1960 Sprite Bugeye

[nas90tdi]

I just bought my first Healey. I have had a couple of MG's and Triumphs over the years, and dozens of Land Rovers. So the British cars aren't a complete mystery to me.
But I would love a few pointers and ideas on things I need to be on the look out for.
A little About the car: 1960 Bugeye. Interior is missing except for the dash. Which is complete in very good shape. The seats have been redone but never installed in the car. Car was in storage for the last 10 years. Southern California car. So the only rust on the car is a small hole under the drivers feet about 2" maybe. It was painted at some point in the distant past. Paint is still in very good shape. Hood is nice with no rips or wear really. It cranks and idles exceptionally well. Under bonnet it pretty tidy, need a little cleaning up and heater duct replaced. But overall seems pretty solid mechanically.

I would like to rebuild the car into more of a driver then show car. How important on these is it to remain true to stock. Especially in terms of interior. It isn't there and unfortunately I am not super familiar with the Bugeye original interior. Also, any suggestions as to the best source for the interior parts. It seems Moss Motors has most of the interior parts, but I have never dealt with them for this many parts. I have just bought an item or two over the years.
I also am somewhat curious on anyones thoughts on the bumpers/overriders. I do not have those. I have seen cars with and without.
Also I was considering doing the tube shock conversion. it seems like it is simpler and cheaper to maintain. Any thoughts?

Also does anyone have in pictures of the boot space? I have searched a bit, but haven't come up with a direct picture of the interior of the boot.

Oh , and by the way, I picked it up for 4000.00. That seemed to be an outstanding deal. Was it?
I will get some picture up in a few days.Because, as we all know, a post with out pictures is worthless

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[apbos]

nas90tdi
The spridget forum will be a little more help then the Big Healey side as MG Midget and AH Sprite cars are essentially clones. As an aside I am in Escalon and have all the info you might need to get your car to driver condition (books, spares and some patch panels). send me a pm and I will get you my phone number. My car just came out of paint on Thursday. Here is a link to how it all started https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?32125-Bugeye-Reduced-to-500!/page3. I would repost your question there and you will get tons of replies. Posting pictures will be required! LOL

Regards
Paul

 

[nas90tdi]

Thanks Paul. Sent you a PM

 

[HealeyRick]

Welcome to ownership of Donald Healey's favorite car (had to put that in to drive the Big Healey guys crazy ) As Paul said, you'll get more responses in the Spridgets section. $4,000 for a rust-free bugeye is quite a deal, congrats. Spridget people are not as generally bothered by modifications to the cars, although bugeye owners can be a little bit more originality fans. The bugeye is really a very simple car, and I'd really be happy with returning the interior to stock rather than doing a lot of modifications that might look out of place. It's been a while since I did my interior, so check on the Spridget forum to see who is selling the best interiors these days. The boot is really simple. Nothing back there but a hardura mat on the floor and a couple of cardboard panels. Here's a pic: https://www.spritespot.com/gallery/Restoration-of-AN5L9382/Completed_Boot_Area009 Don't waste your money on a tube shock conversion. Have your originals rebuilt by Peter at Worldwide Auto Parts https://www.nosimport.com/ and you'll be more than happy.

 

[nas90tdi]

A few pictures. Took it for a run around the neighborhood this afternoon. Nothing out of the ordinary wrong. Needs the brakes done, maybe clutch cylinders. Not much clutch there about an inch maybe. Lights need a little work. I was thinking about replacing the harness with one of the repro harnesses, but I haven't really made up my mind on that since I haven't dug into the electrics at this point. But other then that I would say it's a very solid car for the money.

 

[nas90tdi]

 

[HealeyRick]

You did well. Carbs are HS2s from a later car as is the speedo. Floor rust is an easy fix. An original wiring harness will be black cloth covered with a light blue tracer. Replacement isn't difficult, just fiddly. If the car is correctly wired now, you can cut out the old harness leaving about a two inch pigtail on each connection to use as a guide when you connect in the new wire.

 

[nas90tdi]

Thanks for all the info. Had a chat on the phone with Paul. Nice guy, and very informative.