bugeyeguy.com

The largest restorer and reseller of Bugeye Sprites in the world


CURRENT INVENTORY IS SHOWN IN THE SMALL PICTURES JUST BELOW THIS TEXT!
(if a car is not pictured here, it has been sold)

Fully-sorted and restored 1960 Bugeye Sprite for sale!

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This is a Bugeye we call “Johnson.” It’s a 948 powered car with drum brakes all around, as well as a smooth case transmission, so it’s relatively stock in configuration.

This is a car that was extensively made-over in our shop in February 2020, and we recently got the car back when the owner traded for something different. What’s special about this one is that we’ve gone through every square inch of this car for a great client who pretty much gave us free rein to fix anything and everything and the new owner is going to get a special car as a result. She’s cosmetically not perfect but it looks quite striking- the real value of this particular car is that it has been carefully combed in our factory and sorted-out with more than 190 improvements so everything has been adjusted fully-fettled for a lucky new owner.

Upgraded mirrors, hardura mat custom interior, spin-on oil filter, new clutch, electronic ignition, aluminum radiator, three-point seat belts, you name it (with the exception of the front sway bar), we upgraded it, all the hydraulics have been renewed too. There is an extensive build sheet we can share, if you are interested.

The underside is quite solid. The car drives great. Call if you are interested. This is a car that will show-up on the new owner’s doorstep and work reliably, because we went through it in 2020 for the prior owner and would only release it to him when it was completely sorted. Now you can have the benefit of all that hard work.

The new owner will get a Bugeye that is a delight to drive, and completely configured for best reliability and driveablilty!

Supercharged 1275 and front disc brake Bugeye Sprite for sale! New! Video tour & drive!

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“Shelby” (AN5L 33967) is a 1960 Austin Healey Sprite Mark 1 with superb modifications. We have owned this car three times, and each time it comes through here, it only gets better. On the last round, we put a new supercharger and aluminum radiator on her 1275 engine, and now she really flies. The car has a strong four speed rib case transmission… perhaps the next owner will go for the five speed? That’s another great upgrade that would go well with this package.

Currently, Shelby is fit with front disk brakes, a new fuel tank, and a strong twin-tipped exhaust with a sweet note.

There is no other Bugeye quite like it, with a custom license plate mount, fender-top seams removed, turn signal housings removed (they’re now integrated in the brake lights and in the grill) and custom roll bar. The car looks more like what you would see at a custom car show, and is a creative interpretation of the original car. She’s cleaner and smoother, with a more elegant look.

There is a strong market for custom Bugeyes and stock ones too. Both segments co-exist nicely, and the buyer for this car is someone who wants a performance and show Bugeye that is extreme eye-candy, built with a hot-rodder vibe.

The car was completely restored and painted in Florida in about 2010. We then completed the car for our client Scott in April of 2013. It was an impressive build with new tires, new wheels, an entire new interior with new navy carpet, side panels, door pockets, custom blue leather (not vinyl) seats with white piping, new leather dashboard and my favorite, original Smiths gauges re-screen printed with white bezels to match the car. Scott could have gone with white VDO or other brand gauges, but he chose to keep things British to better complement the car. 

We fully serviced the car at that time and Scott put 364 miles on this beauty (he has a large collection, so none get driven too much). In November of 2015, we sold this car to Bill who stored the car in the Hamptons, and he too only put a few hundred miles on the car.

If you like show-stopping custom classic cars, this is a great and rare find! Call or email if you’re interested!

Hot 1275-powered and restored 1960 Bugeye Sprite for sale called “Spice !”

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Check out the new driving video of Spice!

This is a great car that we have just “spiced-up” with new chrome wire wheels and new 155 tires. There were previously two temp gauges on the car, one in the head and one in the radiator. You might notice the late model gauge supplemental gauge in the video but we have now removed that now, because it never looked right, and was unnecessary.

AN5L 49195 is a 1960 Bugeye built late in 1960 and first titled in 1961. We call this one “Spice,” because it is painted in a slightly more Cinnamon shade of the original cherry red that came new on a Frogeye. This is a very good car, with an excellent paint job and a lot of nice upgrades, like a 1275 engine with ribbed case four speed transmission, front disk brakes and wire wheels.

I have driven the car a bit and it is a delight to drive, after a complete restoration about five years ago with not a lot of miles since. The car is quick, courtesy of the 1275 engine and exhaust header, to help her breathe. The wire wheels look great!

The paint is excellent and shines quite beautifully. The interior still looks new. The luggage rack allows you to carry an overnight bag, or a golf back or a folding bicycle, for that matter. The wood steering wheel is a nice upgrade.

A great top is included, see the photo album for pix. The tonneau is also nice, but the edges are a bit frayed. We have new ones available in deep red if you would prefer.

Soft top installed on car. This was when the car had painted wheels, which have now been updated with chrome.

There is no heater… I got the car from the Southwest where no cabin heat was needed. The fresh air snorkel is fed directly into the fresh air inlet in front of the battery. We can put in a heater assembly and blower if the new owner needs heat for their particular location. Original side curtains are included, but they will need to be restored if you ever need to mount them.

The underside is very solid with no floor rust! 55,942 miles are shown but actual mileage is unknown.

