We have a few new Candy videos this week, and this car is now sold to Gary in Maryland! Congratulations Gary, great car and our 324th!!!! Mikki and Spice are also great cars if you are sorry to miss this one!
NEW! Video walk around and driving video below!
Candy is one of my favorite Bugeyes, because it has a wonderful growl, and all the right upgrades without being “over the top.” I bought this 1958 Sprite about ten years ago and sold her to John in Illinois, who has driven it less than a 1000 miles since. The car is still excellent. And of course I was ecstatic to buy it back because it is hard to find cars this nice.
This car was built beautifully when it was restored, the paint and metal work is excellent. The 1275 engine was built with performance in mind, with a higher compression ratio and uprated cam (all documented, see video below). It idles with a really nice growl and is quick and fun to drive, while still very street-able. Tires are oversized 185s and quite sticky.
I found a 2011 video drive in this car that you might enjoy. I believe it was shot with a handheld Flip video camera, so I apologize for the poor quality. This video looks prehistoric, but will still give you a nice feel for the torque and the way in which this car grunts!
The Delorto side-draft carb works really well and is tuned properly, and helps to deliver what must be 90 or so horsepower on a .060 overbored performance engine. And the Datsun five speed transmission is also a real bonus… easy to shift, fully synchronized, quick off the line, a delight to cruise at speed with overdrive fifth gear… this is a really nice package.
The Porsche Arena red is a stunning color on these cars. It’s a rich burgundy that evokes the original Cherry red color that came on these car (it was in fact more of a deep red burgundy) and this modern version has a stunning metallic finish. The interior is excellent, and the seats were custom covered with matching burgundy piping with lumbar support air pumps added. And the cockpit trim has new custom matching tan covering.
I made a few videos about this car ten years ago which you can watch below. She still looks just as nice. Back then, we called this car “Bugzilla,” before it went to Illinois. Now, it’s still eye “Candy!” Also, we have removed the black headlight rings, cockpit trim and steering wheel you see in the video, opting instead for tan accents to coordinate with the burgundy and cream theme! So the photos are current, the video is not, but the car still looks just the same other than the new tan highlights in the interior and new tan leather nose hold down straps.
The current top is older. A new tan tonneau and top would complete the look! These bits can be purchased and installed here before the car leaves to its new home. I’d also like to put in tan wool footwell floor mats which we can make, but I am happy to discuss this and other color options like tan three point seat belts, for example, with the new owner. No heater currently as this has always been a fair weather car, but we can add a heater if the new owner desires.
Check out the receipts in the video below!
Give a call if you would like to make Candy your own. And if you want more info on this car, here’s one more older video about the car below.
