bugeyeguy.com – Page 2 – The largest restorer and reseller of Bugeye Sprites in the world

This week in (sheet metal) photos!

November 13, 2020 by bugeyeguy

“Before,” (after media blasting and epoxy primer).

We had lots of holes to fill this week, and the lucky Bugeye shown here got some serious new skin. This is Mr Horner’s Bugeye “Billy,” here from the midwest for a new lease on life. Much new steel is needed, as you can see in the photos to follow.

This post focuses on just the left side of the car. You can see the areas we repaired in the two photos above

Here’s the left front/driver footwell with the inner rocker cut away, dip switch mount panel cut away, inner and outer

In this post, you can see a number of sheet metal and fabrication pictures which will be helpful for anyone who wants to see how and where these cars can rust, and how we fix them. This car was first media blasted to completely strip and reveal a multitude of old repairs that we are now addressing. The car will live on for many generations, courtesy of the reinforcements and repairs the tubs is now receiving.

Another view of the driver side footwell, after the perforated metal was cut away

New footwell floor pan (in black) now welded in place, front kick panel fabricated, side of footwell patched, left side inner rocker patched in front of cross member

Driver footwell looking aft from inside the left front wheel well, patch is on outer side of toe box. Original rocker still in place, although the leading edge is rusted away.

View through the rocker panel at back side of inner rocker repair seen above, now that front half of the rocker panel is removed. Behind that inner rocker panel is the footwell you see repaired in prior photos.

Now the rocker panel patch is welded in place, and the “A” pillar bottom patch is also welded-in. We only needed the front section of a new rocker, which is grafted to the old one in front of the jack hole.

Rarely do we see this diagonal support in need of so much repair. If you drive your car in wet weather, make sure to blow out the lowest point of this support where dirt can trap water that can’t drain. This is the driver side in front of the footwell you see repaired in prior photos.

Forward of the passenger side footwell, here you can see the angle gusset also needed repairs

All that work was just for a small area on the car in and around the driver footwell. The next photos are all about the left rear fender, behind the left rear wheel.

On to the left rear fender by the blinker, where an old dent was pulled out.

…then hammered and dollied out to the original curved shape. The lower fender was rusted and cut away for repair, which also allowed access to the back side of the dented area. Reaching under with a dolly, we could hammer from the front side against it with relative ease.

Then the holes are welded up and ground flat. Note the underside is still wide open for access.

Next the inner rear fender skin is fabricated and welded in place. For reference, you are looking directly below the hammered area in prior pictures, looking through the left rear fender bottom.

And lastly, the outer skin is welded in place to close up the rear fender bottom. Filling and priming will make this all smooth when the body work phase begins. Now there is a healthy foundation.

The next area we repaired is the driver side rear rocker panel which also integrates with the left leaf spring box.

You are looking at the left “B” pilar, and the back of the rocker panel on the driver side. Everything was rusty here. You can also see through the rocker the longitudinal stringer that runs from the rear bulkhead forward.

The new inner rocker panel is grafted in place here,

And then a new chunk of rear rocker panel is welded in place, along with a new patch to the bottom of the front of the rear fender/B pillar.

Here’s a view of that same repair looking from the inside out.

Next comes the floor pan outboard of the spring box. This picture is looking aft at the floor next to the “B” pilar.

Here, Bob has welded a piece of steel to re form that outer box section. The quarter elliptical spring plugs into the hole to the right. The outer section shown here often rusts away.

Next, Bob builds a closing panel for this outboard area, and a closer for the rocker panel rear section. All these components tie into the spring box to add rigidity.

As you can see, this car required a humbling amount of work to repair a relatively small area of the car. If you ever wonder about the challenge of restoring a tub, these pictures are a reminder that this sort of restoration is not for everyone, and we are grateful to have the highly specialized labor available to make it happen!

We’ll post more pictures as the rest of the car comes together!

Three Budget Bugeyes for sale, each for less than $15k…

November 13, 2020 by bugeyeguy

If you want a pandemic distraction this fall, we have three nice cars for sale this week for less than $15k. Check them out by clicking on the text below the photos below! They drive well, and you can tinker as you go!

Call if you are interested in any of our cars, or if you have more questions!

DOOBIE! $13,495. 1275 engine and front disk brakes

“Ducky,” 1958 Bugeye, 948 engine, early car with correct thin windshield. $14,995.

“Creamsicle,” same owner for 46 years, 948 power, front disk brakes and great fun!
(NOW SOLD TO RICK IN GEORGIA! Thank you!)

“We all live…” in a Yellow Mini! New Video!

November 12, 2020 by bugeyeguy

This is our “Yellow Submarine.” She’s a 1963 Mini Cooper made in 1962 and titled in 1963. This was the hottest Mini available at the time, since the 1275 Cooper S didn’t come out until 1964.

NEW! Drive video below!

This particular car was a race car for much of its life and comes with a log book and a few pictures from that chapter of the car’s journey (see photo album). The log book starts in 1975 and ends in 2008. Sometimes after 2008, the car was fully and artfully completely restored for road or track, and she still presents as a very fresh restoration today. Just 1750 miles have been put on the car since that restoration.

This happens to be one of the better classic Mini restorations I have seen, with everything done to a very high standard. Paint is excellent, engine bay is very tidy, interior and engine bay finish is excellent, with smooth and uniform paint throughout the interior and trunk. Fender flairs fit perfectly.

The underside is very clean, with the perfect amount of protective finish. It’s durable and it’s not hiding anything. The rear subframe was also replaced during the restoration.