If you are looking for a nice restored Sprite, this is one to seriously consider! As with most of the cars we sell, we can modify Spice as much or as little as you desire! Call or email if you are interested and we can discuss a five-speed conversion and any other custom features you might like us to add to the car before we send it to your door! Perhaps you would like the front cockpit trim covered with vinyl? We can do that too!

1960 concours gold certified Bugeye for sale!

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We have something extra special this week!

This is AN5L 25014, a nationally certified gold level concours 1960 Bugeye sprite (built in late 1959). This car has been to a national Healey club conclave and received gold level certification, which is certified after hours of judging by a team of four judges. This is not a small feat. (Nor is it for the faint of heart, they are tough!)

For a gold award, your car has to be exactly accurate AND everything that is accurate has to be in excellent condition. So a car at this level is a special example that is as close as you can get to purchasing a brand new Bugeye in 1960. And unlike a car that was put away in 1960, a gold level car still looks and operates as though it it being driven in 1960 and everything ALSO looks new (not to be confused with a fantasy time capsule car that has been sitting for 60+ years which would need a complete refresh to run). Moreover, when you go a national concours, you also have to demonstrate that your car runs and drives well, so it’s not just about looking accurate, it has to work properly too!

Keep in mind that there are many mixed-make and local concours worldwide, and this car has performed well at these too. For example, this car received an award when shown at the Greenwich Concours, which is no small feat. Keep in mind though that a mix-make concours like Greenwich generally features roughly 10 minutes of judging and while the standards are high, every minute detail does not have to be scrutinized to the same degree. The prior owner of this car actually drove it to the Greenwich Concours from New Jersey back in 2016, so the car can and will drive beautifully.

The new owner of this car has some interesting choices. The first choice is to take the car as is, and use it as is. This means accepting the few drivability concessions that have been made to make the car easier to drive (at the expense of concours points, should that ever be relevant for the new owner). For example, we have some incorrect but more reliable arrow clamps on the fuel lines which would cause a point deduction on the national field. We also have a later fuel tank installed currently, also a few points off, but clean and new.

Or, we can go after a concours gold upgrade, and try to reach for the 1000 point gold standard with the car. We will have the judging sheets shortly that outline any prior deductions. The goal in this game is to achieve 1000 points- that would be the perfect accurate original car in excellent condition… but anything north of 950 still entitles you to gold.

As a reference, our Primrose Bugeye number 552 that we built back in 2015 had a score of 967.5 and it’s always exciting to try to bring the car back for judging and reach closer to perfection. We can do that with this car, too. We generally try to collect as many accurate and original parts in our warehouse for just such an occurrence. For example, we can put in an original correct one piece fuel tank and change the hose clamps, put in a tar top battery, switch to a mechanical fuel pump with a primer lever and more to try to narrow the gap to perfection. Click here if you want to see a DVD (or digital download, if you prefer) all about concours restoration.

There may be a new owner out there who wants us to provide that service and we can have the car ready for the next to Austin Healey national meet next summer where it can be judged once again. Or perhaps there’s an owner out there who wants to do that work themselves and use our inventory and consultation to reach the final goal. Any choices are delightful for this vehicle, you can own it and you and use it on special occasions or bring it up to the thousand points standard at your leisure or something in between, but to start with a car of this build quality and accuracy is a rare opportunity in today’s market place.

We’ve built now perhaps 400 different Bugeyes and everyone of them has been different. More and more drivability seems to be the priority and therefore upgraded engines and transmissions have been extremely popular as people work to keep compete with modern traffic. But there is also this other giant category of originality for these cars and there is no better way to express that originality than with a gold concours car. There aren’t many out there that I know of, fewer than five, so here’s an opportunity to own one of the most accurate Bugeyes you’ll find in the world.

This special Bugeye is expensive, and not for everyone. If you like this sort of thing, please give a call to discuss!

1275 Shelby-esque Bugeye screamer for sale-New Video!

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Come for a drive with us and Royal!

Meet “Royal” (AN5L 40317), a striking Bugeye with Shelby graphics. This is a solid Sprite which was owned for the past seven years by a Healey lover in the Boston area, who kept the car in great care. The car only covered about 250 miles during his stewardship.

The car has a striking paint job that still looks very fresh. The stripes are properly laid down, sealed under the very sharp clear-coat finish. The flip forward nose kit makes engine access a breeze.

The car has tons of power and a nice exhaust note. The 1275 engine is fed by a side draft Weber, which is working quite well.

The car also has a cut off switch on the dash, so you can remove the red key to the right side of the dash, which kills all electric power if you park the car for an extended period, or can be used for anti-theft. A rear tube shock conversion was also fit to replace the rear lever shocks with later tube type dampers.

There is (an unconventional) red starter push button on the dash to engage the starter. It works just fine. The new owner can decide to keep this perfectly functional set-up or to have us convert the dashboard back to an original starter pull.

The top is fine but a top bow is needed, and the car hasn’t been used with a top in forever anyway. Tires are from 2002 so they are ready to be retired.

This is a great car, with great wheels and a great look. It’s solid and striking and please give a call or email if you want us to send Royal to your door!

Contact us at David@bugeyeguy.com or call (203)-208-0980 during business hours