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(if a car is not pictured here, it has been sold)

Delightful 1960 Bugeye Sprite for sale, two-owner super fun car

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NOW SOLD TO John in Washington, DC! CONGRATULATIONS! Our 267th!

This is a car called “Mr Bounds,” (AN5L 44441). This one was built late in 1960 and titled as a 1961 Sprite. The car shows 83,472 miles and it feels like it could be the original mileage because the car is tight and retains a lot of original components.

It was a white car originally, and was repainted sometime in the 80s or 90s, in California, where it lived with the original owner until 1994, when Mr Bounds purchased the car and brought it to Illinois.

Due to engine problems 20 years later, the car went into hibernation, and then we bought it. We have now put in a refreshed 948 engine with a newly rebuilt smooth case transmission, and the car is now a delight to drive.

We’ve also put in new carpet and seats and restored the interior, and restored the paint to make it shine. The car has a few paint flaws, this is not a fresh restoration. But it is an excellent looking driver, with a nice pure feel.

Engine is strong, HS2 carbs are a nice upgrade, and rebuilt. Transmission is a newly rebuild four speed smooth case, that shifts nicely with great synchros.

We have also put in all new hydraulic parts to make the drum brakes and clutch work great.

The car comes with a great top and windows and side curtain case. There is no tonneau, but we can put one on for you if desired.

The buyer for this car is someone who wants a time capsule that has been repainted once, with a bunch of new stuff. I can’t call this original, because we have changed the engine and interior, and the color is not original. But I have driven about 300 Bugeyes, and this one is a particularly nice tight little car, that has not been abused, and still has the worn denim shirt feel that is so very comfortable it is almost contagious. If you don’t like perfect cars but still like something with a nice shine, this would be a great car for you!

Call or email if you would like to take this car home! And we’ll be happy to put in popular upgrades (like a sway bar) before it leaves for its new home!

Sensational restored 1960 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite for sale!

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This car is now SOLD to Mark in Florida, our 266th! Congratulations Mark and thank you for taking a stand for FUN in tricky times!

“Cinnamon” is what we call this excellent Bugeye, (AN5L 33167). Watch a 0-60 run below!

The car has all the most desirable modifications (and then some) and it is enrobed in a delicious deep red candy color. Check this out if you like premium restored cars that are better than when they came off the showroom floor.

The cockpit was done-up right, with leather seats instead of the stock original vinyl reproductions. EVERYTHING was replaced and new in about 2014 – (all rubber, windshield glass, etc, etc) after a multi-year restoration project. Seat foams are new, very comfortable and well-executed. The Smiths electric dashboard clock is a nice touch.

Under the hood, we have a rebuilt 1275 engine and four-speed ribcase transmission with multiple go-faster upgrades including a new aluminum head, HS4 (larger) 1.5 inch carbs, electronic ignition and electronic tachometer as well as lifetime K & N air filters. She is also equipped with an alternator, spin-on oil filter conversion, oil cooler, SU electric fuel pump and a new high output starter. We have just fit a new premium battery.

Wheels are new, tires are 175 wider rubber for better performance, a front sway bar has been fit, as well as drilled and slotted front disk brakes and new wheel cylinders in the rear that we have just installed. The flip forward nose kit makes engine access a breeze.

The car was restored by a lifetime body guy and it shows. The underside finish is mirror grade as you can see below. The bodywork is excellent. This is a premium restoration. We don’t often get to see the reflection one Bugeye in the underside of another! That’s a testimonial for the quality of this bodywork.

46015 miles shows on the odometer, but actual mileage is unknown. The car was completely disassembled and rebuilt, and very few miles have been put on the car since the rebuild (these isn’t a single stone chip on the front).

A tonneau is included. There is currently no convertible top but we have them in stock and can easily fit one to the car for the new owner. I would choose our camel colored top with a zip down rear window, but a black or off white top is also available. New windows are in stock too. These sidecurtains are $550, fit to the car.

If you have been waiting for a really solid and well upgraded fully-restored Sprite, Cinnamon is worth serious consideration! We have priced the car for significantly less money than the cost to have us build one with this level of body and paint work, and with all the included performance and reliability modifications. For example, the original steering wheel shown was very nicely restored and repainted-they usually are not refinished to this high level. This car has many expensive details such as this one already handled for the new owner, who will be getting a car they can show and enjoy for years to come.

Feel free to call if you would like more information or discuss further customizing this car to meet your needs (EG a five-speed transmission would be a great addition given all the other existing upgrades)!

