Bugeye Restoration

Bugeye Second Honeymoon!

August 5, 2022 by bugeyeguy

Maximum originality and accuracy-501 today, as we complete preparation for concours judging now six weeks away

Our latest project started as a bit of a nightmare… Imagine waiting seven months for your number one Frogeye to arrive and then completely filleting it on the floor of your garage. With just eight weeks to rebuild the car completely to concours specs, the voice in my head kept saying “what on earth are you thinking?” 501 showed up nicely restored but with disk brakes, HS2 (later) carbs, an electric fuel pump and lots and lots of incorrect hardware. It all had to go in our quest for concours gold.

Correct H1 carburetors, heat shield, linkage, cables, all in the correct colors!

August dawned this week with a lot of key concours point sucking issues behind us. We corrected foundation issues and started the rebuild and now this project has taken on an entirely new dimension.

It has become a lot of fun.

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Two very early Bugeyes, two totally different outcomes!

July 29, 2022 by bugeyeguy

Drivability upgrades abound on AN5L 505, such as an aluminum radiator, electronic ignition and spin-on oil filter!

The excitement continues this week as we attempt to master all the minute details on 501 and prepare the car for the national concours with just six weeks to go! If you’re new to our story, we’re taking a perfectly beautiful restored number one Bugeye and turning it into a perfect re-creation of how the car looked the day she left the showroom floor. This is not an easy task because every nut, bolt and washer has to be exact, every color has to be correct and there are a few mysteries that even defy our advisory board of past concours judges. Fortunately for us, we’ve taken apart and seen so many cars that we have a pretty good idea of how these cars were built by the factory and we feel confident we’re re-building a car that would make Donald Healey proud.

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More early car subtleties

July 29, 2022 by bugeyeguy

AN5 501 engine bay prepped with hydraulic lines in place on the firewall – note the proper steel hydraulic lines to match the original.

Many of our videos call-out the unique features of early 1958 cars. The first 1000 or so cars had some unique bits that were reinforced and strengthened by the time car #1600 or so was built, but there are also some unique features of the very early cars that are not even all that well-documented. One of those features is the mounting of the brake and clutch lines across the firewall. In these photos you’ll see the two green cars 501 and 505 with small p- clips and the brake lines close together and up high on the firewall.

AN5L 505 hydraulic lines, still run in the proper location, but with the copper-nickel line, which is much easier to form and work with.

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Electric Bugeye Sprite New Owner Orientation Video!

July 15, 2022 by bugeyeguy

This was a big week for us on many levels. We were finally able to take delivery of the first production Bugeye Sprite, AN5L501 (you can read more about that here). But we were also able to put the finishing touches on one of our electric FrogE Bugeye conversions.

We’ve made dozens of improvements on this car in the last four weeks after it sold; it’s superbly rewarding for us to be able to have this wonderful product that retains the DNA of a Bugeye Sprite, but with an extra-smooth, silent, leak-free power plant. It’s quiet, it’s calm, and it’s quick. It was fun to take what we love most about Bugeyes and add to it a whole new electric drivetrain. This is the best electric car we have ever built.

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Shelby Says Sayonara!

June 24, 2022 by bugeyeguy

Shelby is ready to depart!

It’s always particularly special when we get a car back in our shop that we previously prepared because the car inevitably leaves with new improvements each time through. In this case, Shelby has been here for two prior owners and now is ready for Vernon in Oklahoma, the third owner to push the car to new heights.

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Fun 948-powered 1958 Bugeye Driver For Sale! Driving Video!

June 17, 2022 by bugeyeguy

Now SOLD to a buyer who has asked to remain anonymous for now! Bugeye #356 has found its next home!

Today’s Bugeye offering is a car we like to call “Creamsicle.” AN5L 2564 is a great driver with a 948 engine and front disc brakes. We had this car in our shop in December 2020 and delivered about $8,500 worth of improvements, so the car has been recently gone through for a prior customer; if you’re looking for a well-sorted car, thus, this is a great candidate.

We call this car Creamsicle for obvious reasons. There’s a good story behind its unique paint job. The fellow who had this car for many years in New Haven, Connecticut was on a budget (like a lot of Bugeye owners were back in the day) and in order to paint the car he was able to reclaim surplus paint from his body shop buddies to use on his car. That’s Barracuda Orange Crush on the center section and Chrysler White on the wings. He wanted an entirely orange car, but there wasn’t enough orange to finish the job, so white would have to do – and that’s how Creamsicle was born.

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