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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)

Dashing

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There is no more impactful cockpit restoration opportunity than the Sprite dashboard. These come to us in an infinite variety of “flavors”. Most are hand crafted by our former selves, back when we were young and function was all that mattered. I know I made a lot of dumb decisions back in those days (and I suspect I am not alone). Thus, there is a wealth of padded and over-drilled dashboards out there, often full of improvised switches and work-arounds. 

Before: though certainly not the worst we have seen, the dash in this Bugeye was padded at some point in its life (stock was un-padded) and had an extra hole added for a battery cut-off switch, which was no longer needed. The radio hole also needed to be welded as it lacked metal support for the vinyl covering that had previously been installed.

This particular dashboard was padded, with a large cut out switch on the dash, and with a couple of extra holes hidden under the padding.

In this series of photos you can see how we restored this client’s dashboard back to stock. It is beautiful. The dash bar above the dash is also properly covered now in black. The entire effect is stunning, and the transformation very successful. Now, this car looks right, and restored to its original glory.

Upon removal of the dash from the car, all of the gauges, cables, and switches were removed, and the weathered old vinyl and thick layer of padding glued to the face was stripped away. This revealed what we needed to fix. Namely, the radio hole needed to be filled (which has already been done in this photo), one hole needed to be filled-in adjacent to the steering wheel, and another needed to be welded and re-drilled for the washer pump.
The backside of the radio hole repair. After all of the holes were repaired on the dash, we sandblasted the entire dash, added a layer of body filler to smooth out any surface imperfections, painted the whole dash black, and carefully installed a brand new vinyl cover.
After restoration, the dashboard got new cables, switches, and knobs. A new washer pump, new heater and washer switches with knobs, and the original ignition switch are installed already; a new turn signal switch, new starter and choke cables, and a new original-face combination gauge and original speedometer, tachometer, and fuel gauge.
The finished product! A combination of new parts, really nice original ones, and a lot of skill and tender loving care have taken this dashboard to the next level! Let us do this to your dashboard. Call us for details or click here!

If you would like your car restored to this level, please give us a call. We’ll be happy to pick it up and bring it to our shop and transform your Bugeye into the car of your dreams, just as we are in the process of accomplishing with this client’s car. Alternatively, if you would like us to restore your dashboard back to its original perfection, please give us a call for more information or click here to view in our catalog!

We also offer similar services for cockpit trim and windshield frames. Click on the photos below to check out each of these services and to get the wheels in motion on your restoration!

Dashboard restoration service
Windshield frame and shanchion refinishing service
Cockpit trim refinishing service

Flip Flopping Fiberglass

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We spend a remarkable amount of time working on Bugeye noses. One cannot handle more than 500 Frogeyes without becoming a nose master… none of them fit. All of them need help. All of them have had some form of trauma. We are forever adjusting and refitting them.

The flip forward option is a delightful innovation, especially for our aging lower backs that enjoy the relative ease with which flip-forward noses flip. It’s a lot less work to flip a nose than hoisting one with conventional hinges. And with flip nose conversions come a set of new challenges… frame horns have to be parallel and we are frequently re-aligning those too.

In the pictures here or you see another unique nose challenge. This is a fiberglass nose (on the teal car “Priscilla“) with minimal structure, which made for a very floppy taco shell. We are gifted to have Ken on staff who is a master fabricator, and he constructed a gorgeous inner superstructure to give this droopy nose much more rigidity. In these photos, you can see the initial templates he made for the panels he cut to make a new radiator shroud, thereby adding structural integrity to a nose that was pretty much just flapping in the breeze.

I am beaming to see this innovative repair… we faced a complex challenge to add more rigidity to a wiggly piece of fiberglass in order to better control the nose fit. And now, with Ken’s help, we forged a solution and thus now have the means to fine tune this nose and control its movement. Now, this nose has a fan shroud structure to add much-needed rigidity.

Another Bugeye has now been transformed!

Bugeyeguys winter clearance sale!

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As a rule, we don’t normally have sales on our cars. But we really need space because we are busier than ever, and we have cars from all over the country that need to come in for restoration and upgrades. We have two new people on board to keep up with growing demand and everything is moving along nicely, yet we would like to get a few cars in our inventory on the way to make some space. As a result, I have compiled a list of special deals. Don’t delay! Call or email if you are interested, these special prices are available now through February 1 only! 

1960 Red MGA with factory disc brakes

Was $36,995, now $33,995

This is a a fantastic example, with a number of nice upgrades and improvements. We’ve gone through the car to refresh it for a new home and addressed any issues… for example, we have replaced the rear wire wheel hub splines, which are a chronic wear item on these MGAs. If you are looking for a well-sorted and very handsome MGA, this is a nice example at a very reasonable price. Click here to check out the details and to see the stunning photo album.

“Mira”, 1960 Bugeye Sprite

Was $19,995, now $17,995

Here’s a great way to get into the world of Bugeyes. Join the family! Mira had been in one family for many years, and had become idle. We got the car to bring it back to life… we removed all the original wiring and installed a new wiring harness, as well as anything else needed to get the car back on the road. Now a good driver, this one is ready…take Mira home and start enjoying Bugeye life.

Click here for more about Mira!

1973 MG Midget

Was $6,495, now $6,295

This is about the best deal you can find on a classic British car! This round wheel arch Midget looks cool and has a 1275 engine, roll-up windows, disk brakes, front sway bar, seat belts, headrests and lots of other late car features to make for a much more comfortable driving experience. There’s a lot of fun here for the money! Check it out in more detail by clicking here.