Hardtop or soft?

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Ever heard of an Alexander Sprite? This was one of many aftermarket tuners and modifiers who gave Bugeyes (and other sports cars) more juice. Their Frogeye kit included a sidedraft Weber and other performance modifications as well as a distinctive side racing stripe.

In the photo below, you can see their unique and sexy fastback hardtop. In the photo above, you can see their soft top option, guaranteed to dent your back deck (perhaps a long fastback top is the best way to cover the damage).

I always marvel at how nice these cars look in fastback mode. This one is unique since it includes a more sloped windscreen.

Mini Bugeye racers

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When your Bugeye is finally fully sorted just the way you like it, time to move on to something smaller!

Pete in Virginia has built an awesome car above and a wonderful scale slot car of his pride and joy. And he meets up with his Bugeye loving buddies monthly for a Bugeye mash up!

I have wonderful childhood memories of racing at an eight lane track like this in Elmsford, NY. in the 1970s, before I bought my first full scale Bugeye.

Bugeyes look cool in all shapes and sizes.

Bugeye Sprite camber corrector

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This new product is a game-changer.

Lots of Sprites have camber issues. Until now, it has been very difficult to adjust the camber to accurately align your front wheels. No longer. This adjustable control arm allows you to shim the outboard end to adjust camber with ease.

These a-arms bolt right in to the frame and the king pin attaches to a bolt instead of the usual fulcrum pin. That outer mount can be shimmed in or out to make sure you have the correct camber. Check out the video below!

Bugeyes came from the factory with one degree of positive camber. Get two of these if you want to go one degree negative with your camber, for improved performance. But more importantly, many Spridgets are asymmetrical. Worn front ends and old crash or front end damage has made the camber mismatched on many of these cars. Now you can tune the front end and make sure both sides match.

In the case of the car shown in the video above, one side was hit, which bent the control arms mounts. With this new adjustable arm on the damaged side, we can restore the camber and improve the handling, tire wear and performance. It’s a breakthrough!

Get yours by clicking here.

The right instrument for your Frogeye

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I can hardly contain the joy!

We now stock the accurate and appropriate combination gauge for all Bugeyes. For years we have rebuilt these originals, and while we will continue to do so, many of the rebuilt gauges have worn numbers and faces. Now we have a brand new alternative to make your dashboard sing!

Of the hundreds of Sprites that have passed through our building, roughly 50% of them have the wrong combo gauge installed. The water temperature ether tubes break over time and people have replaced them with whatever was available through the years. Take a look at yours-these are the correct numbers and type style. If you want your dash to be correct, this is the gauge that you need.

You can order yours by clicking here.

Don’t do this to your Bugeye Sprite.

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The white and red car below is a really nice one, here for a five speed conversion. We were surprised this week to find it was not immune to the crossmember virus (perhaps we parked it next to another Bugeye with similar damage?). Anyway, please take extra care to protect your crossmember during this critical time.

The front cross member is hollow and the steel will cave in, as shown below, if you floor jack from this portion of the front frame of your car:

The longitudinal stringers are very strong, and you can jack anywhere on these as shown below. These continue out to the bumper mounts on the front of the car. Just follow the bumper mounts if you need a guide.

Keep it clean! Wash frequently.

You should always use an appropriate pad on your floor jack before lifting your Sprite, no matter where you place the jack. The car shown here is a really nice car up top. We were somewhat shocked to see how much damage had been done by the floor jack underneath. You have to look closely to see the the center cross member is now concave, but you should also be able to see that the metal teeth on the top of the disk of the floor jack have scratched the sheet metal. A pad would have softened the impact. Make sure your jack has a plastic disk or a soft pad before it contacts your car.

Practice good jack hygiene. Let’s protect our fleet and make sure we have no new cases!

1959 Sebring Sprite tribute-vintage racer for street or track

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NOW SOLD TO PETER IN VIRGINIA! Congratulations!!!

This is a special car. Come for a drive-click the play button in the video below!

This 1959 Bugeye Sprite has a very solid body and floors with no sign of crash damage. The prior owner purchased the car in Connecticut and built it up with a fiberglass Sebring nose and fiberglass fastback hardtop as a tribute to Sir Stirling’s victory in the 1960 four-hour Sebring event in a Sebring Sprite. The rare Williams and Pritchard hardtop has a svelte fastback shape and the car looks great! It was all painted BRG in 2014.

