A tonneau is a cover for your Sportscar cockpit, and it is a very important component every open roadster owner should have. Here’s a video all about why they matter. We sell nice ones that are stretchier and that are more likely to fit. Just keep in mind that when you buy one, the fittings are not installed, so your tonneau has to be properly fit to your car, and that is often best done by an auto or marine cover professional to get the best fit.
[Read more…] about Whats a Tonto, Kemosahbee?
A Bugeye is an excellent yardstick for the dexterity of an aging community. What’s your personal Bugeye-Access Index number (BAI)? This empirical measurement is often measured with a grunt-o-meter. And to cut to the chase, if your neighbors hear you grunt when it’s time to sit down and go for a ride in your Sprite, it might be time for a smaller steering wheel.
[Read more…] about Size matters
Stretch the LWB Bugeye is getting new side curtains. Problem is they have to be completely custom. The car that will wear them is one of two known LWB Bugeyes we built, and so the doors are five inches longer. Thus, the stock side curtains won’t fit.
[Read more…] about Side curtain scoop
Bring a Trailer is an amazing phenomenon that moved about $900 million of classic cars and stuff in 2021. There are lots of new competitors wanting a piece of that action, so we will be seeing even more online auctions in the future. And like any modern online universe, it comes with some unique challenges. All the information on a typical BaT auction is largely crowd-sourced, so the discussion about each car is generally directed by the audience and that audience is often striving for credibility.
Thus posters often cite their memories, history, blood, sweat and tears, etc. to gain a toehold in the group discussion. Occasionally, viewers chime in with praise for the seller, EG, “I have seen every car this seller built and they were all excellent.” Occasionally, you’ll hear from folks who have gone to inspect the car, so you’ll see in the comments, “I’ve been to see this car and it’s everything it was represented to be, and looks even better in person.”
[Read more…] about The quest to find a great Bugeye, online.
A number of people emailed about our new 501 project that I announced last week now that we’ve purchased the first production Bugeye sprite (AN5/501). They were astute to notice that T-shirt we’ve made (and chassis number plate) shows AN5/501. Yet the car is clearly left hand drive. So what gives?
A call to the Heritage Trust, keeper of all heritage certificates for all classic BMC cars, confirmed that the first six production Frogeyes were all left hand drive bound for the United States (AN5/507 was the first right hand drive Frogeye). This is interesting in and of itself… you would think that this distinct British made roadster would’ve started life primarily as a right hand drive vehicle for some lucky Brits, but actually the first production cars were left hand drive. Remember, the total production is predominantly left-hand drive for all Sprites, with the USA as the primary market for this product, and that was always part of the BMC strategy.
[Read more…] about It’s all about the “L”
We’ve had many posts about Fuel sender’s, but it never ceases to amaze me there’s always a new way for people to mess this up so it’s worthy of one more post. The tank shown has the sender mounted 45° out of whack- and can’t move fully without hitting the tank. I didn’t think you could install a fuel sender this way – and the online auction where this car was purchased would not reveal this so the buyer had to have us fix it.
There’s actually a dent in the tank so that it can go all the way up to “full” the float has to go up to the top of the tank to send the needle up to full. Also interesting about this photo as you can see how much corrosion has happened from fuel leaking out of the top of the cork gasket. You can see the stains and the loss of paint indicating that this one would’ve been leaking badly. Of course the owner complained that the gas gauge didn’t work at all!
[Read more…] about Fuel sender funk
