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Advice of Bugeye buy and use

mikeamondo

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Hello all... newbie here. We have been thinking of buying a micro / mini / tiny car for use in our business for a couple years now and are about ready to pull the trigger... was looking at Midgets when I spotted a Bugeye... both my wife and I both agree... that's our car! So we're getting ready to start shopping for real and have been looking at them go on eBay for a few months now.

So I'd like thoughts on what to watch out for, and some thoughts on our intended uses....

We do a weekly magazine about cars for sale in NorthCentral WV... just a classified photo guide kind of thing.... and we'd like to run our Bugeye in local parades and use him for display to give away magazines at Fairs, Festivals and Trade Shows. This would involve driving up to 100 miles each way to reach these events, and running in the parades. It occurred to me that there might be a question of reliability for such use.... I don't really want to trailer it everywhere. But I also want a fairly original car with original running gear, or upgraded to the larger sized, but still Austin/MG engine. So are we correct that the Bugeye is the right car for the job? How hard is regular maintenance? I'm pretty handy with wrench... Oh... and we plan on doing a color book about "Otto" for the kids. Business name is Auto Expo, so he'd be our mascot of sorts! (Don't really need advice on that, we just think it will be fun!)

This will be a major purchase and endeavor for our little business.... so I'm just trying to learn as much as possible before pulling the trigger... can't afford a little, cute, but great big mistake here!

Thanks!
Mike
 

Bayless

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JMHO here of course. First thing is to remember the down side. These cars are over 50 years old. Also cars in general of that era were not overly reliable by modern standards. The up side is maintenance is a simple as the cars themselves and parts a readily available and reasonably priced. Although certainly not the most comfortable for a road trip, a 100 mile journey is easily doable. Oh and take some spare parts and tools along. Being quite small, you do have to watch other drivers very carefully and you might not be able to keep up with highway traffic. For parade use, be sure your cooling system is in tip-top condition and maybe consider an electric fan. All considered, the bugeye sounds like an excellent choice for you.
 

SaxMan

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You might want to look into a Bugeye that has had the 1275 engine swap. With the terrain around Morgantown, you'll be glad you have that extra 20 horses over the stock 948, especially if you're planning on heading eastbound on 68 towards Cumberland (I think I'd stick to the secondary roads). 948 would probably be really good for just an in-town runabout, though. Could a Bugeye be daily driven? I don't see why not, but you ought to try to get the best example you can afford, and then really stay on top of the maintenance. I think the best advice I was given with British cars is "You have to listen to what they are telling you. When they tell you something, you have to give them what they need."

You're not too far away from the DC Metro area, which has some fine British Car Clubs. You may want to check with some of them to see if anyone is getting ready to part with their Bugeye. For a lot of these guys, putting their car with the right people is more important than the amount of money they make off the sale.

Good luck with it! You will find these cars are VERY addictive.
 

smaceng

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The other consideration is that the BE does not have a lot of luggage space for all the materials you may want to carry for advertising. It can be considered that the boot (i.e. trunk) on the BE is very inconvenient!!!
Good luck on you search!
Scott in CA
 
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mikeamondo

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Thanks for replies, folks! That's exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. I had figured we would be staying away from the Interstate as much as possible. We attended a show in Elkins, WV this week, and I spent the entire drive down Rt. 92 and 250 thinking about how more enjoyable it would be in a Bugeye instead of our Camry...

@Bayless - (or anyone else who's familiar with these cars) What spare parts would you can with you on a trip? What's most likely to fail?

Also... great point about the space for other parts of the display.... I've seen some with a luggage rack on the back.... not sure if I love the look of it tho. I prefer the more basic look of no bumpers and extra do-dads. I'm guessing that with it's already limited horsepower we're not going to rig up a tiny trailer or anything....