The car has been heavily modified with four wheel disk brakes, limited slip differential, double bearing rear hubs, fatter front sway bar, and a five speed Ford transmission mounted on a fast road 1275 engine. The Weber sidedraft carb is well-tuned and other than a slightly lumpy idle, the car is completely streetable and sounds great as you can hear in the video above.

Sir Stirling approved! We were lucky to meet him at Lime Rock in 2014

We have gone through and built-in multiple upgrades for the prior owner, (who sold us the car this year due to health challenges). In April of 2016, he invested nearly $30k and lovingly upgraded every aspect of the car to make it into a reliable track car for the Lime Rock fall festival that year, it’s second outing at that annual Labor Day VSCCA track event.

By adding a street muffler to the big bore exhaust system, we now have the car configured as a very street-friendly driver. The new owner has lots of options. We can dress- up the interior with hardura mats and panels, or leave it as a stripped-down racer.

Sunday in the Park

It was also shown twice at the Lime Rock Sunday in the Park Concours. So the car is full of possibilities, and frankly, it works for a fun weekend drive to the store too (she’s currently registered for the road in CT and showing a year of manufacture vintage license plate). The car comes with a side exit stainless track exhaust system and racing wheels and nearly new Avon racing tires too, for an owner who would prefer to trailer the car for track days.

We have fit an aluminum radiator, oil cooler, new distributor with electronic ignition, new wiring harness, AGM battery, alternator, dual master cylinder pedal box, new wire wheel splines and five point racing harness. The wire wheels shown on the car are new, as are the Vredestein Sprint classic tires. The Nardi wood steering wheel is fit with a quick release hub for easy steering wheel removal, to make cockpit entry easier.

The car is eligible for all sorts of vintage events. Give a call if you would like more information and to make this car your own!

Below is a wonderful video of The Weslake Cup in 2017 at Goodwood, well worth watching these modified Sprites go at it!

Dr Grossman’s side curtain rubbers

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Why is this man smiling?

He has just discovered “the missing link,” and the secret to protecting your Spridget cockpit trim. This ingenious washer lives on the sidecurtain thumb screws and protects the polished aluminum each time the side curtain is slid into place. And all this ingenuity on his first day of ownership of his new Bugeye Zoya (# 258). Who knows what Dr G will come up with next?

Below you can see the washer in place, doing its job.

New Sprite, new innovation, willing partner. What more could a man want?

Below, the are off to Cape Cod on their maiden voyage, comforted by the fact that no cockpit trim was damaged on their watch. You can get your very own rubbers by clicking on this link (and every Spridget with sidecurtains needs them). Thank you Tom and Jennifer for your contribution!

Dashboard of the month centerfold

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Who doesn’t love a nice dashboard? Truth is, we stare at them every time we get into our cars, and they have to look nice with all the curves in the right places.

The dashboard above came to us in a nice red Bugeye we picked up in Florida and brought to our workshop for extensive mechanical restoration. Now that the car’s systems are all tip top, we’ve moved on to cosmetics. This dashboard looks like someone got angry (when the car didn’t start?) and kicked the center of the dashboard.

The customer agreed it was time for a straighten and recover. Note also the puffy covering. Please don’t do this, it never looks right. The original dashboards were flat and vinyl covered, with the vinyl glued directly to the metal face.

I suppose people sometimes try to hide the imperfections in the dashboard with foam, but it never works. We will straighten, weld, fill, smooth and recover this dash so it looks like it did when it came out of the showroom. If you need help with that, send us your dashboard and we will restore yours properly too!

One of the best parts of a dashboard restoration is getting intimate with the yellow factory crayon markings that grace the back of every factory dash. Above you can see the backside of this particular dashboard. It includes the options codes H, R/C, W/W and MPH. These exact codes are seen on 95% of the North America AN5″L” (for left hand drive) cars that have come through our shop. Heater, Rev counter, windshield washer and MPH speedo (instead of KPH). As far as we can tell, every Bugeye shipped to our continent came with these options.

Also of note is chassis number on the back of the dashboard 39692 (AN5L 39692). This car has a missing vin plate, so this information is particularly useful. This particular car is registered to the engine number 9CUH 39076. Engine and chassis numbers were “in range” so we have good reason to believe that this is the original engine. Because the number on the dash is close to the number on the engine, we have good reason to believe that this is the original dashboard that came with the car. With this new information from the back of the dashboard, we can make a correct vin plate for this car and set the record straight.

Contact us at customercare@bugeyeguys.com or call (203)-208-0980 Monday - Friday | 8 am - 5 p.m. EST