This week, Goldie, our 259th Bugeye sold (and one of our finest) is back and for sale! She spent the last year in Arizona, and is now back and ready for a new owner! Under 500 miles have been added since this build. The owner was ready for a change (he has owned dozens of different classic cars) and now someone is going to get his very well-sorted and modified Bugeye.

Goldie is a superb 1959 Sprite. We spent months building the ultimate car for our client, with more than 100 modifications and improvements, all built-in as part of our goal to make this car one world class super-Sprite with all the best reliability upgrades.

With a supercharger, five-speed transmission, 1275 engine and front disk brakes, this car is the product of our obsessive passion for making the ultimate modified Sprite. Below is a video about this build (and about another of our supercharged Sprites).

You can see the team of people who built them in the photo above. We bring many years of automotive restoration experience to the process. We also bring the experience of more then 250 prior Bugeye builds. Our tireless obsession to produce the best helps us to deliver a product that is of the highest caliber.

The seats and interior is custom sewn in our shop, with contrasting gold thread. A deluxe hardura mat kit covers all the surfaces, along with new panels.

I am a huge fan of these hardura mats, as they look like they belong in a Bugeye, and with good reason-the trunks came from the factory with this covering. We are able to custom coordinate the threads to accentuate the interior. We also stitched similar accents into the seat piping. The result is a tasteful set of accents on an already stunning car.

We echoed the gold thread in the dash trim bar too, a tasteful upgrade.

We dressed up the engine bay and fit a supercharger and aluminum radiator. The car now sports about 90 HP, instead of the original 43. A new wiring harness was installed to tidy things up.

We fit tons of new parts including the entire front end, alternator, hydraulics and brake lines, rear shocks, clutch, all dashboard switches, GPS speedometer, electronic tachometer, front sway bar, performance exhaust system, and more.

The final result is a signature edition, signed and numbered!

Some people love stock original Bugeyes. Lots of people love these modified versions… this one will run all day long at 80 mph in fifth gear, or deliver all kinds of smiles as you run up and down through the gears around town. It runs better, cools better, accelerates and stops better, all while retaining the DNA and vintage driving experience of a Bugeye Sprite. If you like well- modified cars that don’t go too far out of bounds, then this car is for you!

This is a premium car that is completely sorted and ready for a new home. To build another like it would take us at least six months and cost quite a bit more than the asking price. If you are looking for a superb upgraded Bugeye that is available today without the wait, please call or email for more information. More pictures to follow!

Here’s another nice Bugeye you can really enjoy today. This is “Yuri,” aptly named because of the 1973 URI (University of Rhode Island) sticker still on the windshield.

This car has a nice stock interior with disk brakes up front and a strong 1098 engine with upgraded rib case transmission and upgraded HS2 carbs. The nose is fiberglass, which is really nice to lift since it is light! There’s no need for a front-flip nose kit (this one is mounted on the original factory hinges and very easy to operate).

We shipped this car to a customer in Maryland with 24,105 miles in the summer of 2017 after building-in a bunch of nice upgrades for him. The car now shows 29,856 miles, thus he drove it about 5000 miles in the last three years since we went through the car.

Yuri is field tested!

We have the build sheet describing the upgrades we performed in 2017, which include a new master cylinder, electronic ignition and new distributor, upgraded lifetime air filters, three-point inertia reel seat belts, LED lights all around, footwell battery kill switch, a rebuilt transmission and new clutch, new water hoses, spin-on oil filter kit, six blade fan, metal fuel sender float and re-sealed fuel tank, electronic tachometer conversion, license plate mount kit, steering rack boots, heater valve and radius arm bushings.

The underside is solid! This was a fair weather car for 35 years in Florida before it moved to Maryland, so there is no top or tonneau fit, although we would be delighted to make them for you.

Give a call if you would like to bring Yuri home! This car is available for $19,995.

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This week we have an adorable yellow Bugeye for sale. It’s an early car made in 1958 (AN5L 1593), which Samantha has named “Ducky.” Production started with car 501, so this would be among the first 1000 or so Bugeyes ever made. There aren’t many of those first thousand cars left, so this is a rare car!

Engine is 9CUH 1156, the original 948 engine that came with the car. Originality hasn’t been the focus of the restoration of this car, however, and while there are great original ’58 features present, the car has been primarily a driver, and so an electric fuel pump and Weber downdraft carburetor has been added, as well as a custom stainless fuel tank. Those components are easy to change if the new owner wants to move closer to originality. It’s very hard to find a good ’58 car, and this one has lots of potential.

The car presents well. There are a few small paint flaws, but the body is very straight and looks quite nice. The black stripes complement the car nicely. These are vinyl decals and can be peeled off if desired.

Floors were replaced with flat steel panels, and while not perfect, they didn’t diminish the pleasure one bit for the prior owner, who kept the car for the last 11 years.

She comes with a good top and aluminum side curtain cores that will need restoration. No tonneau, but we have those in stock.

