Flip nose kits are extremely popular, and we have installed many for our clients. But every install is different. Every car is different. Every nose has a different crash story to tell.
Ed’s Bugeye from Michigan came with a unique set of challenges, so I thought it would be helpful for folks out there to see a post about this particular flip nose installation.
Thinking of converting your Bugeye to wire wheels? Please don’t buy a bolt-on conversion kit. Please! These things are still for sale by some vendors (not us!), and they are very dangerous.
Witness the rear axle shown here from Ed’s car from Michigan. The idea is that the splined adaptor bolts onto your lug nuts over the drum. However, every one that has come to us has had loose bolts, and when they come off, the wheel comes off along with it!
Old cars are getting older, just like (most) of us folks who love them. As a result, that shiny classic you spy online may look great, but in reality there is always more to the story.
This car looked good enough for our client to “click the mouse” and buy it. He was also wise enough to have it make a pit stop at our building on the way home to Minnesota. We found about 151 issues to repair and improve.
Now, that we’re done, he’s got something!
Check out the tour of the improvements in the video below:
Wind wings are cool!
And they add a distinct period look to your classic car, while deflecting air out of the cockpit. Our wind wing set is a reproduction of the period Amco wind wings that were once quite common on English sports cars. We’ve made a quality chrome plated brass bracket on durable acrylic to make sure this product will last for generations. They mount easily on the windshield stanchion of any sidecurtain equipped Sprite, and fold flat to allow the door to close with the sidecurtain in place. For years, larger wind wings were available that fit other sports cars but none of them fit the Bugeye profile until now. These otherwise available larger wind wings would hit the doors. This is no longer a problem with our specially designed wings.
As you can tell by the photos above and below, these wind wings work with both hard tops and soft tops.
Each pair of wind wings comes with a hardware kit and all you need to do is attach the brackets and mount the wings to your car. Otherwise, you can choose the pre-assembled option. Enjoy the ride!
NOTE: This new bug wings will be available beginning 5/21/2021 but you may pre-order them now by clicking here.
Here’s a brand new add-on accessory is a must for every Spridget with a bottom hinging gas pedal. Here’s why…
Original Bugeye accelerator pedals are a terrible design. They plug into a pivoting metal rod and can easily become un-plugged while driving, which is an obvious safety hazard. Once the pedal disconnects, It’s not difficult to lodge the rubber pedal on the accelerator rod, thus sticking the throttle OPEN!
The other challenge with this original design is the hinge mount requires two holes in your nice floor pan. Since it is naturally rusting and making holes on its own, it’s never fun to punch more holes if you don’t have to. Those accelerator holes can become yet another source of corrosion.
Since about 1979 I have been driving my Bugeye ‘Gumby” with just metal bar under my foot and no pedal. And on the cars the we ship to customers, we remove the pedal for safety. Even though it doesn’t look pretty, the bar has been our best solution, until now.
We are exited to offer a nice cast aluminum pad you can easily bolt into place, along with a rubber pedal pad to cover it. This is an elegant solution to an old problem. It’s easy to install and makes heel/toe shifting easy. This is an upgrade that is a winner for every early Sprite!
You get the aluminum bolt on pad, hardware to mount it and a rubber pedal pad, which you will need to install on the aluminum pad before installation.
The Judges Approve!This is one of the coolest things you can add under the hood of your Bugeye. It looks like a 1958 battery, but inside lives a modern maintenance-free power-house, with 750 CCA, enough to start a diesel Bugeye on a cold morning. Use it like a modern battery, and score points for the correct vintage look. Specify positive ground or negative ground.
This battery looks just right with “Lucas” imprinted on the front of the case. Plastic caps on top are also imprinted “Lucas” and are for looks only and not functional. This is the battery we used on our gold medal concours winner as shown below. These are made to order and not returnable.
If you are serious about concours events, this battery carries no point deductions while a generic modern battery carries a heavy point penalty. Plus, this battery looks like it came with your car, and spruces up any Sprite engine compartment!
Get a modern vintage “tar top” battery for your Bugeye today by clicking here!
We add new products to our catalog every week, click here to have a look at other new offerings!
