BugEyeGuys – Page 3

1959 Bugeye Sprite for sale with excellent reliabilty upgrades! Cruises all day at 75MPH (video)

June 12, 2025 by bugeyeguy

First Eric from our shop to Oakland, CA and then Bill/George to Milwaukee… who’s next? This is a nice car with all the upgrades you’d need for a nice summer adventure! Check out Meyer! New Price-$34,995! New tires added this week too!

This is a great 1959 Bugeye with all the right modifications, a great stance and a great look. We call this one “Meyer.”

A lot of money has been invested by prior owners to make Meyer special. The new owner gets a bundle of improvements at a depreciated price… it’s hard to find a nice Bugeye that has been done right with all the best upgrades! This one fits the bill!

AN5L 17299 was first purchased new in 1959 and held by the same owner until 2005, when it was purchased in Virginia and subsequently restored. This second owner invested thousands to build what you see here today, and subsequent owners have further shaped Meyer into an amazing Bugeye!

Under the stewardship of the second owner, the body was restored, the rebuilt 1275 engine installed and front disk brakes added. In 2013, and after about 5000 miles, the car was then sold to the third owner, who brought it to us in December of that year for a new fuel tank, new shocks, and some tuning. That owner added about 300 miles during his period of ownership before we helped to get it to its most recent owner (in Maine) in December of 2020.

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A stunning summary of what we do!

June 6, 2025 by bugeyeguy

This week, we were graced with a very handsome write-up on Hagerty’s website about three of our very special Bugeyes, featuring beautiful photographs and beautiful words. We spent a full day driving these cars around coastal Connecticut in April of this year… that’s when the stunning photos by Dave Burnett were shot. Every Bugeye is different. These three cars are among the best we have built.

We have spent the last 17 years learning how to build great cars, and it’s an honor to see very different Bugeyes showcased in the article below. Hopefully, this story will follow in print in the Driver’s Club magazine soon!

Bugeye Three Ways_ Austin-Healey’s Sprite is Flavored for Fun – Hagerty Media.1 Download

If the story doesn’t load above, you can check out the article online faster by clicking here!

First production Bugeye Sprite (AN5L 501) wins Michelin Award at the 2025 Greenwich Concours!

June 6, 2025 by bugeyeguy

501 had a very good week.

I drove 501 (our #1 Bugeye) to Greenwich, CT last Sunday on a relatively deserted Interstate 95 at 7 a.m. It was about 50 degrees, cold in the cockpit, gloves required. It was a roughly 70 minute drive at highway speed.

*All bundled up and ready for Greenwich!* *I used my bicycle rearview mirror on my sunglasses since there is no side mirror on 501. It helped for highway lane changes!*

The car ran great on her little Bias ply tires and everything worked, with just a persistent high engine temperature to watch. By slowing to 55 or 60, I could keep the temp in range. Above 60, the heat load was too much for the heat exchanger and the temp would begin to climb. 501 has the early and correct radiator without side skirts, and the factory upgraded radiator with side shrouds was added to later cars for a good reason. It worked.

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Re-restoring a Concours Gold 1958 Bugeye Sprite

June 6, 2025 by bugeyeguy

We are revitalizing car AN5L 552.

*552 as it appeared at the 2015 Austin Healey conclave, the day it earned its gold medal concours certification.*

This car scored gold level concours certification at the Gettysburg, PA National Austin Healey meet in 2015; in the 10 years since then, the car was sold and the new owner added some non-concours upgrades for convenience and improved drivability. This included modern radial tires, an electronic ignition distributor, remote slave bleeder, and a later-style shrouded radiator (early Bugeyes lacked side shrouds), among other items; ordinarily we recommend these improvements on a garden-variety Bugeye, but they were out of place on this showroom-fresh and gold concours example.

*This “pozi-drive” phillips screw is incorrectly used to hold the windscreen to the cowl on 552. We will change them in favor of the correct screw which is shown at right.*

*This* “baby moon” *style of screw, as presented on 501, is the correct factory original style of windscreen screw. 552 will get a set of period-correct, freshly-restored screws just like these.*

As a result, we are making it completely stock once again and even more gold concours than it was during the last judging event. We are fixing a few of its point deductions and correcting a few flaws that the judges missed. It’s a very special early-production Bugeye and quite likely a pre-production model that failed initial field testing, was upgraded at the factory and then put back in the production line. AN5L/552 was recorded as the 51st Bugeye off the line, even though we believe it was built before 501. Thus, it’s worth spending the time to make this special car right!

One item the judges didn’t catch in 2015 was the location of the VIN plate. The plate is mounted too far back, too close to the pedal box. We have fixed this and it now rests in its correct location.

*501’s VIN plate is in the correct location. Note the difference in its placement from 552’s in the preceding photograph.* *Notice the correct gray speedo cable… 552 needs one of these too!*

If you like this sort of concours detail, you might enjoy the recent Hagerty story about our business which is linked here, and in which you can read the author’s comments about AN5L/ 501, which is another gold-certified concours car and the first production Bugeye Sprite.

Here’s a video that describes some of our recent efforts on 552! Stay tuned as we re-release 552 in improved concours condition, she will be for sale again soon!

Pocket Rocket-Exceptional Westfield Lotus 7 for sale! Video!

June 4, 2025 by bugeyeguy

Now SOLD to Larry in California! Congratulations!!

Now SOLD on Bring a Trailer! Check out the auction and bid for your chance to own this awesome piece of automotive machinery! Click here for the auction!

Check out the new drive video posted below… fast, light and smooth! Ride along with me while I carve-up the parking lot!

The car is light and nimble with ample power and excellent grip. There is no inside wheel spin courtesy of the limited slip differential. The car is tight and rattle free… the only surplus noise is the passenger seat belt flipping around next to the camera microphone. There’s ample performance here to learn and master during a lifetime of fun drives. This is a car you wear that and a car that will always leave a smile on your face!

This car feels more like a race car than a street car… and it’s totally street legal in every state! Check out the video tour below!

She’s extremely light (about 1150 lbs!) and you can sense this the first time you step on the gas… you’re basically strapped to a rocket. The handling, acceleration and braking is exceptional and the car is super nimble, largely because of supremely light weight. Body is aluminum, fenders are fiberglass.

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Cruising Santa Cruz in the Baron!

May 30, 2025 by bugeyeguy

After a 3,800 mile drive, Eric and the Red Baron have arrived in Santa Cruz, just 80 miles from the ferry that will take the car to Hawaii. His journey is fundamentally complete. He has spent the week with his son who lives in Santa Cruz and will head home in a few days, to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife, whom he dated in a similar (blue) Bugeye 50 years ago.

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