Bugeye Basics – Page 8

“Topping” Off Our Concours Quest!

September 9, 2022 by bugeyeguy

As the deadline approaches for the concours debut of Bugeye #501, we are getting into some of the finer points of accurate national concours preparation. Each trip down the list of requirements reveals a new element or something we may have missed. We are double- and triple-checking every element to ensure maximum accuracy (and points) and also to ensure we have properly returned car 501 to its accurate original state.

This week, we worked on the top and side curtain fit. The car will probably never be out in the rain again, but the kit has to be accurate and has to fit right, as we will be judged on accuracy of the components and also on quality of the fit. None of these ever fit well; in fact, the weatherproofing of a Frogeye was always a bit of a joke. However, this car actually has quite nice fit and finish of its weather components, especially when you consider that the pieces are all quite old!

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501 Update & Some Cool Green Cars!

September 2, 2022 by bugeyeguy

Each day we spend with car 501 is another day closer to completion. In preparing this historic Bugeye for the Austin-Healey National Enclave later this month, we have run across multiple cases in which a concours correct part needs to either be fabricated, modified, or is completely unobtainable altogether. Such was the case for the air inlet hose for the heater assembly. However, we have finally been able to find a solution that will meet our needs, and in the process have launched an exciting new product!

501’s engine bay is so close to complete we can almost taste it!

The concours standards call for an inlet hose made of ” thin rubber with a helical spring inside” with a “seam spiraling around it from one end to the other”. The factory original hoses, due to their construction, did not survive the “harsh” conditions of a Bugeye engine bay. In the years since, there have been reproductions on the market but none of them are correct. But we have finally discovered a solution that has the correct look!

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Unchained

August 12, 2022 by bugeyeguy

This week we had a clattery 948 come to visit. It’s somewhat routine for 948s in particular to make a bunch of extra noises (particularly in comparison to 1275s) but this one in particular was a bit outside the norm… So we dug a little further. You can see the video below of the clatter that prompted us to investigate.

If you are new to these cars, valve train clatter is somewhat common. There is some ticking present in the video above, but see if you can hear the louder underlying clatter in the video. This is what prompted us to lift the engine and remove the front timing cover so we could dig deeper.

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Bugeye Numerology

August 5, 2022 by bugeyeguy

501 was always a left hand drive car meant for the American market. But the “L” was not stamped in the chassis number plate… so the first Bugeye was delivered to the USA with a typo!

Bugeye numbers are very confusing. Each Bugeye Sprite has five unique numbers stamped on the car. 501 is no exception.

The chassis or VIN number is located under the carburetors. AN5L 501 is missing the “L” on the chassis plate even though this car was a left hand drive car from day one. Our heritage certificate verifies that he “L” was omitted from the VIN plate due to human error on the production line.

This is 501’s stamping in the engine bay on the passenger side, where the wire harness passes through the firewall. The chap that did the stamping was still learning his trade when he punched car number one. The top line appears to be a mistake.

How could it be that VIN numbers and stampings wouldn’t be exact? Perhaps it was a simple mistake. Maybe the plate was made before the plans were solidified to make the first car LHD and USA-bound. Or maybe the man on stamping was a bit green.

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When Bad Things Happen to good Bugeyes

June 17, 2022 by bugeyeguy

From our “never seen this before” department, here’s something ugly we found this past week. As ugly as this situation was, this car has actually been this way for a lot of miles.

On this particular Bugeye, the car has been driving with no rear washer on the control arm mount. This allowed the control arm to wiggle in its mount! That’s not desirable because it results in alignment changes with every bump and turn, and a less than stable front suspension. It’s amazing that there were no real issues as a result of this omission; I can assure you the suspension is much tighter now that we’ve installed the proper control arm washer and bushings in their rightful places!

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Jay Leno’s Bugeye Survivor!

June 10, 2022 by bugeyeguy

Exciting news!

Jay Leno has made a new video chronicling his 1959 Bugeye, which is linked below. Jay’s car has many similarities to “Muffin,” another white Bugeye survivor, just purchased this week by Bob in New Jersey (our 354th). Jay obtained his original survivor and has spent the past few months going through it and this is the first peek at how the project has moved forward. This video is one more mainstream endorsement of the car that we love so much, and you can see how giddy Jay is while he plays with it!

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