugeyes, we often see parts thrown into a pile like this. You can see the crankshaft, camshaft, engine head (with just one valve spring left), and, in case a Prince makes a special appearance, a seat bottom so he could sit on it all.

Almost every Bugeye comes with good stories, and the ones that haven’t run in forever are often claimed to have run when parked. It’s so easy to imagine the perfect barn find, put away because someone lost the key, or lost interest, just waiting to come back into the light without a hiccup. But more often than not, there was a reason why that old car was resigned to the back of the barn. Dad had the best of intentions to do a valve job, but never got to it. Most of the cars that have been sitting are sitting for a reason.

This one holds no surprises.
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We buy cars like this all the time, to bring them back to life and get them to a great new home.

Contact us at customercare@bugeyeguys.com or call (203)-208-0980 Monday - Friday | 8 am - 5 p.m. EST