Nice to hear from someone local! I'll look into the clubs in DC... we've been thinking of a day trip in that direction this summer sometime... Looks like there is a decent club in Charleston as well, but DC is actually closer. Love to hear that people care enough to be concerned about where their car goes when sold. I've pretty much felt that way about every car we've owned... even the basic daily driver Subies and Toyotas....
 

nomad

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If I were you I would be looking for a car with brakes upgraded to the later disc fronts and a later 1275 engine. A front sway bar would be nice in your country cause you are going to want to DRIVE it! Rust is always a concern if for no reason that they are 50 years old. Look for rust at the bottom of the A pillar and behind the rear wheels as well as the floors if its sat outside without a top. As to reliability, plenty of folks have taken trips of over a thousand miles without concern. If you are up to snuff on regular maintenance, I wouldn't think you would need anything more than the normal tire change tools plus maybe a screwdriver and pliers. Definitely an electric fan for parades! They didn't have a very good fan shroud.

Kurt.
 

HealeyRick

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You've already received excellent advice. A 948 for your intended use and location just won't cut it, find a 1275 swap and if you can find a 5 speed swapped car with a 3.9 rear end, so much the better. Disc brakes will be a huge help as well. Bugeyes are a great example of "buy the best one you can afford" because buying a well-done one already restored will be cheaper than doing a restoration. Almost all east coast cars have rusted at some point and you need to be careful to make sure you don't buy one that has been bodged with crappy repairs tarted up with shiny paint and truck bed liner. Bring a magnet, because bondo-mobiles are plentiful. Frankly, finding an original unrusted one from the west coast may sometimes be a better bet. An alternator swap and an aluminum radiator (Wizard Cooling makes a nice one) would be good for parades. If everything is in good shape, you'll not need to carry a lot of spares. You'd be pretty good with replacement radiator hoses, fan belt, distributor cap, condenser, points, rotor or an electronic ignition backup if one has been fitted, Find someone local or in the area that really knows these cars and pay them for a PPI. They can spot bad stuff quickly that you as a newbie might miss. Good luck, they are a lot of fun and would make a great draw for your business. Carrying capacity isn't the greatest, and maybe the better part of valor would be to have a support vehicle come along on those show trips.
 

Bayless

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Those Metros really are lovable little critters.
 
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mikeamondo

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I've always kind of liked the Metro's too.... doesn't smile back at you like the Bugeye does, tho! Having said that.... $5k seems like a ridiculously low price for that Metro! I've seen many of them on Craigslist at near Bugeye prices and higher.... I've got a Craigslist search email set up to send me any new listings of Healeys, MGs, Fiats, Hillmans, Metros, etc. pretty much anywhere east of the Rockies.... needless to say my inbox fills up constantly, and I'm getting a good idea of asking prices on some of this stuff.... and the 5k on the Metro seems way low!
 
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mikeamondo

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And thanks again for the continuing info.... love these Forums! An active forum here really does give some peace of mind that there will be advice waiting to help me with this car once we can bring one home!
 
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Paul McGuffin

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Some good advice from all. IMO... 1100 is a good engine also. I’ve talked to some people who like it better than the 1275. For sure, it's way better than the 948. But, to me, a must is a rib-cage trans and a 3:92 rear end. I wouldn’t buy a bugeye without them and also a heater. Many people seem to remove the heater. As someone here said, don’t think you can buy an old one and put all the good stuff on...just buy one with all the extras.
 

SaxMan

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The local club I belong to is Clustered Spires British Car Club -- they are based out of Frederick, Maryland, but there are several others in the area, too. I'm about 20 - 25 minutes south/southeast of Frederick in Damascus. If you take 70 past Frederick and exit at Route 27 and head south, you'd be to my house in less than 15 minutes after leaving the highway. I own a '69 Sprite - one of the Spridgets or Square Sprites. If you're in the neighborhood and want to try it on for size, drop me a line.
 
