It’s rare enough to see a single supercharged bugeye but here we have two together in our yard. Both of these Sprites have 1275 motors with blowers on them. Shelby (the blue car) is the third we have supercharged and we love this mod- not easy to fit properly, but a real blast to drive once done. Check out this fun under hood video:
Flat-out race car made urban Bugeye warrior
About one third of our customers have more than one Bugeye Sprite. And so I was not surprised when Bill in California, who already owns a stunning restored Bugeye we prepared for him called “Drusilla,” called to purchase our former racer called “Fletch.” When he said that he wanted to keep it in NYC, that got me quite excited. Of course a Bugeye in The Big Apple is about the worst place for the car, with Sprite-sized potholes, abundant newly licensed taxi drivers and full contact parking. But in this age of custom-ride reality TV shows, why not? We proposed an urban assault package with full body armor and sketched up some Max-max inspired nerf bars. But Bill wanted to keep the car’s clean lines intact. We looked to the sky and asked all NYC parking garages attendants to please be kind to this car. And then we set out to convert this former track car to an urban warrior.
We had already fit new street tires and stock lighting, which we quickly upgraded to full LEDs, for maximum visibility. I was worried that the unlocked fuel cap might invite mischief, so we fit a locking cap, buried under a slick racing flip up assembly. We agreed to leave the interior spartan, to retain the racing heritage, and to keep the interior best suited to a quick wipe out should it get wet. We fit racing lap belts, two points of the racing belts you would have found in this car. We fit a leash on the track-required electrical kill switch on the cowl, so the key could be used for additional anti-theft, but would not be a nuisance if ever misplaced. Next came an air horn, electric cooling fan, air filters and a custom tonneau to keep the dirt, water and prying eyes out of the cockpit. That British vinyl had to be custom-fit around all five roll bar legs. And we also removed the rear tube shocks, too stiff, and hanging low in harm’s way. The original lever shocks were a smart choice for ride quality and ground clearance.
There were multiple mechanical challenges given the rough road ahead… for example, the racing header and exhaust was seemingly designed for maximum volume (and performance) so we fit a great muffler but we also had to keep the header from rattling on the driver footwell. Not a concern in a race car since it only happens at low RPMs. But at traffic lights it was knocking out my fillings. So we cut, welded and bent the pipes and now the car is actually somewhat civilized.
I always wanted a race car, but didn’t want to wait till weekends to enjoy it. Driving this car around the block is like taking a lap around the track, and that’s what makes is so much fun. Bill will have to decide if he wants to keep the close ratio straight cut racing gears. The whine you get with this gear-set is intoxicating but perhaps we’ll put in a five speed transmission later.
We’re all really excited about this project, because we pushed the envelope once again and made a Bugeye for a new mission-specific application. Bill wanted a car he could park in New York City and draw a big crowd, even among the most jaded Manhattanites. Fletch will do this job nicely. Come for a drive with me in the video below!
128 improvements later, test drive this near perfect 1960 948 powered Bugeyed Sprite
Our red Bugeye is nearly ready to ship back to the customer in Maryland, with a whopping 128 improvements. We had about 60 items to fix when we got the car, but the project mushroomed into a full-on transformation of every worn part on the car. Jim (the owner) has been a great partner, inviting us to keep improving every step of the way, and the result is one awesome machine.
Come for a drive with me in the video below!
This car had lacked sure-footedness and stability because of multiple suspension issues front and rear, and now the car is tight and crisp through the turns and over bumps, courtesy of a multitude of improvements. For example, the king pins were worn, the a arm bushings missing, wire wheel splines were worn, wheels were worn too. The car drove fine before we started, and it might have been easy to discount the shortcomings as design flaws for this old short wheel base car, but once all the pieces work in harmony, the Bugeye drives blissfully. We are grateful for our experience driving more than 150 different Bugeyes because each one teaches us what is possible, and allows us to strive to produce the best driving machines.
Once the new tach goes in and new top goes on, we’ll load Jim’s car in an enclosed trailer and send it south to him for the next chapter! The electronic tach by the way is another innovation we have for sale which allows us to do away with the always problematic tach drive, cable and tach drive generator. This old fashioned system is constantly breaking in the field, and our new electronic tach looks just like the original mark one item, with a secret VDO mechanism inside that works much more reliably. Jim’s Bugeye will have one of these, and yours can too. Email if you want more info.
A vintage 1960 Bugeye Sprite Race car preserved and made street ready!
This is one of our favorite Bugeyes (and it doesn’t even have eyes)! Our mission was to take this old race car and bring it back as a fun driver. Our goal was to make sure it was easy to drive without being too high-strung. Here’s a picture of the car in it’s former glory, in blue with a different roll bar and wire wheels, circa 1969. Click to enlarge it, it’s a great photo! Headlights were shaved for a more aggressive look, and for better aerodynamics. Of course the original Bugeye design featured hideaway headlights, so this racer evokes the style of the Bugeye prototype, which proved too expensive for Austin Healey to manufacture (there was also reportedly a problem with the headlights popping out at speed on the prototype, a problem they didn’t have the budget to resolve).
This was Gene Rullo’s race car in the 60s and 70s. That’s Gene in the blue car. When he passed away, he left the car to his son Gino, who wanted to bring the car back to life in his dad’s honor. Gino shipped us the car about six months ago. It hadn’t driven in a long time… and the last incarnation was as a race car in the current green and yellow paint scheme, with an open exhaust, no lights, a worn interior and no frills.
