Every flip nose conversion is different. We’ve done dozens, and know how best to accomplish each flip nose project. Here’s a video about our most recent endeavors.
You can order the parts to flip your Bugeye’s nose by clicking the links below, or give us a call if you’d like us to flip it for you!
This Bugeye is a one of a kind British roadster! “Ashley” (AN5L 9195) is a 1959 Austin Healey Sprite with a very cool (and rare) Ashley fiberglass nose, added by the previous owner in 1968 (with import reciepts to prove it!). The current owner, who lives in the Kansas City area (which is also where the car currently resides) has documentation dating back to the 1965 sale of Ashley from its original owner to its second owner, who owned the car and dutifully maintained it (and raced it) until 1998, when he parked it while it waited its turn for restoration.
That restoration was started around 2007 and took about 4 years to complete. The current owner purchased the car in 2020 and sent it to us later that year, and we performed an extensive list of repairs and upgrades to make it even more special. The current owner has driven the car just over 1500 miles since it left our shop in early 2021.
These upgrades include a complete suspension rebuild with new front disc brakes and tapered wheel bearings, new shocks on all 4 corners, fresh clutch, upgraded rib case transmission, high-torque starter and ring gear, spin-on oil filter adapter, new brake and clutch hydraulics, a complete re-wire including a full dashboard restoration, new GPS speedometer, electronic tach, alternator conversion with dummy regulator, electronic distributor, new fuel system including brand new fuel tank, sender, and lines, new minilite wheels with 165 tires, and countless other upgrades to make this into the special car you see today!
Ashley has a flip nose kit which we installed and recessed nose latches on the front wings. The tonneau was fit in 2021, nearly new. The original 948 engine is mated to a rebuilt rib case gearbox with only about 2000 miles of use. A good original Olde English white hardtop with the correct glass rear window is available for an additional $1500. We can also provide a new soft top if the new owner so desires, for an extra fee.
Check out the 2021 build sheet below, you’ll see the extensive work we did to this car. This one is currently in Kansas City, you can see the car there, or we can ship it anywhere in the world from its current location. Call if you’re interested in owning this unique Frogeye!
[Read more…] about 1959 Bugeye Sprite for sale w/ rare Ashley noseWe had a 1275 “A” series engine come to the shop attached to a Bugeye this week that was making an unfamiliar grinding noise that got a little bit worse when you stepped on the clutch. We determined that it was coming from the bell housing and figured there was a clutch issue.
We were also having irregular difficulty starting the car, and we were suspicious that something in the engine was binding. Much to our surprise, when we removed the bell housing we found the flywheel ring gear displaced on the flywheel. The ring gear had become a saw that was grinding into the oil pump cover.
We’ve never seen this sort of problem before. A new flywheel and oil pump cover fixed the problem and the engine is going back together next week.
[Read more…] about Don’t do this to your Bugeye Sprite!This is radically faster than any Bugeye I’ve ever driven. Check out the video and you should be able to tell… this bugger is quick!
The original 948 Bugeye traveled to 60 MPH in about 21.5 seconds. This one does it in 5.96 seconds, a world record (as far as we know)! Maybe a Bugeye drag racer would be faster, but only in a straight line. Unlike a drag racer, this car also handles really well.
If you want an electric Sprite, we can sell you the parts and kit for about $30,000 if you want to build one of these yourself. We can build you one too, but we would need about a year to do it for you. Give us a call if you want to go electric!
As the world moves online, I often wonder if people really understand the difference between a crowd-sourced evaluation of a product and a specialist evaluation. Those cars you see online on whatever platform often look good on the surface, but you can’t always see the rest of the details. In the video below, you can learn about a Bugeye one of our customers purchased from Bring a Trailer, and the upgrades we performed on it.
He was wise to send it our way for evaluation; after 60 improvements, now he’s really got a great car!
If you’re looking for a Sprite, we’d be delighted to have you visit our website and check out our inventory of classics for sale (click here to check out our complete inventory of Bugeyes presently available, and here for other non-Bugeye classics). We’re also hopeful that you’ll use our expertise to make sure that you get a car that will meet your needs. Feel free to contact us even if you purchase a car elsewhere and want us to retrieve it, evaluate it, and discuss any upgrades or repairs necessary. We’d love to hear from you!
Now SOLD to David in Maryland! Bugeye #460 sold!!!
This is a very well sorted Bugeye so don’t miss an opportunity to purchase a whole lot of improvements at a depreciated price! Prior owners paid to prepare this car for their enjoyment, now you get to purchase the car with all those upgrades already built-in!
We’ve owned this car three times so we know Floyd quite well. Each time, we have upgraded this car to make it into a reliable superstar!
Leather seats with custom piping plus deluxe door pockets and a hardura tunnel mat make for a delicious interior. The car drives great with electronic ignition, new carburetors, stainless exhaust header, aluminum radiator, spin on oil filter, new wiring, K and N lifetime air filters… all these upgrades will keep the car running great for years to come.
And the flip forward nose we added (properly) is a dream for anyone with a weak back or if you want ultimate engine access.
We’ve sold the car to three different great owners, each one of them has invested generously. Now you can enjoy the result.
The car is fit with a good tonneau and a twin-tipped muffler too! There is no top and no top bow, but these are items we stock in case the new owner would like a top (prior owners only used the car in fair weather and no top was needed).
Everything works nicely on this car. The only issues I could find are that the combo gauge light bulb is not working (all other lights and switches work), the windshield glass glazing rubber is older and a bit dried out and the battery is from 2022. I would probably replace the battery with a fresh one, but this one works fine. The glass is very good so I would leave the glazing rubber as is (I would only change it if we were changing the glass, which is not necessary). All the other lights work great. All punch list items were sorted for prior owners, so this car is quite ready for a new home.
The black switch on the dash above the cigarette lighter, by the way, is a fuel pump cut off, a nice anti-theft feature (and it functions fine).
The paint shines nicely but is not the strongest part of this car (reliability/ drivability is). The paint has a few imperfections, such as where the bonnet meets the cowl in the center where the paint has been touched up and a few other imperfections such as where some of the yellow stripes meet the black paint in a few spots on the nose. I put some new pix in the gallery below to show these imperfections. They don’t photograph well, which is a good thing, because they are hard to see. We can do a face time call if you’d like a personal tour of the paint and/or anything else.
Stripes are all painted-on BTW. The paint is way too nice to require a repaint. The best new owner for this car is someone who is not after a perfect paint job. If you have that approach, this paint will last for you a good long time.
Click “read more” for the full compliment of photos in a gallery below! Call If you’d like to take home Floyd!
[Read more…] about Slick 1960 Bugeye for sale, “Floyd!”
