Around the shop

Protrusion Confusion

February 7, 2025 by bugeyeguy

This week we wanted to share a sampling of what we are finding and fixing in our shop.

First up is a radius arm bolt installed backwards. This bolt is used to connect the lower end of the radius arm box to the chassis, and if installed incorrectly can contact the rear wheel. You can see it was hitting the tire from the pile of rubber on the leaf spring.

Would you like grated cheese on that? The shiny tip of this otherwise corroded radius arm box fastening bolt and the big pile of shredded rubber underneath are an indication that something isn’t right here.

We turned the bolt around so that the thin bolt head is outboard and that fixes the problem… the tire had minimal damage where it was scrapping so we could reuse it. Make sure your bolts are right! Each week we find issues that others have missed… this has been wrong for a long time.

*The circled bolt is the part in question, flipped around so the protruding end of the bolt is facing inward, safely clear of any rotating rubber objects.*

We’ll be happy to pick up your car and fix any lingering problems… each week we sort out more classic English cars and send them off for new adventures! Call if you’re interested in making your car exceptional, reliable, drivable (upgraded) and sorted!

Click the photos below for some of the rear suspension components we offer, or click here for the full catalog!

*Radius arm with bushing, quarter-elliptical rear suspension (sold individually)*

*Rear 1/4 Elliptical Leaf Spring Kit (complete with U-bolts & Shims)*

*Rear axle check strap (sold individually)*

Leaky union

February 7, 2025 by bugeyeguy

Next up is a hydraulic leak in a new spot… checking over a departing Sprite we saw a bit of fluid weep and traced it to this right angle brass union.

A banjo bolt with copper washers holds this piece to the rear wheel cylinder and if overtightened, the union can crack as shown. And when they fail, they will spill brake fluid on the inside of the rear wheels and trash the paint. This car was lucky to have DOT 5 installed, so the silicone fluid didn’t attack the paint on these nice rims.

We are currently finalizing a supplier for new brake unions, so give us a call or send us an e-mail if you are in need of one! The bleeder nipples can also crack or round off if overtightened. Best to have a spare or two in your tool box! Click the photos below to order extra bleeders, banjo bolts, and banjo washers for your rear brakes, or click here for our full catalog!

*Rear brake bleeder screw, Bugeye (sold individually)*

*Rear brake banjo bolt, Bugeye (sold individually)*

*Rear brake copper washers (2 sizes, 1 of each size needed per side, sold individually)*

Smile!

January 31, 2025 by bugeyeguy

Ted and Ken have built about 400 Bugeyes between them, so it’s particularly sweet to see that they coincidentally wore the same “400” shirts today. (They tell me they don’t text one another their wardrobe choices in advance, you be the judge…) I was lucky to get a good photo of these two friends and co-workers, who bring a lot of skill and experience to all the cars we build. (you can get one of these shirts for yourself by clicking here).

Experience is the name of the game in our building. I can show you tons of classic cars online that look attractive but, more times than not, would have a $20,000 refresh bill upon a thorough inspection.. in other words, if our team has run the car through our process, that’s one thing… and if it just looks good online from a private seller, we encourage you to send it here so we can sort it out!!!

The cars seem more worn out every year. We are changing longer lists of parts on each job. Keep that in mind as you surf the web. We have the experience to know when it’s right. If you didn’t buy it from us, we’d love to pick up your classic car and make it wonderful again. Or check out our cars for sale to see if maybe you want to adopt one of our special builds!

Check your nuts

January 31, 2025 by bugeyeguy

After 65-plus years of wear and tear, it is not uncommon to find an original-style steel Bugeye wheel in need of replacement due to damage around the mounting holes. Upon removing one of the wheels from a Bugeye which is here in our shop this week for mechanical refresh, we noticed just such an issue, a couple of extra large lug holes on the left side of the below wheel.

Presumably, at some point, this wheel was not installed with proper lug nut torque, and as a result, moved around on the studs, which damaged the rim (and one of the studs, as well). With the wheel installed on the car in the photo below, you’ll notice the two damaged holes no longer form an adequate surface for the lug nut to seat to. Regardless of the cause, this rim is now rendered useless and needs to be changed for safety. Thankfully, we have an inventory of original Bugeye rims. This car will get a different rim promptly, and the damaged rim will be discarded.

