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WTB Bugeye Dash Knob Set

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Editor_Reid

Editor_Reid

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Anyone know of a source for good reproduction dash knobs for a Bugeye? I'm looking for the W, C, H, and S bakelite knobs.

Here's the car that needs them:

72805 - Reid Trummel - 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite.jpg

(Click on the thumbnail above for the full-size image.)

Yes, it was originally Nevada Beige with red interior, just as it is now.

Thanks.
 
Editor_Reid said:
Drew, from your icon/photo, do we assume that your Sprite is RHD?
Click to expand...

Yup, Penny is a RHD UK home market car, sold new in Penryn, Cornwall. Brought to the USA in the 1980s by George Broomfield who was the head of manufacturing operations for Delorean Motors (yes, that Delorean).

How she looked when she came home:

bugfront.jpg


How she looks now (more or less):

rotisserie.jpg
 
Nevada beige is a rare one. Curious about the hardtop as well. Is it just the factory hardtop re-trimmed or something different?

Kurt.
 
nomad said:
Nevada beige is a rare one. Curious about the hardtop as well. Is it just the factory hardtop re-trimmed or something different?
Click to expand...

It's not a factory hardtop. We (me and the seller) don't know where it came from. It's a very simple and lightweight shell with a small chrome strip (visible in the photo) and a small rubber strip where it sits on the body. Very light, very simple. There are no markings or logos anywhere on it, so no idea who made it. I like the looks of the factory hardtops, but I have to say that I like this one at least as well.
 
nomad said:
Nevada beige is a rare one. Curious about the hardtop as well. Is it just the factory hardtop re-trimmed or something different?

Kurt.
Click to expand...

My first Bugeye was Nevada Beige, and the red one I bought in '97 turned out to be an original Nevada Beige car as well. Between them not making many, and many of them painted over different colors, it's true, you rarely see them.
 
Gerard said:
My first Bugeye was Nevada Beige, and the red one I bought in '97 turned out to be an original Nevada Beige car as well. Between them not making many, and many of them painted over different colors, it's true, you rarely see them.
Click to expand...

I liked the color well enough when I bought it, but it has also grown on me to the point where I like it quite a bit. It's different - and I like that fact and just have an affinity for offbeat original colors anyway - and it just has a classy quality to it, IMO. I think it would be a little too drab with a black interior, but with the red interior I think it works real well.

In one sense it seems like an odd color to offer on such a car in the first place. I mean I could understand a family sedan in Nevada Beige in the era, but on this tiny, wild-looking sports car?!? BMC must have had a strange person "doing their colors" in those days, or maybe they just got a deal on war surplus desert camouflage paint?

By the way, since I live in Oregon I always end up flying to car events in the eastern USA and renting a car. Boring. However, a friend in Louisville has offered to store a car for me - and he's a Sprite guy who has even raced them, so it will be in very good hands - and so next August I'll ship this Bugeye there and it will become my "east coast events car." That way for any event in the eastern USA that I want to attend, I can fly to Louisville and drive the Bugeye from there. Almost all of the eastern half of the USA is within a two-day drive of Louisville, and this car cruises at 70 MPH no sweat. Its first planned eastern event is the Austin-Healey Southeastern Classic in Sevierville, Tennessee, September 24-27, 2015. They are promoting it as "a three-day Conclave" and it's expected to be really big. I'm already looking forward to driving it on the Tail of the Dragon!
 
The last SEC that was in that area was a bunch of fun (despite the rain). I wish I could make it to the one next year. They have a muscle car museum in Sevierville if you are into that sort of thing.
 
Just make sure you order the S and C cables with "original" bevelled knobs, not the ones with larger flat knobs with smaller letters.

Also, I have a few sets of these and when I installed one of the starter cables on a car I was restoring, the knob pulled off the shaft on the second pull. Quite painful as you can imagine ! I ended up painting the 50 year old knob and used the old cable on that car, which still worked well. I can sell you the a matching set of the bevelled S and C cables, the S knob needs to be reclamped to the shaft, but doable. I am heading back to the US tomorrow and can take a pic on Sunday if you are interested. I also have the H, W and Washer push knobs knobs new, I can always order a new set later when I need them. I will price them at what I paid plus the shipping. You can find teh same knobs at NOS Locatotors on eBay or search for Ashley Hinton as a seller.

Cheers
Lew
 
I found that while the after market knobs can be of good quality, often the script on the knob is not correct. A good way to check is by looking at the driver's handbook for the original ones. Good luck!
Scott in CA
 
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