Driving Videos

Midnight at 70

August 15, 2025 by bugeyeguy

This is Midnight on one of her final test drives before departing to her new home in Roseburg, Oregon next week. This is a 948 car equipped with a Ford Five speed (which we sell here).

90% of Bugeyes we receive will not go 70 when they land here. We have a nice process in place that irons out the kinks so the cars are tight and fast once again, just like Midnight shown here! We drive ’em and come back with punch lists until they’re done! Then they go whoosh!

Our goal is to have every car leave ready for 70 and beyond! Call us if you’d like to have Bugeyeguys sort your Bugeye for highway driving!

Want to add a five-speed transmission to your Bugeye? Click the links below for the parts you’ll need!

*Modified shift lever for five-speed Ford transmission conversions*

*5-speed gearbox conversion for your Bugeye or Spridget (948-1275 engines)*

Bill’s Bugeye adventure-1500 miles from CT to WI to kick off the summer!

June 13, 2025 by bugeyeguy

1594 miles later, Bill arrives in Milwaukee! Not bad for a maiden voyage!

Bill dropped off his Bugeye in a U-Haul trailer roughly 60 days before his trip, and left our building in a refreshed Bugeye with an improved 1380 CC engine (and lots more HP), plus a five speed transmission and many more upgrades. The test drive video below, taken about a week before the big drive, illustrates the ease with which Bill’s car was able to reach 65 miles per hour, an appropriate “cruising altitude” for a Bugeye on the highway.

This is our second long client trip this summer (See Eric’s drive to Hawaii by clicking here). Eric had a stock configuration with a 948 engine and four speed for his journey… Bill had five speeds, plus a larger engine. Both made it with very few issues. Both gave their owners a lifetime of memories.

Check out the video below for an interview with Bill before his trip!

We’d love to prepare a car for you! Call if you want to create your summer adventure with us!!!

What’s your Bugeye’s personality?

April 25, 2025 by bugeyeguy

Modifying a Bugeye is easy. Modifying it properly? That’s another story entirely. How far do you go? Where do you start? How much of the original DNA do you want in your build?

We’ve modified hundreds of Bugeyes and we’re always trying to perfect the package. Goldie hits the mark in many ways. The car is aesthetically out of bounds with a pearlescent gold finish-this type of paint job has a bit of a limited appeal. That’s said, it’s quite striking with powder coated wheels, and black stripes. Plus, it’s highly visible on the road, which is not a bad thing. And the interior is stunning. But what’s really special about Goldie is the drivetrain.

This is a super charged 1275 Engine with 8 pounds of boost and an upgraded lightened flywheel and clutch to handle the extra power. 0 to 60 time is a about 10 seconds (you can see me demonstrate this in the video below). 10 seconds is not impressive by modern standards but when you take a Bugeye with a stock 0-60 in roughly 21.5 down to 10 seconds, it’s just about perfect. And it all works seamlessly; idle is smooth, no stumbling, backfires or weak spots.

We have an Audi R8 owned by a tuner in our neighborhood. It’s a fantastic car but he has clearly over-modified it. It pops and snorts and on decelerations sounds like it is about to explode. Our goal is for Sprite modifications to be seamless, to run just as smoothly as our 948 cars with a whole lot of performance added and no downside.

*10.44 second 0-60 time for Goldie, as measured by our exclusive GPS Bugeye speedometer, which you can purchase for your car by clicking here.*

Of course our electric car will do it an eight and that’s really cool too… but 10 is just fine and the noise is spectacular. See if you agree after watching the video above.

Goldie is not for sale. She’s heading to a new home in New York where she’ll live with E3, the blue electric Bugeye, and a lot of other cool cars in a stunning collection.

If you’re looking for a car as special as Goldie is, look no further than Sage, another superb Super Sprite! Click the photo below to learn more about Sage.

*Sage, in many ways, is a similar car to Goldie, built with many similar upgrades in mind. If you’d like to learn more about Sage, click the photo above!*

If you’re interested in those sounds and the overall experience, you can find all the parts to make this happen in our catalog; click the photos below for some ideas, or you can find our full catalog here. Additionally, you can give us a call and we’ll pick up your car and make it just like Goldie, with or without the custom paint job!

