New Parts Available

Nose piercing

October 30, 2026 by bugeyeguy

The video below gives me a chance to highlight the beautiful workmanship that went into Angus’s Flip nose conversion (and all of the build). In contrast, take a look at “Bee,” the yellow Bugeye, and you can see that the reinforcements were not added by the flip nose converter, and now we have cracks to fix. We will transform it and it will look much more like Angus when we’re done, but it gives us an opportunity to showcase what can happen if you don’t add the appropriate reinforcements when you convert your car to a flip nose configuration.

If you’d like to have this work done, we’re happy to pick up your car and do it here. Call if you are interested! If you instead want to do it yourself, make sure to watch the video so that you can see a common pitfall when converting from conventional to flip, and you can order the parts you will need from the photos below!

Free the nipple!

October 30, 2026 by bugeyeguy

These hydraulic line nipples crack. Lines have to be tight enough to not leak but not so tight that they crack. Sometimes, folks just plain make them too tight, so they crack. That’s what happened here. Watch the video below if you want to see more!

So get yourself some extra nipples! We have ‘em. We also have special wrenches to help you reach those difficult master cylinder fittings. Click the photos below to learn more and to order today!

What’s the diff?

September 18, 2026 by bugeyeguy

This is a post to help you know which differential is in your car. The stamping on the top of the casing tells all. These are the numbers of teeth on the ring and pinion. Divide the two and you’ll have the rear axle ratio.

Sprites work great with every ratio. 4:22 is the stock axle ratio you’ll find in most bugeyes. Starting with Mark III Sprites and Mark II Midgets, a 3.9 rear axle ratio became optional, which is better on the highway, and with the 1275 Engine you lose a little off-the-line acceleration, but the 1275 can support a lower ratio because of additional horsepower.

After 1975, a 3.7 differential was used in the 1500 midgets, and some people like that for the additional reduction, but a five speed transmission is really the best way to improve your highway cruising RPMs… in fact, the reduction in RPMs from the five speed is much greater than a reduction from changing the rear axle ratio. The optimal set-up seems to be a 3.9 Diff with a five speed but there’s nothing wrong with a 4:22 and a five speed as well, because you keep great acceleration at hand, but drop the RPMs in fifth gear when that’s desired.

*501 with the factory 4-speed and a 4.22 diff turns roughly 4200 RPMs at 70 MPH.*

*Adding a five-speed’s overdrive and a 3.9 differential brings the 70 MPH RPMs down to around 3300! Big difference!*

We can pretty easily provide a five speed transmission kit for our clients (whether we build it here or send you a kit). Differentials are a little harder. Most of the differentials now are starting to whine due to wear and it’s difficult to properly clearance them and rebuild them with new bearings. We do sell the bearings and also the gear sets if you have a rebuilder that can assemble it properly for you, or you can hire us to do that as well.

Give a call if you’re interested! Or keep your existing differential, and buy one of our five speed’s below!

Ford five-speed kits are a great way to add overdrive to your Bugeye and lower cruising RPMs! Click the photo above to learn more! (We also are developing a Suzuki five-speed conversion that is also available for pre-order, call us for details!)

The “key” to keeping your Bugeye running!

September 11, 2026 by bugeyeguy

*In this position, the key should be considered “on”, right? Well…*

*…as the fuel gauge has not moved, the car is actually still “off”.*

The Ignition switch is integral to the Bugeye dashboard, a centerpiece if you will. Sure, you can get rid of it and add a simple key switch and separate switch for the headlights, but that’s kinda like taking the eyes off your Bugeye. So the central stock switch has to work right. This one doesn’t and needs to be replaced by one of our upgraded switches. In the video below, I explain why!

Click the photo below to order a new ignition switch for your Bugeye!

Turn signal wiggle

September 11, 2026 by bugeyeguy

Turn signals are one of those problem areas on Bugeyes that really shouldn’t be an issue, because they’re such a simple component. But inevitably, we’re always fighting one battle or another in trying to keep them blinking. For example, it’s routine for us to have flashers fail. They’re very old-fashioned and simple, and even the upgraded electronic flashers and LED systems are not fool proof. This week, however, I wanted to show you a shot turn signal switch. Unfortunately, these are more and more frequently failing. Check out the video below to see how.

The good news is, we have good ones in stock!

*A new turn signal switch may be the secret to all your car’s turn signal woes! Click the photo above to learn more and to order one today!*

You can order a new turn signal switch in our parts catalog by clicking the photo above or by clicking here, and we’re here to help you keep yours working. More importantly, we’re always looking for the best suppliers for parts and constantly updating our inventory when we have recurring failures in the field.

This post is a good reminder to check your turn signal operation. It’s common for the flasher units to fail and stop the dash indicator from working so if yours is not winking, a new flasher is worth trying. You might also consider adding LED bulbs for your turn signals to make them more visible to oncoming motorists. Click on the links below to learn more about these parts, or click here for our full catalog!

*Upgraded turn signal flasher (standard bulb, not LED)*

*LED Light kit (negative ground Bugeyes)*

More than you need to know about A pillar blisters

August 21, 2026 by bugeyeguy

We’ve seen a lot of cars in need of A pillar patches lately, and it’s pretty interesting, particularly since this is a common area of concern on all Sprites and many other classic British cars, as well. All too often, these cars are beautiful, but you’ll find some blisters in the A pillar area, which can ruin an otherwise show-quality car.

*An A pillar looking like this has ruined many beautiful Bugeyes.*

Water enters the A pillar cavity (that’s the rectangular pillar directly in front of the door hinges) through the windshield post mounting holes. You can see in our photos below that the front windshield mounting threaded hole is a direct link to the cavity where we often see rust blisters on Sprites. Once the water runs down that hole it gets trapped with no drainage and can sometimes rust the top of the rocker panel as well.

The front screw holes for the windshield stanchions, visible at the top of this photo, open up directly into the structure of where the doors mount. If left unchecked, moisture and debris can find its way into these cavities and wreak havoc on the metal, creating a mess like this.

In general, this is nothing more than a nuisance and not a particularly structurally consequential issue, because the rust is usually contained to the small A pillar lower portion. The first patch that you see below is a simple repair of a very small rectangular area where we cut out the rusted area, treated the metal to prevent further rust, and then welded in a small patch. It’s one of the easiest rust repairs you can ever take-on… it’s very satisfying and manageable, and blisters such as these are not usually indicative of larger rust problems throughout the car– it’s usually a localized problem.

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