Weird Little bug eye

[tony barnhill]

This morning I was out scouting for little LBC's - decided to drive through a trailer park off a back road....rounded a corner & saw what I initially thought was a Cobra butt sticking out amongst some other vehicles...upon closer look, it was a Bugeye that had a full metal Cobra body built on it...& had a Mazda rotary engine in it!There were some guys cutting a tree & the owner came out & opened the hood (made from the Bugeye nose section (you can see where they welded metal over the "eyes"

...Decent yet strange modification...MGA taillights, MGB backup lights, GT6 little round bullet lights...

...guy said it was built back in the 70's - & its all metal!

Gotta go back with camera.

 

[JamesWilson]

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Gotta go back with camera.

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I'd like to see that- almost sounds like it has to be seen to be believed.....

 

[vagt6]

Tony, that IS a strange one.

I was motoring around in my neighborhood recently, trying to rolling road tune my motorcycle. A couple of blocks away from my house, I saw a GT6 AND a TR6 under tarps in a back yard.

I couldn't stand the suspense, so I parked and snuck around to the back yard (no one seemed to be at home). Sure enough, a rather tatty looking GT6 MKII and a early TR6 were peeking out from a big ground tarp.

Didn't look like anyone was in a hurry to restore them. Sad. Wish I had more room to park that GT6 in my yard . . .

Two Triumphs, right in my neighborhood. Nice thought. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif

 

[jlaird]

To whome it may concern, Santa.

Tony needs a very small digital camra.

 

[jollyroger]

I think I kinda know that car. Bet it had a small block in it at one time. Did it have a GM rear axle and a reshaped firewall to handle a chevy gearbox?

 

[tony barnhill]

No, I looked up under it...has a Midget rear end & firewall was intact...he's using original clutch & brake MC's also.

Owner said he got it from a friend in South Carolina who built it.

 

[aeronca65t]

Very cool.
Yes! Get pictures!
You may have seen the "Spridget Specials" thread I have....your find sounds like a good candidate for that thread (My most recent posting on that thread was of a roto-Spridget).
For some reason, I really like Spridgets with modded-bodywork and I've seen a Bugeye with the headlights faired in. I built my own slantnose, "Super-Sprite" fenders for my racer last year. I can't use them for my club races (or I'll be bumped up a class) but I plan on using them for any vintage events I run. You can see them in the collage below.

 

[tony barnhill]

I'll run by his place with a camera this week...if a guy didn't recognize the windshield or dash, he'd never know it had ever been a bugeye - or Spridget for that matter!

 

[bugimike]

MGA tail-lights are the identical unit as the ones found on the bug-eye. total interchangability there! I always thought my bug-eye would make a great basis for a mini-cobra. Some fender flares, minor cosmetics to the lighting, gobs of power added and it's a natural!