bugeyeguy – Page 38

Restored and well sorted 1960 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite for sale! NEW driving video!

April 21, 2023 by bugeyeguy

NOW SOLD to Mark of California! Congrats on becoming the proud new caretaker of Bugeye #394 sold!

We have snapped some fresh photos and taken a more recent driving video! Check out the post below and give us a call if Robin is right for you!

NEW driving video!

This is “Robin” (AN5L 32598), a stunning mostly stock Bugeye with a front disk brake upgrade. Interior is quite nice, paint is strong, engine is fresh, this car is ready for fun! This was a dry Arizona car that began a four-year restoration about 15 years ago. The car comes with a book full of receipts describing all the expenditures. The California owner stripped the tub (as shown below) and had the car painted with a striking base/clear bright red finish. We sold Robin in 2019 to a local collector who put just a few hundred miles on the car. We have just refreshed the hydraulic system to prepare the car for the new owner.

A photo taken from 2006 during the restoration of the chassis.

All the usual new parts were added during the restoration that you would expect, including a new wiring harness, badges, bumpers, etc., as well as a new wood steering wheel and leather covered shift knob, all of which still present well. The radiator and heater were recored, and the suspension was completely renewed with the addition of front disk brakes for better stopping power. This week, we replaced many of the hydraulic components, including the master cylinder, rear wheel cylinders, brake hoses, and clutch slave to ensure proper hydraulic function. A fresh fuel filter was also installed.

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Great driving, well-sorted 1960 Bugeye Sprite for Sale! Driving Video!

April 14, 2023 by bugeyeguy

NOW SOLD! Shep will be headed to a new home in New Hampshire! Congrats to the folks taking home Bugeye # 384!

Here’s a great Austin-Healey Sprite, well-restored by a prior owner and ready for a buyer who is looking for an excellent “no apologies” driver! AN5L 41028, a Bugeye we call “Shep”, is a mostly stock car with 948 engine and drum brakes, plus minilight wheels and a nice flip-forward nose (with custom latches) for superior engine access. The carbs are upgraded to 1.25 inch HS2 models which provide better performance and are just an all around better design than the original H1 variety. As a result the car drives great and is tons of fun!

This car received new floors and rockers during its restoration, which make for a very solid body and excellent door fit. The paint work is a very good base-clear paint job, all done within the past ten years. A new grille and windshield plus a new front sway bar are nice upgrades. The tonneau cover and top are good and nice side curtains round out the package. The car is also fit with a particularly nice Moto Lita steering wheel and as well as a new starter and generator.

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Nick’s Tech Tips: Probe Problems

April 14, 2023 by bugeyeguy

With warmer temperatures upon us a little early this year, it is paramount this time of year to ensure your cooling system is up to snuff. There are many ways to do this (installing our aluminum radiator and six-blade fan is our favorite upgrade), but it’s also important that you have a decent indicator of how well your cooling system is functioning at any given time.

We’re getting a little warm here… 200 is OK, 185 is preferable, but gauges are often inaccurate

All British sports cars tend to run hot, so a good temperature gauge is important. They’re not always perfectly accurate (you can check accuracy with an IR temp gun), but they at least indicate temperature trends.

Originally on Bugeyes, the probe for the mechanical water temperature gauge, which is a long brass tube filled with ether (of all things), was installed in the side of the radiator. While this is an acceptable location for getting a baseline temperature reading, it doesn’t tell the full story of how hot the engine is getting, which typically runs hotter than the radiator under normal operating load. It would also render the temperature gauge useless if the thermostat were to stick closed, cooking the engine while the radiator (and temperature probe mounted inside it) were slow to report a problem.

The factory location for the temperature port, as equipped on 501.

A relocated temperature port, as found on Grey.

As a result, when possible, the temperature probe should be relocated to a port on the engine, to more accurately relay the temperature of the coolant inside the engine, allowing for better overheating management.

How do you do that? On original Bugeyes with 948 engines, you cannot, as such a port does not exist in the head. However, if your engine has been switched to a 1098 or 1275 from a later Spridget (or if your 948 has had a 1098 head fitted), there is a handy-dandy port drilled right in front of the foremost spark plug towards the thermostat housing!

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Getting your hydraulics lined up

April 7, 2023 by bugeyeguy

We love just about every British sportscar that was built from 1955-1967 (and we’re easily seduced by earlier and later cars too). But given that we are so stuck in the past, we see more systems aging out with each passing year. None of our bits are getting any younger.

This week, brake lines were in focus while working on a car that had been sitting for the past 20 or so years (like a lot of our favorite sportscars). And when the steel brake lines in this particular car fractured the minute we removed them from the vehicle, we had a chance to reflect anew on the (often) fragile fluid link between master cylinder and wheel.

These original steel lines were so fragile, one turn of the wrench fractured them.

The lines above broke at the nipples without persuasion. These are the original lines, and you can see deep pits and thin walls at the location of the fracture. We have talked previously about moisture in the master cylinder… it not only attacks the cylinder bores, but can damage the steel brake lines as well.

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Sneak Peek: Restored British Racing Green 1959 MGA for sale!

April 7, 2023 by bugeyeguy

Sale currently pending! Stay tuned for another great MGA coming soon!

A multi-year restoration was performed on this very solid low mileage car! This 1959 MGA, called “Gerard” (HDA43 65059, built between January and May of 1959) has just come into us from its latest owner in Illinois and is now ready for its next home!

She’s shiny, straight, and very sharp, great to drive, with an all new hydraulic system upgraded just this month including all cylinders and hoses, and fresh brake fluid throughout. The engine and transmission were recently rebuilt, and the paint is new. Almost all the trim parts are new as part of the recent restoration.

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Life with Bugeye: Proper choke operation

March 31, 2023 by bugeyeguy

In the age of computer engine management, people seem to have trouble operating the manual choke on their SU carb-equipped Bugeye (or similarly equipped classic car). So we made a detailed video that breaks down the components so choke operation will be come easy to master for all, for generations! Watch below and give us a call for your Bugeye parts needs!

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