We are getting near the end of the assembly of the Bugeye and we seem to be left with a series of small jobs, usually unrelated to each other. In this post we paint the fasteners under the car, we the install the windscreen wipers including the custom intermittent operation feature, we install the driver’s rear view mirror on the windscreen post, we adjust the driver’s door latch and we install the rear turn indicators “beehive” glass and chrome trim rings.

Where we could, we replaced original fasteners with stainless steel, but in some cases we stuck with the zinc plated fasteners that have some protection against rust but we painted them black to help prevent rust. 

We already had some good windscreen wiper arms and ordered some new blade assemblies from BugeyeGuys.com. The blades are 8″ long. The installation was pretty easy once you figure out how to position the arm on the wheel box spindle. The motor was rebuilt and seems to operate just fine. The standard sweep on the Bugeye is 110 degrees, so the entire screen is not wiped clear when the wipers are operating. The refurbishment of the motor and installation of the intermittent controller was covered in an earlier post: https://valvechatter.com/?p=13890

To test the wipers we first covered the windscreen with a coating of Rain-X water repellent to give it some protection and then we sprayed some water on the surface. Everything worked as it should. The wipers are not fast but they seem to do the job.

We then installed the driver’s side rear view mirror that we sourced from AH Spares. This mirror features a stainless steel arm and a chrome mirror. The mirror was screwed into the front-most mounting point of the windscreen to the body.

We had fitted the driver’s door some time ago but we had not been successful in having it latch tightly. We added a second shim behind the catch and the door now latches but it takes a very firm close. We will adjust the door a little later and as can be seen in the attached video we will try lowering it slightly and perhaps moving it rearward.

Finally, we installed the “beehive” glass lenses and the chrome trim rings for the rear turn indicators. To protect the paint from any damage we borrowed an idea from a friend, Steve Thomton. We cut a piece from a rubber inner tube and taped it to the car. This worked pretty well.

Rubber protection for Turn Indicator lens and trim ring installation

All of these steps toward completion are covered in Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Nine.

https://vimeo.com/1095407258/8d2e485f0b?share=copy

0:00 – Painting fasteners under the car

1:45 – Wiper installation

2:32 – Wiper intermittent speed control

3:17 – Driver’s rear view mirror

4:22 –  Driver’s door adjustment

5:03 – Rear turn indicators “beehive” lens and chrome trim ring install