We have not dug into sorting and fettling this car and it is going to need service. The front shocks are weak and the brake hydraulics will need refreshing. Tires have aged-out and should be replaced. The fuel tank either looks innovative or ugly depending on your perspective, and we have new ones here if you are in the later category. The heater core is missing (we have new ones).

We can upgrade everything for the new owner, or you can do it yourself and we can provide all the parts. We look forward to partnering with the new owner so they can have “Ducky” in whatever form they like.

If you are looking for an early car, this one has an original ’58 nose (smaller radiator shrouding) and tub with the 1958 anomalies, and this is a rare commodity in the Austin Healey universe. Notice also the early and svelte thin windshield still in place, with proper body color matched windshield pillars.

Give a call or email if you are interested in this cool 1958 Bugeye!

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Now SOLD to Richard in Massachusetts! Congratulations! Our 298th!

For anyone wanting to join the Spridget universe without a big investment, this car is the best deal going. You get a unique Sprite with a lot of Bugeye personality for just about three grand. This kind of money would normally buy a project Bugeye that needs a total and complete restoration. Instead, this one is a running and driving car with lots of new parts for the same money.

We have slashed the price to move this car to a new home before the end of the year and to make some much needed space in our shop. This is a special time limited offer, so if you are interested, please get in touch right away… after January 1, we will raise the price back to a market rate.

Oscar is a 1967 Sprite that was the starting point for the prior owner’s imagination. He modified the rear fenders to receive Bugeye tail lights, made a custom panel for the later sprite rear cockpit cutout to form a filler on the back deck, created a one-of-a kind bench seat, built his own (slightly more voluptuous) Bugeye headlights on an original Bugeye nose and created custom rear wheel spats.

The result is an opportunity, that affords someone the ability to get into and enjoy our little British car hobby for not a lot of dough. The car runs and drives well and is ready to deliver ample fun right away.

Oscar has a good 948 engine with later HS2 carbs and an alternator upgrade. Drum brakes are fit on all four corners. Tires are recent. Power is good. Oil pressure is where it should be. The the floors need replacement and the transmission bearings are worn, so a rebuilt gearbox is reccomended. We’ve kept the purchase price super low so you can budget money for those repairs. Meanwhile, you can still have fun with Oscar just as he is, as you can see in the video below:

In the video, you can see Oscar’s secret weapon. The red pistol on the right side of the transmission tunnel operates a washer pump in the trunk, the shoots water out the nozzles mounted on the license plate light plinthe. This gives you the ability to “lift your leg” wherever you like, especially when tailgaters or distracted drivers approach.

A very nice top and restorable side curtains are also included.

Give us a call if you would like to take Oscar home!

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This is “Flip” (AN5L 27223), a 1959 Leaf Green Bugeye set-up with front disk brakes, a 948 engine and a good four-speed original smoothcase transmission.

Flip is very clean and was repainted about four years ago. The car was rebuilt mechanically at that time after the new leaf green paint went on, with a strong 948 engine and new downdraft Weber carburetor, new gas tank, new clutch, new calipers, pads, hoses, brake hard lines, master cylinder, clutch kit, slave cylinder, gas tank and sending unit and tires. The car is also configured with a flip forward nose, for optimal engine access. Engine bay is nice and clean.

The interior is quite handsome, and was all redone. Workmanship is excellent on this new gray interior, which looks quite smart with the leaf green exterior. The wood steering wheel also adds a nice touch.

Flip has a super-secret flip-down locking hatch behind the license plate, which is a novel way to access the back of the boot. It’s kind of like a locking glove compartment, for very large gloves. Or like an escape hatch for very skinny people who need to clamber out the back should the car ever drive off a bridge into a river or lake and start to sink (nose down).

I met one fellow years ago who swore he slept in the trunk of his Bugeye with his finance. I suppose if you are into that sort of thing, this flap would function as a handy rear window, or a convenient way for people to bring you coffee in the morning.

Seriously, this set-up does give you a locking compartment/trunk in your Bugeye, which is of course missing on all other Mark 1 Sprites. If you want to leave your car at a car show with valuables on board, this is a nice way to secure the trunk of the car when you are not present. People have been customizing Bugeyes since day one, and this is just one more novel feature we have seen on the hundreds of Sprites that have passed through our building.

If it’s not your cup of tea, it’s pretty well hidden by the rear license plate when not in use as you can see above. The rear license plate hinges down to allow access to the lock for the rear hatch, when you want to use it.

Or you can ignore it and use the trunk (or not use the trunk) just like most Bugeye owners. Currently, the car has a removable partition in place behind the seats, and you can see the and front and back of that partition in the photos above.

This is a very nice driver with a lot of new parts. The car has no top but the top bow is nice and we can fit a top if you like. Sidecurtains are included, which will need restoration. The tonneau will work fine in sunny climate, but it’s a little tight if you live in a place with cooler temperatures. We can make you a new one if needed.

Flip is ready for fun! Give a call or email if you want to take this car home!

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