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)

1959 Bugeye Sprite driver for sale!

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This is “Chap,” (AN5L 15917) a 1959 Bugeye driver in Lotus colors, named after Colin Chapman. This is a nice car that turns heads. If you are looking for a sharp car at a good price, give this one a serious look! It has lots of curb appeal!

The car is 948 powered with a four speed transmission and front disk brakes. It came from California. The flip forward nose makes engine access a delight. The wind wings and wind blocker on the roll bar keeps the cockpit quieter. It has a smoke gauge too, so you can tell if you have let the smoke out. This seems to be one of the all time favorite classic British car jokes… but our job is to make sure there is no smoke in anyone’s experience of this car!

The car also has a German speedo hanging under the combo gauge under the dash. I am not sure if this is a joke from the prior owner too, because the original speedo in the car works fine.

The car is ready, with a new battery and drives nicely. We can further upgrade and/or modify the car for the new owner, including removing the smoke gauge and putting in an ammeter, for example, or a clock or voltmeter depending on your preference.

There’s a smart cubby in front of the shift lever, nice to store your wallet and phone when on a drive. Our larger dash mirror is in place, a good upgrade. And there is already an electric fuel pump installed. A radiator expansion tank is also present, a nice upgrade from a later Sprite.

We can remove the under dash speedo, and/or you can tinker with these details yourself. It’s a good car and a solid car, and we look forward to finding “Chap” a new home.

The car was serviced a year ago by the prior owner and came back with 175 compression numbers in all cylinders, a great sign of a good engine, and it shows… the car is fun to drive! Give a call if you would like to make Chap your own!

For Sale! 1958 Bugeye driver that snarls!

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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!

Join us for this video walk around of Candy!
Come for a drive with us!

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.

Ducky, the Larricks and Bugeyeguy in the NY Times

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The nice folks at The New York Times just published a great story about road-tripping in classic cars, featuring “Ducky” and the Larricks. We’ve included a copy of the article below, but if you would like to view it on The New York Times page, you can do so by clicking here (If you click over to the Times site, you may need to sign up to create a free account.)

This was our greatest reliability run ever, and our team did an awesome job building a car to make this epic 4000 mile trip.

Download

Floyd, 1961 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite driver for sale!

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Here’s “Floyd,” named after, you guessed it, “Floyd” (who sold us the car). Floyd loved this Bugeye and enjoyed it for many years, until “Pickle” caught his eye, and he traded-up, and traded this car-in. We’ve now got it for sale for a very reasonable price, so if you want to get into a Bugeye, this one is worth serious consideration!

The car has a 948 engine and drum brakes throughout. It’s a fun car to drive and everything works. The car is titled as a 1961 Bugeye, but was built in 1960 and titled as a 1961. Wheels are recent reproduction Minilites, a nice upgrade! The paint is excellent, and the body is straight except for a few small door dings on the sides.

Floors are good, and one patch panel was previously welded into the passenger footwell. Top bows and top are included. The top is worn out but we can fit a new one for you if think you might need that.

Give us a call if you would like us to send Floyd your way!

The car is available for $16,495

Ducky’s Reward

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Photo courtesy of Dan Ruthemeyer / Skagit Valley Herald

The Larricks have arrived home after 4001 luscious 948 powered cross-country Bugeye miles, as you have probably heard by now. Here’s the first of a few articles about their journey, this one in the Skagit Valley Herald from 8/25/2021.

I find myself imagining that TJ and Karen would be driving around town these days in a 1972 Continental after an epic drive in a Bugeye (like the one below), but in reality, TJ is probably still driving around locally in his Bugeye, or in his 70s Saab 96… he is not craving something gigantic like the Lincoln. Let’s see what we can learn to keep improving reliability if he really does drive his Bugeye 26,000 miles this year (as T.J. is quoted saying in the article)!

Super Trick Little ’60 Bugeye Sprite for sale.

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Traditional, powdercoated windshield installed and ready for Fall weather! Also comes with Brooklands screens for Summer fun!

Our Super Spot is an awesome car that is still available. We’ve recently installed the brand new grill on Spot and wanted to feature the car this week because it is a very well-sorted car that has been through our process twice for two different owners. Each time, the car has gotten better! If you want a car that is already pre-loaded with lots of reliability upgrades, this is a great car to consider!

Brand new stock grill (shown above) is now installed.

Spot comes with the traditional windscreen (as pictured above) but also a set of Brooklands style windscreens for summer cruising! These screens can stay mounted inside the stock windshield or they are easy to remove too. This car also comes with a nice top, which unfortunately we weren’t able to photograph this week due to a busy week.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call us and inquire about this great car!

She’s a 948 engine, four-speed car, with drum brakes all around and has been completely rebuilt with maximum cosmetic “wow” factor. The car is lowered and looks mean!

Racing style fuel cap and Minilite style wheels installed

It is just back from two-year ownership in Wisconsin where it sat mostly idle and only used in nice weather. Total mileage by the past owner was just 819-under 1000 miles since we completely upgraded the car.

Prior to heading to Wisconsin in 2019, we performed a major build-out with multiple upgrades including swapping the lap belts to three point retractable belts, adding an air horn, rally clocks, larger dashboard mirror, spin-on oil filter conversion, LED lights all around, and nice center tunnel console in front of the shifter with Smiths volt and amp gauges. We changed the pinion seal and upgraded the cooling system with a six blade fan and aluminum radiator.

Brooklands style with custom tonneau cover

Most importantly, we added a powder coated windshield and stanchion assembly with new glass and all new rubber. This allows you to use the new top that we also fit to the car. The windshield is on the car as shown in the new photos. And it is easily removed to fit the brooklands screens as shown. Thus, this car can be configured to your liking… leave the windshield off in peak summer months and use the Brooklands screens that come with the car and tonneau. Put the windshield on in the Spring and Fall when more weather protection is needed.

We are glad to have this one back!

Below is a video drive of the car from December 2017 when we had just completed building the car. In the video, you’ll notice just one Brooklands screen in place, and no head pillow or roundels yet, but those have been added, as shown in the new photos in this post.

We bought Spot a few years ago in pieces and completely rebuilt the car. We installed the custom roll bar and built the head pillow, stitched the hardura non-carpet floor covering and custom tonneau with color matched stitching, and installed the performance exhaust and front anti-roll bar. We also added amber Sebring driving lights, which are activated by a toggle switch on the dashboard.

A previous owner further customized the car and added the racing fuel filler cap, and racing roundels. The roundels are decals and can be removed, as can the speed shop decal on the back. But I like the “hot rodder” style, so we left all the stickers in place. The new owner can decide to leave them or have them removed. The racing stripes and rocker panels are painted black, so these will stay.

The car is super solid throughout, as the floors have been repaired with factory floor pans. There is no rust. And she is a joy to drive, tons of fun, with a sweet exhaust note.

The little 948 engine packs a punch. The car is a joy to drive and a fun tribute to the era when Sprites were not too precious to be personalized. The next steward can take it even further, or enjoy this fun car just how it sits.

Call or email to discuss adopting Spot!

PS The car is titled as a 1961, but we all know that no Bugeyes were made in 1961, it was merely first registered in that year.

Check out this video below for a little more information on Spot’s dashboard.

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