BARN FIND!

It’s getting harder and harder to find complete unmolested Bugeyes so we are pretty excited to find this one!

I first met AN5L 37802 in June of 2015 when the owner (“Skip”) was taking down his barn in the Catskills (in New York) where the car had been stored since 1974. In the picture above from 2015, you can see Skip extracting the car as the barn is removed. He had purchased it in about 1967 from the second owner.

You can still see the original Crandall-Hicks plaque on the back of the car. This was the New England British Motor Corporation distributor at the time, so this is a wonderful plaque to still see in place. You might enjoy reading a bit about Crandall-Hicks at the link here… they sold Indian motorcycles in the 30s and later helped bring the BMC line to our shores. I was amazed to read that in 1955, they built a Quonset hut (just slightly larger than ours) on their property, to house their shop and British car inventory! (That structure was destroyed in a snowstorm but was replaced with another Quonset hut!!! They are still in business, and it looks like they now sell power equipment, albeit not from a Quonset hut.)

Anyway, Skip ended-up trading the car for a Ford tractor and brush hog in 2015, but I was lucky last week to buy it from the latest owner (who merely stored the car inside since 2015). It still looks the same today as it did when it came out of Skip’s barn.

I enjoyed finding the 1973 Major League baseball rule book under the passenger floor mat. I called Skip this week and asked about this (he’s happy to meet the new owner) and it turns out he drove the car everywhere in the early 70s as an umpire for little league games.

The car is well-preserved. She needs a complete restoration and there are some small holes in the floor pans. But this is a great candidate, with minimal rust-through and a good underside. It’s somewhat crusty underneath, but thankfully, it looks like the car was sitting on wood planks instead of a dirt floor. Floor patches will be needed, but the underside is much more solid than most. Take a look at the underside pictures in the photo album for more details.

Skip parked the car in 1974 because it had low oil pressure, so you’ll need to rebuild the stock 948 engine in the car, which would likely need a rebuild from sitting all this time anyway. The original hardtop is a nice detail that comes with the car. But most importantly, everything is in place just as it was in 1974. The car is a bit of a time capsule. Original jack and jack handle is included as is original (torn) tonneau.

Indicated mileage is 74,114. It’s always amazing to think back to a time where it was common for people to routinely use these cars as daily drivers. This one was parked after just 14 years on the road. We’ll never know if it went 74k or 174k miles in those 14 years. But it’s nice to see a car that hasn’t been modified or disassembled, which makes the restoration more attractive and a lot easier to organize and complete.

The period luggage rack shown in the photos is also included, just not on the car at the moment. Tires are also filled and holding air, but will of course need to be replaced after sitting for so long. The car rolls freely and we can ship it anywhere in the world. The car is currently in our shop and comes with complete paperwork for the new owner to register the car, anywhere in the world.

Call 203 561 6929 if you are interested!

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Price reduced! Now $27,995. That’s a great price for one of the nicest Bugeyes you can find! New photos below! Call or email if you are interested in owning an immaculate original-spec Bugeye Sprite.

This is “Tanner,” a rotisserie restored all stock 1960 Bugeye Sprite, done to a very high standard and ready for a new home. The car is finished in Olde English white with a red interior, exactly matching the factory color scheme. With fully restored chrome and interior, the car is a real head-turner.

We purchased this car in 2012 when it was a fresh rotisserie restoration with everything brand new. We then sold it to Nick in British Columbia, Canada, where it has lived garaged inside a special “CarCoon” garage storage air capsule pretty much ever since (that’s the red oxygen tent shown below). He has only put a few hundred miles on the car, driving it only on nice days, and it is pretty much exactly as it was in 2012 when it was fully restored.

The underside is immaculate. The car comes with new side curtains and top, as shown in the photo album.

The car is still in BC and we are selling it for Nick on this site, to make it easier for clients in that region who might be interested. Of course, we can ship it from there to your house, anywhere in the world. Nick can also deliver the car to Blaine, Washington, where the new owner can pick it up.

This is a fully-sorted and great Bugeye. Check out the photo album below of the car as it now sits in Canada, with a clear rear windscreen installed to reduce cockpit wind noise. The Photobucket album linked below was shot when we last had the car in 2012.
Give a call if you want to make this stunning Bugeye your own!

You can see 50 pictures of this car by clicking here. This album was shot in 2012, and because the care has been so exceptional and the mileage has been so minimal, the car still looks this good.

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Here’s another Bugeye we have sorted fully and sent to a new home, that is now up for sale again. The current owners (in Texas) got this car from us in the summer of 2015, and after three years of ownership they are ready for something new. So we are offering the car for sale once again.

