Bugeye maintenance

Nefarious needles

May 24, 2024 by bugeyeguy

Stuck float bowl needles can stop your car from starting.

A carburetor fuel bowl works a lot like a toilet. As the fuel level in the bowl lowers, a float needle lowers along with it, allowing fuel to flow in from the fuel line and fill it back up as the carburetor uses it. Once the fuel level is full, the needle is pushed up into a tapered seat, where it will rest until it needs to allow fuel back in.

*A float needle performing its function properly, lowering in tandem with the float as the fuel level in the bowl drops.*

While not a problem inherent to storage of your Bugeye, long periods of rest can certainly contribute to a stuck float needle or two. What generally happens is a small amount of “gunk” gets on the tip of the float needle (the source of this gunk is unclear but a lot of people connect it to ethanol in today’s fuels) and makes the tip sticky, which makes it hang up in its seat.

*A stuck float needle like shown above shuts the flow of fuel off to the carburetor, essentially plugging the fuel line.* *Notice how the entire needle assembly is stuck upward and not hanging out of it’s seat as in the first picture above*.

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Broken and brittle brake lines

May 17, 2024 by bugeyeguy

The braking system is perhaps the most critical component of your Bugeye to keep in tip-top condition. We may sound like a bit of a broken record about this, but it cannot be overstated how important your brakes are. You can have all of the fun in the world ripping around your neighborhood in your Bugeye, but if you cannot stop adequately, it is a recipe for disaster. This week, we were reminded of the importance of the hard brake lines in the braking equation.

While replacing a master cylinder on a customer’s car earlier this week, the mechanic was tightening the fitting to the brake side of the master, as is routine. However, as they tightened, the end of the line right before the first bend snapped clean off!

*Over time, steel lines become brittle and can snap off easily, like this one did.*

Original metal brake lines on Bugeye Sprites (or even steel replacements from the 70s and 80s) are incredibly susceptible to corrosion and get brittle over time, which can lead to breaks like this one, or worse, blow-outs while driving. Luckily, this happened in such a way that no fluid was spilled and while replacing the line in the shop rather than as a failure while on the road, which could have been catastrophic. Check out the video below for more information on Bugeye brake lines, and on the kit we use to replace them!

We hope you’ll take this opportunity to thoroughly inspect your entire hydraulic system, but to take special care in inspecting the hard hydraulic lines. Should you find corrosion, wear, or unsafe splices in your brake lines (like compression fittings, a BIG no-no in braking systems), it’s time to replace them! Luckily, we have a ready-made solution to make line replacement as easy as possible!

*If you are underneath your car and see one of these on a brake or clutch line… change it. Immediately.* *Compression fittings do not hold up to the pressure a hydraulic system produces under load and can (and likely will) blow out.*

Our brake line tubing kit comes with all of the pre-cut and pre-flared hard lines necessary to replace your entire braking system. Additionally, our kits are made from copper-nickel tubing, which is easier to bend, harder to kink, and most importantly, is corrosion-resistant, meaning rust will not take hold in your brake lines, allowing them to perform as designed for far longer than traditional steel. We also have the copper-nickel line necessary for your clutch slave, as well as a complete line of brake and clutch hydraulic parts to suit your restoration needs. Click the photos below for more information on some of our hydraulic products, or click here to view our full catalog!

*Hard clutch line for 1 inch slaves ONLY (from master cylinder to rubber slave hose)*

*Hard brake pipe kit (Bugeye/ Mark II Sprite) (Clutch line sold separately)*

*Clutch hard line (cars with 7/8″ slaves ONLY)*

*Clutch slave rubber hose (for cars with 1 inch slave ONLY)*

*Hydraulic rehab kit (through ’62, lots of options available to customize, click for more details)*

*Clutch slave remote bleeder (All 948-1275 Spridgets)*

Bugeyeguys improved slave cylinders: worth the investment!

May 17, 2024 by bugeyeguy

Slave cylinders are perhaps the most common maintenance item on a Bugeye sprites (and on most classic British cars). Of the more than 400 cars we have moved through our building, most have had leaking slaves. As a result, we have changed more than we care to admit, to help keep hydraulic fluid off the ground and to keep Bugeye clutches moving.

This one is a bit of an extreme case, as the car it was removed from has been dormant for a few decades, but slaves looking even remotely like this one need to be changed. A leaking/failed slave means you can’t drive or shift the car. Being proactive about this will save you from a breakdown.

The root cause, by the way, is moisture… hydraulic fluid absorbs moisture, and that moisture corrodes the cylinder bores, and then the leaks are soon to follow. Inexpensive slaves made from inferior components and metals seem to corrode faster, with more frequent and pronounced pitting in the bores, and thus they fail faster.

