Our catalog continues to grow! We are excited to help many new late/square Sprite and Midget owners with awesome technical support and parts in the first half of 2023 and beyond! Here are some of our favorite new parts this year!
[Read more…] about Not just Bugeyes! Parts for all your Sprite/Midget needs!The lower rear quarter is a common rust area on Frogeyes. Over the years, we’ve seen our share of blistered panels in this portion of the car. In some instances, the damage is extreme, but it’s not always as difficult as you might think to repair this area. We sell a patch panel for this purpose, which you can see by clicking here. With the car shown, only a portion of that panel was needed, so we just use what is needed from the patch panel, and it is different with each job.
If you follow the sequence of the photos, you can see the blistered area prior to the repair and then the rusted material that we cut away.
Here’s a photo of the rusted piece on the bench, which we use to match the paint color, once the repair is complete.
Here you can see the patch we fabricated for the inner skin of this area, hand-formed by our lead fabricator Kenny.
Then, after welding in the inner patch, the outer patch panel is tack welded in, and then a complete bead of welding all the way across the seam is laid down, which is then ground down flat.
Finally, a very thin coat of body filler is applied so that we can sand the repaired area into a perfect compound curve.
Next week, the primer goes on and then the final red spray is blended into the existing quarter panel.
The design of this rear section is not ideal; moisture gets trapped at the bottom of the fender in this area and leads to the blisters and rust that you see in this post, but now that it’s been removed and repaired and resealed inside, this Sprite should enjoy another 50 years without perforation!
Not every Bugeye needs to be perfect! This is a well-used Sprite and under the same ownership for many years. Multiple mechanical upgrades were needed, but in this video, I’ll show you how we’re transforming the interior to make the car more comfortable to use (and to make it smell better)!
If you’d like to order any of the parts we used to transform this Bugeye, click on the photos below or check out our entire parts catalog here!
I bet your king pins are wiped-out. The Sprite Haynes manual encourages you to squirt-in some grease every 3000 miles, but the original Sprite “glovebox” handbook suggests a 1000 mile interval, and I encourage you to follow that guildline. From what we see in the field, it seems like few people do.
Check out the swivel axle in the video below… this car came for a disk brake conversion and upon disassembly, we were surprised to see a nearly seized bushing on this swivel axle, which required major effort just to swivel.
On the back of each front swivel axle are two grease zerk fittings. These two zerks are used to provide lubricating grease to the king pin bushings, two brass bushings that are pressed into the steering knuckle on which the king pin rides. After long periods of driving without replenishing the grease, the bushings can begin to seize to the king pins, creating galling and pitting on the king pins and shortening their service life.
[Read more…] about Feeling bushedBelow is a video of the rear suspension in an Bugeye that came to us for its Spring tune-up, with the owner complaining of bottoming out in the rear end. It didn’t take long to figure out why.
In the video above, you can see the quarter-elliptical springs clicking together and making noise. You can also see that the spring is quite weak, and can be easily pushed upward, with minimal resistance. This leaf spring has outlived it useful life.
[Read more…] about Nick’s Tech Tips: Spring has sprung!The beading on the tops of the Bugeye bodies are sometimes damaged or removed in restoration. Here’s a video about how to restore them to their original configuration. Make sure to get your beading cleaned-up and properly terminated before the paint goes on!
Beading came in a “T” section and plugged into the seams and was brazed in place in the factory that built the original bodies. Some restorers like to cut off the bottom leg of the “T” and attach the flat strip along the seam to recreate the original look. Once installed, make sure to avoid hitting the bead strip with a sander or grinder or you will ruin the original profile of the strip.
Should your beading be missing or damaged on your Bugeye, we offer a full body beading kit that provides enough beading material to do an entire Bugeye, with a little bit left over! Click on the photo below to get yours, or click here to view our full catalog! We can also provide cut sections in case you only need a small strip. Call or email for help!
