Modified Bugeyes

What would your tailor-made Bugeye look like?

October 8, 2021 by bugeyeguy

“Candy” a beautiful, customized 1958 Bugeye headed to Maryland

It is forever interesting for us to build such a varied array of Bugeye Sprites. One might not think that there would be so many flavors, and yet it seems to us that each one is completely different.

This week is no exception… check out “Candy,” stunning, elegant and quick, and “Liberty,” more of an old school hotrod. Both are quite special and unique. Both are done to a very high level. And both are representative of what we routinely create in our shop. We look forward to helping you express yourself with your particular Bugeye!

Let us pick up your car anywhere in the USA and modify it, or build you your own! Call or email if interested!

Ducky’s Reward

September 1, 2021 by bugeyeguy

Photo courtesy of Dan Ruthemeyer / Skagit Valley Herald

The Larricks have arrived home after 4001 luscious 948 powered cross-country Bugeye miles, as you have probably heard by now. Here’s the first of a few articles about their journey, this one in the Skagit Valley Herald from 8/25/2021.

I find myself imagining that TJ and Karen would be driving around town these days in a 1972 Continental after an epic drive in a Bugeye (like the one below), but in reality, TJ is probably still driving around locally in his Bugeye, or in his 70s Saab 96… he is not craving something gigantic like the Lincoln. Let’s see what we can learn to keep improving reliability if he really does drive his Bugeye 26,000 miles this year (as T.J. is quoted saying in the article)!

Ducky did it!

August 20, 2021 by bugeyeguy

From our shop to their Washington home, 4001 948-powered miles later.

Ducky’s flight path across the hot and smoky USA

Ducky and the Larricks have arrived home in Mt Vernon, Washington after their cross country Bugeye tour. This is a great testimonial of what is possible for the original Bugeye engine, and also a great testimonial for our team.

Ducky and TJ at the Columbia River Gorge

Everyone here leveraged every ounce of experience with the more than 300 Spridgets that have come through our doors, and applied that expertise to the build to make sure maximum reliability for the Larricks would be the result.

The only failure on the entire journey was the turn signal flasher unit. (These fail all the time). So we are ecstatic!

4001 miles in a 948-powered Bugeye Sprite feels like a world record, especially since so many people upgrade to the stronger and more powerful 1275 engine. Congratulations TJ and Karen on your awesome adventure!

They even had a free Sunday afternoon for a car show! (Missouri)

And to everyone else… get out and drive your old cars!

Thank you to Karen for these awesome photos of their cross country trip with Ducky!

How reliable are 60(+)year-old British Cars?

July 30, 2021 by bugeyeguy

We’re about to find out! Meet TJ and Karen Larrick, new owners and pilots of “Ducky,” a 1958 Bugeye we sold a few months ago (our 308th). Above you can see them at our shop, and they will soon be on their way home to Mt Vernon, Washington. That’s 2989 miles from our door.

(And they are heading in the wrong direction currently, touring New England this week, so that mileage is going to climb). We will be curious to see what their new GPS speedometer reports for their total mileage when they are done! (I don’t put much weight on any British odometer, but since this is a new GPS unit, we will get reliable mileage data for a change!)

This car has become a very special test bed. We have thrown every imaginable reliability upgrade at this car with the sole purpose of making the journey mechanically stress-free. The 307 cars we prepared before this one have taught us a lot, and so anything that has ever broken on any prior Bugeye has been carefully inspected and replaced, repaired or upgraded. While Ducky was our 308th, we have sold a total of 319, and if every one of those cars has driven an average of just 3500 miles total since departing our building, that’s about 1.1 million Bugeye miles. We put that experience to work and built this car for maximum reliability.

The build sheet was massive. Countless hours were spent. Our team checked and rechecked everything. We tried to retain the original look and feel, while improving systems along the way. For example, we installed an alternator, not because the car needed one, but because we have not had one break. Generators have failed and we didn’t want to take a chance. Hopefully, Ducky will enjoy a good consistency flow of juice throughout this crossing.

