501 had a very good week.
I drove 501 (our #1 Bugeye) to Greenwich, CT last Sunday on a relatively deserted Interstate 95 at 7 a.m. It was about 50 degrees, cold in the cockpit, gloves required. It was a roughly 70 minute drive at highway speed.
The car ran great on her little Bias ply tires and everything worked, with just a persistent high engine temperature to watch. By slowing to 55 or 60, I could keep the temp in range. Above 60, the heat load was too much for the heat exchanger and the temp would begin to climb. 501 has the early and correct radiator without side skirts, and the factory upgraded radiator with side shrouds was added to later cars for a good reason. It worked.
Regardless, I rolled onto the show field at 8AM and was greeted with amazing hospitality and passion for Bugeyes in general. If you think a major national Concours venue might be a tad pretentious, a Bugeye is anything but and makes everyone smile. These cars level the playing field, open doors, invite laughter and even disarm royalty.
We were part of the Donald Healey exhibit and there were some beautiful examples, including a Healey Silverstone (the red car shown) that won best in class and a striking Nash-Healey that scored second place in our class- both were spectacular examples.
I was delighted to see that we received a specialty award from Michelin which allowed us our moment in the sun to drive past the viewing stand, where spectators and judges could comment on our special little ride in a parade with all the other winners. You can see in the photos below I was given a very unconventional plastic Michelin-man trophy. He’s no silver platter, but the award included a set of new Michelin tires — thank you Michelin! Best trophy we’ve ever won!!!
The ride home was uneventful. A Concours gold classic car is generally a delight to drive because these cars worked when they were new and things were done right by the factory-it’s usually the subsequent owners who messed them up! Since 501 was restored to Concours gold standards, it has worked reliably ever since. I’m proud of the fact that our team was able to make this car so wonderful that we were able to bring it from Australia and turn it into a successful concours show-car and ambassador for Bugeye Sprite bliss!
Check out the gallery below for more photos from 501’s weekend at Greenwich!
