Every Bugeye rolled off of the factory floor in England with four-wheel drum brakes. When maintained properly, drum brakes are perfectly adequate for stopping a Bugeye, as long as they are properly installed. We had a car arrive this week with the backing plates reversed, which might be hard for some people to recognize, but this is a problem that can dramatically reduce braking performance.
“That is one awesome f***ing automobile right there,” exclaims the traffic guy. “I gotta have a picture of that!”
Traffic stops. Everyone waits.
What is it about this car? After 389 sold, you might think this is getting old, but the reverse is true. We still marvel.
This is Sea Biscuit, and we are getting ready to ship this Bugeye to Jeff in North Carolina, the proud new owner. The final test drive yields great comments and smiles. People pause. They pull alongside and ask questions. The world slows down a little bit. And that is such a welcome relief, when it seems like EVERYONE is always in a rush these days. There is, for all of us, just too much to do and not enough time.
[Read more…] about One F@#$ing AutomobileWe had a 1275 “A” series engine come to the shop attached to a Bugeye this week that was making an unfamiliar grinding noise that got a little bit worse when you stepped on the clutch. We determined that it was coming from the bell housing and figured there was a clutch issue.
We were also having irregular difficulty starting the car, and we were suspicious that something in the engine was binding. Much to our surprise, when we removed the bell housing we found the flywheel ring gear displaced on the flywheel. The ring gear had become a saw that was grinding into the oil pump cover.
We’ve never seen this sort of problem before. A new flywheel and oil pump cover fixed the problem and the engine is going back together next week.
[Read more…] about Don’t do this to your Bugeye Sprite!
This Bugeye was in rough shape when it arrived here at Bugeyeguys world headquarters, having not seen the light of day in over a decade. We were tasked with mechanically resurrecting this car, which had belonged to a relative, so the current owners could drive and enjoy it and now The Great Pumpkin lives again!
I thought you might like to see some photos of our new Super Sprite “Sage” as it’s coming together, with a powerful 1380 Oselli Engine and Ford five speed transmission, as well as rear disc brakes. Terry is doing an awesome job building this car from the ground up, and someone is going to get a very special machine!
[Read more…] about Sage takes shape!
We’re on vacation this week to celebrate Independence Day. Happy Fourth of July! Here’s some of our favorite photos from the first half of 2023!
[Read more…] about Happy Birthday America!