We went over everything and set out to make the car user-friendly while preserving the heritage of the car. In fact, we call this project a “preservation,” not a restoration.
First we had to handle the body, which was beat up with racing scars. It had a great patina, but the nose was dented and rusty. Gino suggested we use a different correct Bugeye nose, but we encouraged him to preserve his dad’s vision for unique front of his race car, so we set out to weld-up and fill the existing nose to bring it back to life.
Then we had to deal with the hinges, as the racing nose was removable-not very practical for street use-it’s heavy! So we fabricated flip forward hinges to utilize Gene’s former locking pins.
Then we went through all the systems-new inner fenders were needed, so Bob fabricated those, and air filters, exhaust with sport muffler, shocks, instruments, lights, horn, etc, all so Gino could legally use the car on the road. We painted the roll bar, the door insides, the cockpit and finally the nose. We set up everything for street use, leveraging all our experience from the 114 Bugeyes we’ve had in our shop before this one so we could build a reliable driver. And the result is exceptional.
Even in the 25 degree weather we had today, I tested the car and ran some errands. The brooklands screen does a fine job of keeping the wind off one’s head. The car has tons of power, and a bit of a lumpy idle because of the race cam, but it is easy to drive and great fun!
It was very satisfying to improve the cosmetics without going too far. The car retains so much of the original race character, it makes the experience of driving the car that much more exiting. I am really glad we didn’t repaint the whole car and make it too nice, too restored and too intimidating to throw into the turns. We had talked about putting in carpet but that would have been a mistake. Thus the car still has painted (uncarpeted) floors just like it did when Gino last ran it at Lime Rock.
We recovered the seats but left the period wood grain contact paper and dyno labels for fuel pump and ignition. We did hide a horn button under the dash, and added a hidden battery cut off with a removable key. Notice there is still no ignition key, as you would expect in a race car.
Congratulations Gino! Thank you bringing this car back to life! Look for the car at car shows on Long Island (NY) this summer!
New! Like us on Facebook! More video posted on the bugeyeguy FB page.
How to fully sort an already great British Sports car
It was very hard to part with this amazing modified 1965 Sprite, but we recently sold it to a great new owner in Nashville, where it will certainly have a great home. After the purchase, we were tasked with improving any weakness in the car, and so we further upgraded this already wonderfully upgraded car. Each improvement made the total package that much better, and now the car is TRULY ready for it’s next chapter.
As with most of the cars we purchase, there is an initial punch list of mechanical issues that need to be addressed, so we handled those first. No matter how well restored a car may be advertised to be, there are always issues that the prior owner either didn’t know they had, or couldn’t address with their resources for whatever reason. That’s why we get so many calls from people who have made recent EBAY purchases, because the listing seldom matches the actual car, no matter how good the photos look. We have the luxury of a fully stocked shop and a whole lot of experience knowing what is truly possible for these cars.
So here is the list of what we did before we could let this car go… first, the brakes were not operating at their potential. Even though they worked OK, I could tell from driving a lot of Sprites that they could be better. The rear brakes, it turns out, were assembled with the springs on the wrong side, so the rear brakes weren’t doing much, and the shoes were wearing at an angle. The Ebrake linkages were also installed incorrectly, so the rear brakes were compromised. Add to that a pair of leaking rear wheel cylinders and so there was brake fluid on the rear shoes. In total, the rear brakes needed to be completely redone.
Next the master cylinder had started weeping a bit, and the new owner elected to have us put in an upgraded sleeved master for improved longevity. There was a plug in the slave cylinder with no bleed screw, so we addressed that, bled the whole system, and that took care of the hydraulic system.
We next tuned and synched the carbs, and changed the ram air inlets to K and N lifetime air filters. I couldn’t tell that there was any degradation in performance but we feel a lot better now that the incoming air is filtered. We did notice a flat spot at about 3500 rpms, and a rich pair of needles fixed that, which was not surprising given the upgraded power plant in this car.
Next we moved on to modern drivability, and enhanced all the lighting, with LED lights on all four corners, and LED brake and tail lights. Cibie-style headlight bulbs also improved the look and lighting on the front end. We needed to convert to negative ground for the LEDs to operate, and that meant converting the electronic tach for negative ground. Complete disassembly of the tach is required for this.
We then added an air horn to replace the “road runner” style “meep meep” horn that was in there.
Another issue was a loose baffle that was rattling in the handsome twin tip muffler. The new owner opted to replace that with our slick Sebring Sprite muffler we have developed, with more petite tips that look more to scale on the car, and a deep and serious exhaust note.
Next were three-point retractable shoulder belts, which really help to make the driver feel more secure.
Shifting was difficult, especially when cold, so we added MTL synthetic, which I love in these Datsun five speed transmissions. It is a magic cure for difficult gear engagement in this particular gearbox.
Add to all this complete service of all the other routine items, and the car is ready for it’s new home. You can see me and Bodhi take our final February test drive here before loading the car into an enclosed trailer for (much warmer) Nashville.
I am not sure what you get when you pay for “dealer prep” shown on the window sticker of every new car. But at Bugeyeguy, dealer prep means 20 or 30 hours of careful enhancements for modern roadways and a thorough diagnostic discussion with a new owner to make sure that the car that arrives is exactly as expected. We’ve had customers who want to do it themselves, and customers with great local mechanics who they want to use for any enhancements. But most of our customers want to take advantage of the expertise that comes from now 120 Sprites we’ve shipped to new homes. With every car we learn something new, and we leverage that experience to make the next car even better!