*Spridget supercharger kit (1275 engines ONLY)*

*Aluminum radiator (downflow type, 948-1275 engines)*

*Alternator conversion kit (Bugeye thru 1971)*

Gumby (no Pokey)

March 28, 2025 by bugeyeguy

My heart is filled with joy to have this car out for an hour-long drive today. Gumby was just 20 years old in 1979 when I found him forlorn on the street in New Haven, and $1100 later I was the proud owner of a beat up Bugeye in primer gray, with no interior and wiring that all melted on the drive home right after purchase.

Now, this is the best Bugeye of them all. Sure, I’m biased, but I’ve also driven more than 500 Sprites. This one is fast, stable, grippy, well damped, comfy, and the nicest dang color combination I’ve ever seen on a classic car. Supercharged, 1275, five speed, and rear disc brakes too! It is rewarding for me to think back to when I got this car, nearly 30 years before I started Bugeyeguys.

*Gumby circa 2016, before his transformation into the work of art he is toda*y. One repaint in about 1985 in BRG, then the Aston racing green repaint for the current color you see now went on next after a bunch of additional welding and bodywork.The car was originally cherry red, which you can see lurking on the dashboard area in the photo above…

Today, Gumby has a brand new custom tonneau (that fits over the head fairing, in matching green). Those stunning custom leather seats need protection.

Cars that are steeped in history make us smile. Today while out driving Gumby, my smile was as wide as a Bugeye grill.

If you want a killer Bugeye that is as nice or nicer than Gumby, check out Jesse, and Sage, two stunning sisters that are also the best of the best. You can see each of these cars by clicking their photos below. These are cars for people who want Gumby level expressions of these special cars. Limited. Exotic. Expensive. Unique. Perhaps even over the top. But if you want a one of a kind car that will stop traffic at any cars and coffee event (or show, or at the gas station, for the matter), these cars are worth special consideration!

Bugeye Sprite video owner’s manual-Bugeye operation basics

December 20, 2024 by bugeyeguy

Here’s a new series of videos recorded to walk new owners through proper operation of their Sprite. The car featured here is Righty (pictured throughout this post), a superb RHD Bugeye we sold recently to its next home in San Francisco, and I made these videos for the new owner… I thought you might enjoy them as well. These videos are useful for anyone wanting to learn the basics of Sprite operation and driving.

Right-hand drive Bugeye controls may seem daunting at first, but in reality they are no different than a standard North American Bugeye! Did you know that the vast majority of Bugeyes were LHD for the US market? It’s pretty rare to find an original home market RHD car in the USA.

In the videos below, I pay special attention to how to be kind to your original gearbox, and how to double clutch, too. Enjoy!

An “Otto”-matic Bugeye that anyone can drive!

September 6, 2024 by bugeyeguy

Now sold! Congratulations to Richard in North Carolina for adopting this one-of-a kind Sprite! This is our 426th sold!

For many of our clients, joint replacement and other mobility issues have cut Bugeye driving season short. This automatic Bugeye “Otto” allows for an extended season as it is easy to drive with no clutch. If you have been lurking on the sidelines and hoping to get involved, perhaps Otto is just what you need so you can enjoy the Bugeye lifestyle. Bugeyes make people smile and bring out the best in everyone. Otto could be your opportunity to connect! Check out the listing below and give us a call if Otto could be your Bugeye!

This is a Bugeye we call “Otto” (AN5L 9824). Otto is a unique car in Bugeye circles, for one big reason: it has an “Ottomatic” transmission. If you are a purist, this car is probably not for you. But if you love Bugeyes and need or want an automatic transmission (for whatever reason), this car is the greatest thing going, and it could be the ticket to a Bugeye in your life if a manual transmission is not workable for you!

This car is very well-restored, and is uniquely fitted with with a GM three-speed automatic transmission with an electric 4th gear overdrive system, all coupled behind a 1.4 liter Isuzu G140 engine found in Pontiac T1000s and Chevy Chevettes. The engine number is V0401CHX. The engine has about 52 horsepower, perhaps a bit more since a nice header is installed. Compared to a 43 HP stock 948 Bugeye, the power plant feels more than adequate–not quite as quick as a 1275 Bugeye but quicker than a 948 car. It also got an estimated FORTY Highway MPGs when new, courtesy of the overdrive!

[Read more…]