Gorgeous early-production 1958 Bugeye with a suprise lurking under the bonnet!
2023 ж. 12 Қаз.
11 950 Рет қаралды
At first glance, this Primrose Yellow 1958 Bugeye Sprite may look like any other Bugeye, but this car is very special in two distinct ways: firstly, this is an early-production car, one of the first 500 cars produced after Austin-Healey commenced production in the spring of 1958. Secondly, its drivetrain holds a secret: the stock 948 and smooth case transmission have been replaced with a supercharged 1275 and a Datsun five-speed transmission. This thing can FLY! Check out this video chronicling "Milano" and its unique platform! More information available at bugeyeguys.com!
Wish I was your neighbor- I'd love to see Bugeyes running down the street regularly. I fell in love with Bugeyes in 1960 at the age of 13.
Why not raise the bonnet and give us a look at the engine set-up? Nice appearance.
Yup, came to see what was 'under the bonnet' and was denied.
OMG . . why oh why hasn’t that winning lottery ticket been placed in my hands? 😢. I would be heading down the road to branford in a heart beat
Love frog eye sprite as we call it in UK. friend of mother had a new one in 1958 often lent it to her and was amazing . Drove in a blizzard from Aberdeen to Inverness , then down Loch Ness to Fort Augustus .
@alanthomson1227 • Back in the mid-1970s I met a young (well, midtwenties as was my age then) chap with his right-hand drive Sprite traveling the states after his having graduated "university". I was taking a break while working Race Registration at Watkins Glen, saw him parking his car, and walked up to compliment his "Beautiful Bugeye". He laughed, saying as you said that at home in England they call them "Frog Eye Sprites". After some chat and me giving him directions to the Gran Prix Circuit, I wished him well traveling our country, and told him henceforth I would still be calling all left-hand drives "Bug Eye Sprites", but would start calling all Right-hand drives "Frog Eye Sprites". And so it has been ever since.
@@douglas_drew great anecdote
Great presentation! Thanks.
To me a bug eye sprite will always be baby blue. The thing about the era's sports cars were how, generally, underpowered they were. The English cars were known for iffy electrics and brakes and suspension parts that make you glad they were underpowered. My brother had a 1967 MG Midjet. Fun little car that was fun to drive, being very light, and it's primitive top gave it a charm that more than matched it's performance. But being on freindly terms with a local knowledgeable mechanic, or being one yourself, is recomemded.
Didn't open the bonnet. 👎
Looks identical to Joe Manning’s supercharged Bugeye.
They were meant to be modified for performance. They were a cheap blank canvas for Anglo hot rodders.
Great video. I think you should take it to the race track at Limerock and clock it at 1/4 mile then flat out 1 mile +. A well done rebuild. A few moments of film under the bonnet would be pure delight as in almost engine porn. Is it for sale? I noted the Ct dealer plates you drive it around. Nice car all around unique. Greetings from Brookfield Ct.
For sale at Bugeyeguys.com, and you can see a photo album there including engine bay pictures.
Frog eye Sprite
How about a look at the engine?
Take a look at Bugeyeguys.com and you can see a complete photo album.
And the engine is invisible!
I would have LOVED to see the engine compartment!!!!
worth a trip to bugeyeguys.com where you can see a complete photo album and the engine compartment
I hope the brakes were uprated. Stock were not adequate for this level of performance.
Disk brakes are fit in the front.
So the surprise is we don’t see under the bonnet! Click bait!
Sounds soo good! Is the Datsun 5 speed an easy fix?
Steering wheel doesn't look correct, it's British, we've always called them frog eye sprite's ,have you no frog's in ceptic land
No engine photo…no supercharged 1275 ….all BS
Check out Bugeyeguys and you can see 100 pics. There really is an engine. You just need to make a few mouse clicks to see it. We’ll show the engine in the next video.
It's a Frog eye ffs because the grille and eyes look like a FROG. it's really not that hard.