Bugeye Restoration

Electric Bugeye For Sale! With Driving Video!

May 19, 2022 by bugeyeguy

NOW SOLD to a client of ours who is making a surprise gift! Thank you and congratulations!

It’s time for us to make some space in our crowded shop, and we’ve got so many projects moving forward that our fully restored electric car is not getting much use. I figured it would be nice to send it to a new home. Many people have inquired about kits and about having us build an electric Sprite for them and you might find that buying a completed car is a more practical and ultimately more cost-effective way to go.

We built “Frog-E” as the ultimate prototype for electric classic Sprite conversions. It has taken me up to 109 miles an hour with no shortage of speed in reserve, and it’s delightfully balanced with a 50-50 weight distribution courtesy of the fiberglass nose. In fact, the net weight of the car is about 50 pounds greater than a steel Stock Bugeye, so weight distribution is better and weight is minimally impacted by the electric conversion. Frog-E’s range is about 100 miles, the torque is smooth, ample, and delicious, and the ramp-up of power is moderated by the computerized controller, so there is no risk of breaking the driveline due to stomping on the “gas” pedal.

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A Very Enlightening New Product!

May 13, 2022 by bugeyeguy

This may be one of the most significant products we have added to our catalog in a long time. The perfect storm of old British cars (and drivers) not getting any younger and new drivers paying less attention sometimes creates a precarious situation if your classic breaks down on its next trip. Thus, we are required to fortify our defenses. We are pleased to offer our new LED Rechargeable Flashing Roadside Flare Kit as just such a fortification. These lights should be required equipment for every classic car. None of the vehicles on which we work have hazard lights, so these portable hazard lights are really a hot set-up should anything go wrong with your vehicle and leave you on the side of the road.

Our handy roadside hazard light kit comes with everything you see here. Click here to order!

There are three lights in each package. There are no batteries; all you need to do is charge them with the included USB cord and stick them to the back of your car. In the unlikely event of an emergency, simply stick the handy magnetic lights on your back deck and hit the button. You can pretty much wake-up anybody barreling down the road behind you, day or night. I’m putting a set in each of my cars and you should too! Order yours today!

Sender Gasket of the week!

May 6, 2022 by bugeyeguy

This week, we upgraded CiCi’s Iris Blue Bugeye (here from Incline Village, Nevada) with a fresh 1275 engine and ribbed-case transmission. While checking over the car, we found the tell-tale sign that her sending unit gasket had failed.

Can you see the clue in the photo below?

Look very closely. Do you see the stripes running left to right? Those stripes were caused by a leaky fuel sender leaking fuel out of the top of the tank.

Look closely and you’ll see some fine lines along the bottom of the tank. We didn’t fill the tank so we had no gas smell to reveal the presence of fuel sitting in the sender well, (nor did we want to fill the tank incase we would immediately have to drain it for repair). But these fine lines gave us enough of a clue to dig further.

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Broken, Regardless of the Universe You Inhabit

May 6, 2022 by bugeyeguy

If your u-joints are notchy like this, and feel like they have a spot in them where they “catch”, its time for some new ones! (notice how it moves smoothly in one axis, but notchy in the other)

On Cici’s Bugeye whilst reinstalling the engine, we noticed that the universal joint on the back of the driveshaft was clearly not up to speed. Take a look at the video above; you can see that it is “notchy,” perhaps because one of the u-joint end caps is missing one of its rollers. Maybe the last installer knocked one of the needle bearings out of position and it’s been like that ever since? Regardless, clearly a new U-joint was needed, and now Cici is back in business.

Any time the drive shaft comes out, make sure you check your u-joints! We sell them in our catalog if you need a spare! (Buy yours here!)

Our Greaseable U-Joint is a direct replacement for your Spridget’s driveshaft. Click here to order!

AN5 501 is Finally on the Move!

April 28, 2022 by bugeyeguy

In case you missed it, I bought the first production Bugeye Sprite back in December, and have been waiting patiently for supply chain issues to resolve so that 501 could get a ride out of Melbourne, Australia where the car was parked at a dealership, waiting in limbo. We are exceptionally excited to have acquired this amazing piece of Bugeye history. Now we just need to get her here!

Our boat date was finally confirmed as April 30, and much to my delight, the car has been packed in a 40 foot container and she’s ready to go. You could put a lot of Foster’s Lager in there with our little Bugeye, and I have to believe that something must have been packed in there with it. I’d imagine that we don’t just have a tiny 11 foot long Bugeye luxuriating in such a big box, but I will never get to see the container, as I will not be present when all the kangaroos jump out when our box arrives in New Jersey.

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1275-powered 1959 Bugeye project for sale!

April 28, 2022 by bugeyeguy

Now SOLD to Samuel in Alabama! Thank you, our 350th sold!!!!

Our latest offering is “Mooney” (AN5L 17816), a 1959 Bugeye that was a bare bones autocrosser, last run in the late 80s. It’s a solid car, with good panels and floor. We got it started this week and it runs well, with good oil pressure. You can expect to need to do a thorough mechanical refresh on this car should you choose to make it your own. She will need all new hydraulics to make the clutch and brakes actuate and a new wiring harness would be really nice, as well as rebuilt carbs (these work but would run even better once rebuilt), and new oil pressure gauge line. All these bits are the typical Bugeye replacement items after a long hibernation.

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