The next owner gets the benefit of nearly $10,000 of upgrades done by us for the current owner back in 2015. Some of the best upgrades we did: front disc brake kit (drums are shown in the photos, but were replaced after photos were taken), LED lights all around, three point retractible seat belts, new top, new tires, new electronic ignition and new gas tank (old tank is shown in photo gallery, it was replaced after photo). I have to confirm but I believe we also sent this car with new sidecurtains and a new sidecurtain pouch. The car is fully sorted and ready to enjoy! It has spent most of its life in dry climate. The next owner gets the benefit of a lot of hours spent in our shop (and a lot of money spent by the prior owner) to make this car great.

This car is available now for $19,995.

We call this car “Bliss,” because it wears an original 1962 Fort Bliss base sticker on the front bumper.

I’ve heard lots of Army base Bugeye stories over the years, and here’s car that clearly lived on the Army’s second largest base in the dry Texas/New Mexico climate. And it shows. The car is very solid. [Read more…]

This is Sprite AN5L 13275, built in March of 1959. This car has a great package of options and weather gear and is ready for a fun drive home!

Meet a Bugeye we call “Boyd.” We owned and sold Boyd in 2015 to the current owner in North Carolina, who has now asked us to sell the car for him. He has put 1600 miles on the car in the three years he has owned it.

It’s a great car, recipient of much sorting when we last had it in 2015. This week, we took care of any outstanding issues. It’s equipped with a mostly stock 948 engine and four speed transmission, with the popular front disk brake upgrade. Boyd is also loaded with a number of great upgrades that would cost thousands if you were to put them in yourself.

For example, Boyd is equipped with electronic ignition, new distributor, spin-on oil filter adaptor, uprated door pockets, nice rubber mats and door liners, recent tires, new electronic solid state fuel pump, new heater valve, three-point retractable seat belts and new steering column bushings. The car also has an excellent three-year old top, new sidecurtains and nice fleece top and sidecurtain bags. A jack (in its own pouch) and spare tire are also in place in the boot. A tonneau is included, but it is a bit tight, and the new owner might enjoy having us make a new one.

All these accessories make for a great driving experience. Easy service. Great weather gear. Thousands have been invested. Interior and underside are excellent. You can’t go wrong. Call to inquire further. This car is available for delivery now, for $21,995

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If you like the earliest of Bugeyes, this one is for you! PRICE REDUCED to $19,995!

Of the original 49k and change that were made, how many Bugeyes do you think are left? 2500? 5000?

And of those remaining cars, how many are left that were made in 1958? I am guessing 10% (and that may be high). So there are somewhere around 250-500 1958 Bugeyes left on the planet. And that’s why I wanted to share this car “Hampton” with you again. It’s a rare car, and should be a great investment, given its rarity.

To be fair, this is not a correct factory color and the larger engine and Weber carb are not stock either. But the correct thin windshield, the correct original ’58 only door levers, the correct ’58 rocker panel gussets at the B pilar, and other ’58-only features make this a car well worth considering.

To make Hampton even more attractive, we have lowered the price to $19,995. Call if you want to take Hampton home! This is a great car with a sweet performance exhaust note and a wonderful shine! Spring has come early in New England, let’s get you ready to enjoy the warming weather!

Hampton is car #AN5L 3418. If you are unfamiliar, at roughly car #5500, the windshield frames changed to a thicker assembly, and these early assemblies are now quite rare. We almost never see these properly fit to the appropriate early cars so it’s great to see one shown here. They are more slender and graceful, and it’s nice to see one still in circulation where it belongs. Notice also the long door levers, which also changed to a much more common shorter flavor later in the Bugeye production run. You can also see the correct early windshield wiper motor in the engine bay.

This is a very sharp driver with a larger 1275 engine, rib case transmission and disk brakes, so the power is great and the braking is excellent. The car is also fit with a performance exhaust that makes a very nice noise. A single Weber downdraft carburetor has been fit too. We just put in new front shocks. A solid state electric fuel pump has also been installed. Front anti-roll bar is also present for optimized handling. There’s a nice air horn too.

This car is ready!

The paint is quite good with a lot of luster as shown. We put in new carpet, new panels and new door seals, which made the car quite stunning inside too.

Floors have been repaired. They look good and you can see this in the photos of the tub before we installed the new carpet and panels. There was a roll bar once, and you can still see its former mounting holes in the floor pan. There is no top or tonneau, but we can make a new white or black one for you if you like. New windows are also available.

This is a strong driving car that would be a welcome addition to any stable!

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