We’ve also been agressive with the brakes. We added disk brakes at all four corners, not because they make such a big difference in brake performance, but because we have replaced countless front and rear wheel cylinders, and very few calipers. Calipers are more reliable. Braking with disks is more consistent. No adjustment is needed. So Ducky’s brakes will work just as beautifully at mile 3000 as when the car left our building.

We’ll be watching closely for the next 30 days, anxious to see how we did. While I am quite confident we produced a great product, you’ll probably find me pacing and distracted and eating lots of junk food for the next 30 days. If we answer the phone this coming month, “TJ, is that you?” you’ll know we are still wound a little tight. This is our baby. We are anxious to see if we found and addressed all the potential issues. This is a big test.

Before departure, I set up my 2021 BugiPhone to track this 1958 Bugeye, using that “find my” function on my phone. “Siri, find my Bugeye!” “I’m sorry Dave…” Below is the first tracking screen shot…

Oops! We had sent them on our local Thimble Islands boat tour, and, phone in pocket, it appeared that Ducky went for a swim!

Back on land, and they are off, and I’m like an expectant parent stalking a new teenage driver. “Bogie’s on the move!” There’s going to be a lot of yelling and cheering in the coming days, as Ducky quacks his way across the US of A. We’re all gathered around my iPhone, giddy and high-fiving, because as I write this our intrepid travelers have arrived at the Mystic Seaport.

This is one small step for Bugeyes, one giant leap for Bugeye-kind.

Check out the reliability video tour of the car below:

By the way, after the above video was made, we changed the header and exhaust system because of pin holes we noticed in harm’s way, and the leaf springs, to stiffen the rear, as the original and somewhat tired (understandably) springs were sagging a bit.

We’ll get you updates on trip progress as they become available!

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Cooling fans blow.

July 16, 2021 by bugeyeguy

Driving down Interstate 95 yesterday at 68 MPH in fifth gear, I happened to notice my temperature was above normal. The indicated 197 or so is probably fine, but was higher than what I like to see, and with minimal reserve. Air temp was about 82, hot, but certainly not what our desert clients experience. What was going on?

My wife’s Bugeye “Iris,” (or The Egg” as I like to call it) has a 1275 engine and five speed transmission, and it’s an awesome restoration. The restorer even re-cored the original radiator (you can tell from the modern fins in the picture) and then added a fancy thermostatically controlled electric fan. So why would this car overheat with all this impressive upgraded technology?

Here’s a hint… off the highway, the indicated temperature came down. Only under the sustained “high” load to keep the car moving along at 70 did the temperature climb. It is possible there is sediment in the system, but unlikely since everything is new. Much more likely is that the cooling fan is obstructing air flow above a certain speed. The fan is nice in traffic, but once you get moving, you need air flow to exchange heat, and the fan is actually an impediment.

This fall, (when we catch our breath at the shop and have a free minute), The Egg will get a new aluminum radiator and no electric fan, and that will be the end of it. Never again will an Iris driver have to keep half an eyeball on a climbing temp gauge. The aluminum radiator is the absolute best way to go for your Spridget. Just ask Iris.

Holy Dashboard, Batman!

July 9, 2021 by bugeyeguy

What’s a few extra holes, right?

Most of the dashboards we see have extra holes. The dash on “Spot,” shown below, is an interesting custom variant. The radio perforations were retained, crinkle paint was added, and a bunch of tasteful period gauges and Smiths stopwatches all enhance this dash and make it one of a kind!

A Bugeye dash is just a flat piece of steel so it is easy to customize, and many people do. This dash is one of many variants we have seen. Just make sure you have a plan before you begin your restoration, otherwise, you end up with errant empty holes! Check out the video below… we have gauge consoles in stock if you would like to add one!

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