I share this this week as an invitation to make sure to check the lug nuts (and studs) on your car. The nuts should be torqued to 38 pounds, which is not a lot by modern lug nut standards, and that might be the root of the cause here; many late model shops will over tighten these and damage the threads on the stud or inside the lug nut. Too tight with stripped threads could actually mean insufficient torque and enough of a problem for the wheel to walk on the hub and damage the rim as shown. In other words, by over-torquing the nuts and destroying the threads, you will end up with a loose nut and potential rim damage. We’ve seen this on multiple occasions where people bring their classic car to a shop with unfamiliar technicians and excessively powerful lug nut equipment that immediately destroys the wheel fasteners.

*The distinct “necking” on an over-tightened stud (left) is a sign that your studs need to be changed, and your wheels should be checked. A new stud is present for comparison (right).*

*Though harder to spot, damaged lug nut threads are just as dangerous as a necked stud. The threads on this used nut (left) are notchy and look imperfect compared to those on a new nut (right).*

Next time you have your wheels off your car, make sure you check the threads on the studs and the nuts and ensure they are in good condition. We have a full assortment of wheel studs and nuts in our parts catalog should you need to replace a few (or if you want to keep a couple spares on the shelf), which you can check out below by clicking on the pictures of each part. More importantly, take a good look at the rims and make sure you don’t have something similar to what you’ve seen in this post. We have a number of options available to you should you need to replace your wheels, ranging from upgraded Minilite wheels to restorable used original steel wheels. Check them out by clicking on the photos below, or take a look at our full catalog by clicking here!

*Front wheel stud, for Bugeyes/Spridgets with FRONT DRUM brakes and steel wheels*

*Front wheel stud, for Bugeyes/Spridgets with FRONT DISC brakes and steel wheels*

*Lug Nut for all stock Spridget steel wheels for all Sprites and Midgets 1958-1980 (sold individually)*

*Rear hub stud, all Spridgets with bolt-on wheels, stock length (1-5/8″ approx. overall length)*

*Rear hub stud, all Spridgets with bolt-on wheels, extra-long (2-1/4″ approx. overeall length)*

*Closed-end acorn-style chrome lug nuts, for use with Minilite wheels (set of 16)(All Spridgets)*

*Used original Bugeye steel wheel for restoration (actual finish may vary)*

*Minilite reproduction wheels (multiple colors available)*

Filter me this

January 31, 2025 by bugeyeguy

Here’s a fuel filter that was leaking on one of the Sprites that came to us this week. Can you see why?

The plastic case is made of two separate pieces. The cap isn’t sealing on the body so the fuel leaks out at the joint. All fuel filters are not equal. We sell a stout one and have never seen it leak. Click the photo below to purchase one!

It’s worth a look on your car if you have an inline filter installed to confirm you have a good one that won’t leak when you’re out on date night. And if you don’t have an inline filter, we suggest you add one of our good ones!

Lift the dot

January 31, 2025 by bugeyeguy

We have mounted more than 100 Sprite tonneaus in our shop over the years, and you would think we had seen it all… yet we keep discovering new configurations of the wrong top and tonneau hardware on the cars the come through our building. Here’s a new video about the latest variant.

Lift dot fittings on the yellow car are hard to unfasten when they are under lateral tension, and that is one reason why twist fittings are used; they are more cooperative when fastening the tonneau on the B pillar of your car.

*This car has the incorrect lift-the-dot studs installed on the rear deck, which are difficult to undo under lateral tension.*

*This car showcases the correct arrangement for the rear deck of a Bugeye, two Tenax fittings (left and center) and a “Common Sense” twist fitting (right).*

Regardless of your Bugeye’s rear deck arrangement, we have all the hardware in our parts catalog to make your unique setup work. Hopefully this video and photos will help you get your car right if you are working on a restoration; if you need to locate new hardware, we have templates available to help you get their location correct! Click the photos below for more info on tonneau hardware or click here for our full catalog!