*This is not what you want to see…roughly one inch of water in this bottle, on top of dirty fluid, is what came out of one car when we installed fresh fluid.* *Moisture wreaks havoc on hydraulic systems, leading to premature component failure.*

Over the years, we have tried multiple slaves in an effort to find the best one that lasts the longest, and we prefer the slave we offer for sale in our catalog. There are cheaper cylinders available, and it might be tempting to purchase a $20 or $30 slave, but if you value your time you’ll buy the best slave you can and do the job once. Bleeding slaves is never fun, and if you go cheap, you’ll be back under your car again in no time flat, doing the job all over again. Trust me, I have field tested all of them, and the inexpensive ones are just plain junk.

The other thing about changing a slave (whether you do it once or multiple times) is the challenge you face removing the top bolt. Because the frame is so close, you can barely get a wrench on it, and you certainly have limited swing. Thus a lot of the time for this job is spent wrestling with that one fastener.

What we do, which you can see in the video above, is a slotted slave system that allows you to save time. This way, you slide the slave under the top bolt without needing to completely remove that time consuming bolt. This is a Bugeyeguys exclusive that makes the install and removal of your slave that much easier. And if you have any reservation about the strength of this item, we have field tested dozens and they work great!

*Our improved 7/8″ slave cylinder is the best one currently available on the market and is customized for ease of installation. Get one today by clicking the photo above!*

This is a premier European-built slave, the best we have found to date, modified to enhance for your install experience. If your cheap one hasn’t failed yet, it will soon! Get one today by clicking the photo above or by clicking here! And don’t forget to change your hydraulic fluid annually, to get the moisture out.

Click the photos below for other important components in your clutch system, or click here for the complete catalog!

*Clutch slave push rod (two lengths available, click here for more information)*

*Borg & Beck clutch kit (Sprite/Midget)*

I guess that’s why they call it the fuse

May 10, 2024 by bugeyeguy

Bugeye Sprites employ Lucas electrical systems. While Lucas has a bit of a checkered reputation among British car enthusiasts, Bugeyes tend to be mostly exempt from typical electric pitfalls due to their simplicity. When installed and maintained correctly, a Frogeye electrical system can provide many miles of stout performance and trouble-free operation. A big part of that is the fuse block.

*This is an example of a factory-installed fuse block, currently present on 501, the first production Bugeye Sprite.*

The entirety of a Bugeye’s electrical system runs through a fuse block that is smaller than a box of crayons. In fact, the entire car employs only TWO glass fuses. One glass fuse protects all of the components that require a keyed ignition source; this includes such items as the fuel gauge, heater, wipers, flasher, brake lights, electric fuel pump (if so equipped), and of course, the ignition system. The other fuse is for the items requiring constant power from the battery, namely, the horn and the headlights. As all of these systems run through this interface, it is absolutely critical that the fuse block be in good working order.

In the photo above you will find two fuse blocks. The one on the left is a brand new fuse block, while the one on the right is an original block we recently removed from a client’s car during a re-wire. You can see how corroded all of the terminals, screws, and even the fuses are. Corroded electrical connections do not create very good contact, which can cause resistance in the circuit, leading to intermittent operation, or in some cases, no operation at all, which could potentially leave you stranded on the side of the road.

If you see that your fuse block and/or fuses are corroded like this, change your fuse block! In the video below, we discuss fuse blocks in further detail and how they work:

Should you need to change your fuse block, we offer new ones in our catalog, as well as a full line of electrical components to suit your needs! Click the photos below to check out a few of the electrical parts we have available or click here for our complete catalog!

*Dashboard turn signal indicator light (Bugeye)*

*Bugeye Sprite fuse block (screw terminals)*

*Complete Bugeye wiring harness (dip switch & headlight wiring sold separately)*

*Complete headlight wiring kit (all Bugyes/Spridgets)*

*Generator/alternator with dummy regulator (negative ground cars ONLY)*

Steering rack slop

April 12, 2024 by bugeyeguy

This week, we have been hard at work putting the finishing touches on a Bugeye that came to us for an extensive mechanical restoration. Part of this restoration included doing a front disc brake conversion with new front lever shocks, new outer tie rod ends and camber-adjusting control arms, which we used to adjust asymmetry in the front end due to prior crashes. You can see these new components installed on the car below in the photo of the suspension taken earlier this week.

*All-new front suspension components have completely transformed this Bugeye into a great driver!*

While performing our typical final test drives, which we do to work out any “bugs” we encounter (centering the steering wheel, for example), I noticed a looseness, or “flutter”, coming from the right front wheel. The video below helps to explain this feeling and what can cause it:

Worn steering rack!

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Done-for driveshafts

April 5, 2024 by bugeyeguy

A Bugeye’s driveshaft is a vital link between the transmission and rear axle. Without it, you’re going nowhere. It is important to make sure your shaft is in good working order, which means checking the universal joints for play.

*An exploded view of a Bugeye driveshaft.*

A customer’s car came to us recently with a “clunk” coming from the drivetrain- watch the video below and you’ll immediately understand why!

Ideally, you want your driveshaft to be free from any amount of play in the joints. This way the power from the engine and transmission can get transferred to the rear wheels with the least amount of lost motion.

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