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!
2023 will probably be written about as the year that online auctions became an even more massive force in classic car sales. More new online platforms are emerging every month for people to purchase antique cars, sight unseen, while relying on social media to vet their vehicles.
It seems that no matter how hard we try, every classic English sports car leaks oil. I’ve seen many forum posts over the years where people claim to make a leak-free car, and certainly some of them leak very little, but it just seems inevitable that these old cars will leak, no matter how hard you try. And even if you stop them from leaking, it seems just a matter of time before they start leaking once again.
In this post, I wanted to show you some photos of a particular Bugeye engine that just arrived in our shop. This one is leaking more than usual, and in this case it makes a lot of sense to try to reduce or stop the leaking all together. (We’re always optimistic, but we’re also realistic).
Of note in this case is the head gasket leak. We’ve added ultraviolet dye to this engine, so you see a bright green trace wherever there are leaks (a UV kit makes it easy to see exactly where we have leaks). Take a look at the green trace on the left side of the engine. This is directly in line with the oil galley that feeds the head up through the rocker arm pedestal, and the oil as it travels from the block up to the head sometimes leaks at this location. Unfortunately, once it starts leaking, you have to change the head gasket.
We will remove the head to inspect. it could be a bad head gasket or the head is not flat (or block) or too much combustion pressure with an excessively high compression ratio, for example. Or maybe the oil pressure relief valve is not working or set too high… these are all things we will investigate when we get the engine out of the car.
[Read more…] about Oil Toil95% of nose fit adjustments on Sprites happen well after the paint has been applied. In the case of this particular car that we are building for a customer in California, we are maximizing the nose fit now before the media blasting and stripping and bodywork begins. This car will be a British racing green rocket turn up in the style of my personal car Gumby, and it all starts with a nice nose job.
In the video above, I explain the procedures with which we are repairing decades of poor nose fit on Arnold and the steps we take to repair a nose that’s been bonked by a bumper!
We handed Terry an entire skid full of electric car parts and pieces, and invited him to build us an electric car. That’s exactly what he’s doing.
In these pictures, you can see the results. Kenny built some stout mounts, and Terry is now making it happen, and soon the electrons will flow. Like a kid on Christmas morning with a new boxed train set, he’s been building a wonderful diorama all week long.
I would like to think an electric car kit would be an easy thing to put together and sell, but at this point in the evolution of the conversion industry, we have a long way to go. Without a master technician like Terry, I’m not convinced electric car kits are a reality for an average DIY consumer. We’d much prefer to convert your oil leaker here; in fact, we’ll be starting on a ’74 Midget next, and if you’d like us to convert your classic, give us a call and we will be happy to discuss the particulars. That said, we are working on making a kit that adds the necessary pieces so that the average sports car owner has a fighting chance. But it’s complicated.
EV classic car conversions will be an important part the future of our company, as is restoration and modification of gas powered classic cars (just like 501, which we are also out driving around, restored to perfectly accurate, original ICE specs).
I’m certain that there is a large contingent of petrol heads out there who hate these electric things, but at the same time, we’re just delighted to be able to offer a different point of entry for anybody who loves old English cars and wants modern convenience. And convenient they are- this is the ultimate, reliable antique British car. While it still has a few obvious original systems, all the new battery stuff is designed to work forever without a whole lot of maintenance. In fact, we’re using Tesla batteries and expect great results from them. In these photos, you can see the electric heater that we’ve built into a Smiths heater box, on top of a modified original heater shelf.
You can also see the battery disconnect/kill switch under the dashboard that allows us to shut off and pin the switch in the off position for service and safety. At the moment, there are no batteries in the car, so nothing is live, but we’re laying out all the systems and pieces. I’m sure you’ll agree that this is a very tidy and clean layout. We’ve designed this, our third electric vehicle, so that it can be serviced in the future should any thing need replacement. Quick-disconnect fittings will be in place on the battery boxes, should they ever need to come out of the car.
Smooth power, no vibration, no leaks and no carbuetors. Do you need the distinctive exhaust note? Time will tell!
