Hello readers,
It has been fun to build this site over the years; however, all good things must come to a close. I anticipate that in April of 2026 I will be shutting down the site. So, if there is some content that you need I would suggest that you save that content to a local computer or storage device before April.
I still have my cars, but I no longer want the expense and responsibility of maintaining a web site. Thanks for reading and commenting along the way!
All the best,
Lin
This process took a while to complete. We started it by cleaning and polishing the rear of the car and then we took it to Ceramic Pro in Sarasota to have a Paint Protection Film (PPF) installed on the front of the bonnet. We finished the washing, polishing and ceramic coating once the PPF was installed.
We used a polishing compound and polishing pads supplied by Pan the Organizer. We also used his 3 year ceramic coating product. We were quite pleased with how easy these products were to apply and remove.
Pan the Organizer Polish and Pads.
Pan the Organizer 3 year Ceramic Coating
The Bugeye is now nice and shiny and more importantly, the paint is now protected.
Shiney!
Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Sixteen briefly demonstrates the steps involved in cleaning and protecting the Bugeye:
Having the Paint Protection Film installed involved leaving the Bugeye in the care of Ceramic Pro of Sarasota for three days. We weren’t real comfortable with the extended stay but we were at their mercy. Their installer did a superior job in installing the film; however, someone apparently man handled the drivers door which resulted in damage in two places on the “A” pillar. While relatively small, fixing the damage required taking the car back to our painter Gabor Fodor for some bodywork and paint.
“A” Pillar paint damage
Initial Sanding
Filler Added
Painted and Job Complete
Gabor did an outstanding job. Literally impossible to see that a repair was made. We then re-installed the driver’s door and headed home.
Beautiful craftsmanship
But wait, the title of this post states “two steps back.” The first step back was the paint correction. The second step back was electrical. On the morning that we drove the Bugeye to the paint shop we discovered that the battery was almost dead. As things turned out, the brand new “upgraded” Lucas alternator sourced from British Parts Northwest gave up the ghost after only 140 miles!
Dead Alternator!
Clearly another example of Chinese junk. Sorry, but there is no other way to describe it. Fortunately, we had a spare and we installed and tested it in short order. We are now charging the battery as an alternator should.
We decided on a vintage look in tires for the Bugeye. We ordered the tires from Longstone Tyres in the UK. https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/155r13-pirelli-cinturato-ca67.html They are 155 Pirelli Cinturato CA67 tires and have an aggressive-looking tread pattern. It took less than a week to have the tires shipped to us.
Pirelli Cinturato
We are mounting the tires on the 5.5″ Panasport wheels that were on the car previously. We didn’t want to take the tires and wheels to an “everyday” tire store for mounting and we were able to find a local custom shop to do the job for us. All Road Automotive in Sarasota was very accommodating and had the job done the same day we took the tires and wheels to them.