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mikeamondo

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Thanks for the invite! Might take you up on that! We were thinking about driving up for the Britain on the Green show at Gunston Hall on the 30th... looks like it's put on by a Triumph Club up there. Have you ever attended that show? Worth the drive up?
 

SaxMan

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Thanks for the invite! Might take you up on that! We were thinking about driving up for the Britain on the Green show at Gunston Hall on the 30th... looks like it's put on by a Triumph Club up there. Have you ever attended that show? Worth the drive up?

Unfortunately, my life as a professional musician tends to keep me from being able to make it to the shows. I've heard it's a good show, though.
 

CLEAH

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I would add one piece of advice to the above: Bugeyes are very, very easy to fall in love with, and they are very, very small. Well, of course, that's obvious when standing there looking at one as it smiles back at you. Any test drive should include driving it in traffic the way you would normally be using it. Regular cars (like your Camry) look really big while sitting in a Sprite, and SUV's look gargantuan. You need to see how comfortable you are driving such a small car in modern traffic. You said you can't afford to make a mistake, and if driving one in traffic scares you, it will have been a mistake.
 
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mikeamondo

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@CLEAH - I'm guessing you use the same name at BaT... was enjoying reading the comments over there on the last couple Bugeyes to show up. I think I'll be okay with the size of the car... we not going to make it a daily driver, and even though I want to be able to drive it places, we'll probably end up with a trailer anyway. That way someone else could take him and drop him off / pick him up. We do trade shows around the area, setting up a booth at Hunting / Fishing Expos and the like... This car will be a major attention draw for such events, but anything larger would be too big. Originally, I was looking at the really tiny Vespa's and similar Microcars, but they truly would be frightening to drive anywhere.

So my next question... let's say hypothetically that I ignore all advice given here and buy an original car with a 948, original trans and drum style brakes.... I've seen the 948 referred to as under powered but not terrible. I'm wondering if I'd be fine with it.... If I can climb a decent grade at 45-50 I'm good.... SaxMan -- if you're familiar with Rt. 40 from Cumberland over to Grantsville, with it's ups and downs... I wonder how the 948 would handle that....
 

HealeyRick

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So my next question... let's say hypothetically that I ignore all advice given here and buy an original car with a 948, original trans and drum style brakes.... I've seen the 948 referred to as under powered but not terrible. I'm wondering if I'd be fine with it.... If I can climb a decent grade at 45-50 I'm good.... SaxMan -- if you're familiar with Rt. 40 from Cumberland over to Grantsville, with it's ups and downs... I wonder how the 948 would handle that....

Probably the best thing is to drive one on the kind of roads you plan on driving and see for yourself. One thing to think about is although you may be satisfied slowly going up an incline in third gear, those behind you may not be. Having a huge SUV or tractor trailer inches from your rear bumpers and filling the entire tiny rear view mirror while you listen to the cooling fan in the vehicle behind you feeling like it's going to suck you in can be a bit terrifying to the most intrepid of Sprite drivers. I have a 948 Sprite with some extra horsepower and 4.55 gears and it's fine in the flatlands of Massachusetts. But I think it would get old real fast driving it in the hill country.
 

CLEAH

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mikeamondo, yes, that's me on BaT. Rick is even more of a regular! Sounds as if you have thought through the use of the car, and I will say, if attention is what you want, then attention is what you will get with a Sprite!

I have a 1098 in my '58 Sprite, and while it is lusty, it gets winded on hills.
 
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mikeamondo

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So... looking at BaT I saw talk of the so called "Bugeye Bubble"... I'm assuming this refers to a recent spike in prices for Bugeyes.... If that's the case (which always seems to happen to me... always buying right at the top of the market....) how much were they selling for say a year ago, and what would be a good price for a showable 1275 engined car? I've been watching ebay, Craigslist and BaT and I'm assuming 10k to 12k is the range.... The one on BaT broght 16 a couple weeks back, but some nice ones on eBay seem to be stuck under 13.
 
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