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Bugeye Gauges

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John Moore

John Moore

Luke Skywalker
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I've ordered Original Sprite, but I don't have it yet.

My BE has black face smith's gauges. Other photos I've seen of bugeyes seem to have gauges with what looks to be white in the center. Are they Jeager guages? Did they change gauges over the run?

My car seems to have some later sprite things cobbed in and the dash doesn't look to be original. The seats are also later sprite. I'll try and post a photo. But I sure do like the look of the original guages. very classy.
 
The later gauges are often used when someone does an engine swap. The early tach is cable driven off the generator, so if someone swaps to an alternator they have to switch out the tach.
 
hmmm, my 1275 engine still does have the generator. Do you have to change out the speedo if you have a ribcage transmission?
 
No, spedo does not need changed at all.
 
If you have a 5 speed transmission that will change your speedo readings.
 
I've three sets of 1275 Spridget gauges if you find that you need something.
 
The color in the center of the old guages is silver. To get an original look to the newer guages, I imagine one could pain the centers silver. It would not look all that different from the older instruments done up like that!
 
The old pointers can be put on the later gauges.
 
Just to be sure, the original Bugeye has a special version of the standard Lucas generator, with a mechanical drive "outlet" at the back, to which a cable is attached, driving the rev-counter mechanically. You will be able to check very easily if you have one, the cable from the generator is quite thick, covered with grey plastic. They are a little flaky from a reliability point of view, with a little gearbox made of monkey-metal, reducing the speed of the generator to the necessary input speed of the rev-counter. These gearboxes have a tendency to strip their gears and are mind-numbingly expensive to replace.

You may still have a Lucas generator without this feature. ncbugeye has a 1275 from a 1974 Midget installed by the PO. The engine must have had an alternator, but he chose to retain the generator and the mechanical drive. It works just fine... right now...
 
Of course... it is possible to convert the mechanical tach into an electrical one using the guts from an electrical unit.
 
I'll definitely check it out when I get my "new" BE home! I love the look of the gauges.
 
That generator goes way back to about 1951 on the MGs as well.
 
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