This car would have shipped new with a 997 Cooper engine, but has since been replaced during restoration with a remanufactured Ivor Searle Cooper 1380 CC engine with 1750 miles on it. If you are unfamiliar, this is a quality rebuilder in the UK. According to the engine build information, installed is a 1275 short block which has been bored to 1380 CC for maximum power and then mated to the Cooper head (with the appropriate and stronger extra stud holes, per original).

Specs for that short block are below:

Reground crankshaft and bearings (SA type)

4 x remanufactured con rods

Mega pistons or 20659KR powermax pistons

Reconditioned block, rebored, bore and offset as per Mini Spares spec, liner fitted to rear cyl

New cam bearings fitted , block refaced, cleaned, new core plugs and oil bungs fitted

Main bearing housings line honed

Drill extra head stud holes, 5/16 UNC w/pump end, 3/8 UNC at rear end

Reprofiled camshaft (to be supplied by Mini Spares)

Lightened cam followers, Duplex lightened timing gears, duplex chain

C-AEG579 Cam followers

C-AJJ3326 Timing chain kit

Fit with new camshaft thrust plate, AHU2379

Camshaft dial timed using offset key’s

Colour Leyland (Mowog) Green

Fit 1300 timing covers with breather

Supply engine with distributor drive fitted

She’s also fit with a sidedraft 40 DCOE Weber, nicely fit into the dashboard bodywork with a good air filter, courtesy of the modified speedometer housing in the dash to provide ample space for the bigger carb. Transmission is the original four speed with a non-synchro first gear, as original. A nice thermostatically controlled oil cooler is fit on the passenger-side inner fender, as shown below.

The interior is set up in minimalist mode with no fabric coverings and a full roll cage. Access is still excellent, with the roll bars cut down over the door sills for easy access and egress. The new Sparco seats are outstanding, much more comfortable than the original seats with tons of lateral support.

The car is very street-worthy, and has been titled for road use during the past few years. All lights are working, there is a horn on the turn signal stalk and a mild (but popular) RC40 exhaust system, header and a street cam. The car idles well and is very user-friendly with no bad manners, front disk brakes and incredible grip. She’s also vintage race ready if you so prefer, with roll cage, racing belts and seats already fit. The Momo suede steering wheel is also a delight.

Minilights wheels with 165/70×10 Yokohama tires provide shocking adhesion to the road. The rear sway bar helps balance the handling. This car is great fun no matter where you drive it.

Whether for street, track or autocross, this is a stunning and super clean car you can drive to events and enjoy. She’s a fitting tribute to the iconic history of the Mini Cooper name, and will prove a delight for the new owner!

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1960 Bugeye Sprite for sale! Ford 5 Speed!

November 6, 2020 by bugeyeguy

This is a wonderful 1960 Bugeye called “Emma.” This car represents a unique chance to own a fully-sorted five-speed, 1275 and disk brake equipped car that we fully prepared for a prior customer. She’s a blast to drive and well-fettled for maximum reliability, with all the best tricks from our tool box applied, so you can have the most drivable classic car possible.

We spent a full two months making this car wonderful for the prior owner (Bob) and now you can enjoy the fruit of all that labor. Bob owned the car for about 13 years and is now ready to move on, and wants someone else to enjoy this great vehicle.

Our massive project list of about 75 items for this car was completed in March of 2019, when the car left here with 25 miles on her new GPS speedometer. Just a few thousand miles have been added since then.

Repairs and upgrades of note: we replaced the entire front end, installed tapered wheel bearings, replaced the steering rack, installed new front shocks and bushings, new tie rod ends, new alternator, new water pump and aluminum radiator, ideal for hot climates.

We also replaced the slave cylinder, installed a new solid state fuel pump, replaced the fuel tank sender float with a metal one, changed the oil, replaced the carburetor needles and seats, installed a new heater valve, battery kill switch, three point seat belts, LED lights, electronic tachometer and Speedo, K & N lifetime air filters, new distributor with electronic ignition and most importantly (and expensively) a Ford five-speed transmission. This transmission conversion is a great asset to every Sprite, as it makes highway cruising quite pleasant, and provides a fully synchronized first gear. The gear box is stout too, and much more durable than the original product or the Datsun conversions we sometimes see.

If you want a well-sorted Bugeye that has already been run through our our multiple checklists and filters, this is an excellent choice. Fly in and drive this car home, we are confident this one is ready with a very valuable transmission upgrade and all the right reliability upgrades!

Call or email to take Emma home!

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“Luv Me” takes one last drive

November 6, 2020 by bugeyeguy

This week, our display Bugeye (with custom “Luv Me” License plate) left for the trip to Harrison, New Jersey where the car will be entombed in a Condo until the next pandemic, and perhaps, beyond. In case you missed prior reports, this car was pulled out of the bushes and restored into a conversation starter in a condo common room where the car will be parked for life.

Perhaps rentals and occupancy will go through the roof once word gets out that THIS condo has a Bugeye Sprite in the common space, and for all we know, this could be the first of many British car hobby recruiting stations strategically scattered in metropolitan areas around the country. We’re open to the concept and ready to build more!

We faced a few novel challenges with this delivery. The car needed to be placed on the landing above a flight of entry stairs, and then rolled down a narrow hallway framed by metal building studs. With the help of a rollback trailer and castoring wheel dollies, the car is now parked in what will become a nice finished home, with a view!

She’s temporarily covered with a wooden structure built around it to protect it, as the space gets trimmed and finished, which will take the next four to six months. The site is at 1 Bergen Street in Harrison, if you want to go check it out once the building is finished!

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1959 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite for sale, a very nice driver called “Yuri!”

October 30, 2020 by bugeyeguy

Here’s another nice Bugeye you can really enjoy this fall. 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 $20,900.