1978 MGB, chrome bumper conversion

Was $13,495, now $12,495

Who doesn’t love an MGB? This is a very well-sorted and solid MGB. The prior owner invested more than $20,000 to have the car made into a reliable machine, and now he wants it gone to make room for new endeavors. Fast and fun! Click here to read more about this beauty!

Green 1965 Sprite Mk. III

Was $15,995, now $14,995

This is a very solid California car that only came east to have us change the transmission to a completely rebuilt rib-case unit. We had the engine out, replaced the throwout bearing and tuned this car to make a great runner. A sweet car with all the fun of a Bugeye, and with roll up windows too! Check it out here…

“Grover”, 1960 Bugeye Sprite

Now $8,495

This is the only car on this list with a price increase… but that’s because Grover now runs! We’ve tuned up the engine to make the car run. We’ve also started restoring the hydraulic system, so this will be a driving car shortly, and the price is now $8495, which gets you a lot of starter Bugeye at a very reasonable price! Click here for more on Grover…

Superb Super Sprite Bugeye build with wire wheel conversion

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We are building a very special stock-looking Bugeye that is superbly modified, and I wanted to take this opportunity to give you a video tour of some of the nifty upgrades.

This is “Jesse,” a car that was already a top-shelf car, that we are upgrading to the highest level. In particular, we are converting the car from minilight wheels to chrome wire wheels. We now offer a kit to accomplish this properly. We are not fond of the bolt-on kit that we encounter on cars that come through our building, but this new kit is just like the original, with the proper press-on splines. Watch the video below to learn more!

Stay tuned for more Jesse updates, this car is also getting front tube shocks, new Connolly hides and a very fancy sound system!

Looking to convert your bolt-on wheels to wire wheels? Check out our ALL-NEW wire wheel conversion kit by clicking here!

We can transform your Bugeye! Give us a call or shoot us an email to inquire about sending your car to our shop for all the upgrades your heart desires!

Horn brush hijinks

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After 400-plus Bugeyes sold, we have seen countless “home remedies” employed as solutions to issues that arose over the years keeping these cars on the road. Pictured here is one of those remedies, discovered on a car in for service: a homemade horn brush for an aftermarket steering wheel made from a wood nail.

Nailed it! The homemade horn brush (bottom) compared to the correct aftermarket horn brush.

It took quite a bit of ingenuity to think up a solution like this, and to the builder’s credit, it worked! A wood nail was soldered to a length of wire with a spring and a rubber stopper used to provide the tension necessary to keep contact with the horn ring. A length of hose whittled to fit the partition in the hub was used to keep the wire from chafing on the metal hub and shorting out. While we admire the ingenuity at work, we took the opportunity to replace the home-built solution with the proper aftermarket horn brush, and the horn works as good as ever now!

If you need a horn brush for your aftermarket steering wheel, you can find one here or you can click the above picture. This style of horn brush is used in all of the aftermarket steering wheels we sell (and many others available on the market).

If you have a stock Bugeye steering wheel, you will need a different style of horn brush. Our improved Bugeye horn brush is the only one on the market that actually fits the stock steering wheel without modification! You can find it here or by clicking on the picture below.

We are well-versed in Bugeyes fitted with “home remedies”! Send us your car and we will be delighted to fix or improve everything your car needs! Give us a call or send us an e-mail to learn more!

Super clean California 1965 Austin Healey Sprite for sale!

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This is “Glenn” (HAN8L 64016), a 1965 Austin Healey Sprite Mark III that came to us from a collector in California. This has been a California car its entire life before here recently, and it looks the part; this is an incredibly solid car!

This car is a wonderful way to affordably enter the Spridget community with a very nice car that not only looks great, but runs and drives great too! We’re so accustomed to Bugeyes that some of the features on this car seem downright luxurious… Bugeyes don’t have such luxuries as exterior door handles, roll-up windows, and an opening boot! (Mark IIIs such as this one were the earliest Sprites to be equipped with roll-up windows and exterior door handles). The car still lacked reverse lights, which creates a really clean, original look (that we love).

Mark III Sprites (and Mark II Midgets) also came with front disc brakes and upgraded dual-piston rear drum brakes, things we fit to Bugeyes as an upgrade, so this is a big plus to anyone looking for the realiability of these components!

The interior on this car is all-black with white piping on the seats and is in good condition. The car could use new check straps for the doors, which is something we can install for the new owner should they desire.

Mark IIIs were equipped from the factory with a 1098 10CC series engine (the preferred 1098, with bigger bearings than a 10CG engine) with HS2 carburetors and a rib-case transmission, and that is what this car has under the bonnet. We have just replaced the transmission with a rebuilt rib-case and tuned the carburetors, and the result is a great-running car that is ready to go!

This was a California car before it came to us, and one look at the all-original underside confirms this. The floors are immaculate and completely rust-free. This is a very nice undercarriage.

This is a very nice car for sale at a very affordable price of $15,995. Click “read more” below for the full suite of photos and give us a call if you want to take this Sprite home!

[Read more…] about Super clean California 1965 Austin Healey Sprite for sale!
Contact us at customercare@bugeyeguys.com or call (203)-208-0980 Monday - Friday | 8 am - 5 p.m. EST