If you’re new to Bugeyes, this video will help you get familiar with the various controls for easy and stress-free driving!
All these switches and gauges are available in our catalog. Click the photos below for more information on some of the dash products we have available, or click here for our complete catalog!
This is one of the sloppier pair of rear brake shoes we have seen. The shoes shown have been well-coated with differential oil, and obviously, are not going to do much braking in this condition. New brake shoes, new axle seals, gaskets and o rings are in order, usually for both sides. We have a wet brake rehab kit available in our catalog to address this common problem.
This is one of the most routine failures we have seen on Spridgets. It seems like roughly 75% of the cars that come through our shop have this issue, not always as ugly as this one, but often leaking. If you are unfamiliar, the axle has a gasket and o-ring sandwiched between the shaft and the hub, and differential oil often leaks out of this union and ruins the rear brake shoes.
So how do you minimize the likelihood of this leak recurring?
We use the correct gasket and o-ring, a new seal and we make sure the axle fits flat with the hub so that there are good mating surfaces. The secret sauce we add is gasket shellac, to help fill any voids in the gasket. We don’t recommend RTV/silicone/thick sealant because it seems to add too much material, and can actually make leaks more likely to recur.
I bet there are several dozen opinions out there about how to do this best, but whatever it takes to keep the faces sealed is OK by us. We’ll keep using the shellac until it stops working on the cars we build.
One other suggestion… lug nuts help hold this whole sandwich together, so when you remove a wheel you should put a lug nut back on opposite the drum screw to help hold the stack together during service. Otherwise, the oil can start to run out, thus damaging the gasket and inviting leaks later.
And while you have everything apart, the second most common wear item on Spridgets is the rear wheel cylinders. Now would be a good time to replace those too! Click the photos below to order new rear wheel cylinders today!
As a public safety reminder, please make sure that your battery is secure. (We sell hold-downs if needed, see below). The batteries in Sprites will slide in spirited cornering if they are not secure. When that happens, sparks can fly. It’s totally avoidable. Check yours today!
Check out the video below to learn more!
If your Bugeye needs battery attention, we have you covered! Click the links below to learn more about some of the products we have available or click here for our complete catalog!
Ethanol is made from corn.
Ethanol promotes gum. And you will find gum forming in the jet assembly in your carbs, especially if you use your Spridget infrequently. Note the photo below. Pull the choke and the jets come down to richen the mixture. Let go of the choke, and if you are unlucky, gum prevents the jets from returning. Thus your mixture is permanently rich, even though the choke looks like it is in the off position on your dashboard.
These pictures are from Dave in Washington, who reports fouled plugs. No wonder. You can see the gold jet tubes exposed in the photo. This indicates his jets are stuck in the hyper rich position, likely due to ethanol in the fuel and the resultant moisture the corn absorbs and gummy residue that results.
Bummer!
Ethanol free fuel is best if you can find it. We can’t get it here in the Northeast, but look online to see if it is available in your state. Otherwise, check your choke operation. Spray them with carb cleaner as you cycle the choke. Make sure the carb jets slide easily and take them apart to clean the jet tubes. Worst comes to worst, push the jets upward so that their shoulders rest in the proper position, which will effectively turn the choke off.
In the top photo, you can see the left carb jet is lower than the right one. So we also have asymmetrical mixture as a result of this issue. Remember, when you loosen the nut shown right above the jet, you richen the mixture. It should be about 12 flats down from screwed all the way up tight. These carbs would have 50 or more flats screwed down were you to adjust the mixture intentionally to this setting. No wonder the plugs fouled!
We have a few videos about this on youtube that would be worth watching is this is still muddy for you. We have had many questions about this issue, so I wanted to highlight this situation to help people better understand the importance of a healthy choke! We sell new jets and rebuild kits in our catalog if you need them…
When you rebuild your front end, this is not what you want to see. Note the excessive positive camber. Something is very wrong. Since we have had two clients call with this issue that past month, I wanted to share these photos to help future builders avoid the same frustration.
Notice the shock arm to trunnion connection above, circled in red. When it’s 180 degrees out of phase, you end up with extreme positive camber and steering arms that won’t reach. Below the issue is corrected with the trunnions on the right way round.
Note the threads showing next to the tie rod end in both photos. When the camber is this far off, the tie rods are almost completely unscrewed from the steering rack ends…
Doing a disk brake conversion? These photos will help. And you can buy our disk conversion kit by clicking here. You can also see our adjustable camber control arms in these photos… they help add negative camber for better performance, but of course you have to start with the correct geometry as shown here. The silver shims on the lower control arm change the camber as needed.
You can find our adjustable arms by clicking here.
Thanks to all who have donated photos to help the community get it right!
Solenoids are problematic. In the video below, you’ll see how I diagnose why this Bugeye wouldn’t start and what we do to fix it!
The culprit in this instance was a poorly-designed cable mount. A little bit of modification and freshening up and it operates now like new!
