Always Something More to Do

Posted on by

Our to do list is getting shorter, but we still have a few items that need our attention. First, we need to install the heater/fresh air ducting or “trunk.” This was an easy job because the duct that we had previously used was almost new and pre-bent. A large black “P” clip is used to secure the duct to the right hand engine bay valance. We wanted to make sure that the ducting would not come in contact with the underside of the bonnet so we used a piece of paper and some adhesive tape to check that we had clearance. We did. This process is outlined in the Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-fifteen.

Heater/Fresh Air Duct Installed

Given the size and low height of the Bugeye front-end, it is an excellent candidate for road debris and rock chip damage. So, we decided to have a paper protection film (PPT) applied to the front nose. Paint Protection Film is a high-performance aliphatic polyurethane film. It is specifically designed to protect painted surfaces and other materials from abrasion, corrosion, chemicals, and other types of physical damage. The installation was done in Sarasota by Ceramic Pro. https://ceramicprosarasota.com

Ceramic Pro claims that their film is the only true ceramic-infused paint protection film on the market. It arrives from the factory pre-coated with Ceramic Pro’s proprietary PPF & Vinyl formula. This allows one to have all the benefits of self-healing paint protection film with the added hydrophobic and self-cleaning action of a Ceramic Pro ceramic coating.

It is difficult to see the time in the image below, but that is the point isn’t it? The film runs from just below the headlight dishes to the bottom edge of the bonnet front.

Paint Protection Film Applied

With the PPT installed, we were finally in a position to put the signature Bugeye chrome grille in place! That smiling chrome mouth makes the Bugeye or Frogeye, if you prefer. We had the grille chromed by Dallas Plating in Georgia and were very pleased with their work. The grill is held in place with 12 small speed, or spire, nuts. We found that using a small socket driver to push the nuts in place worked quite well.

We also installed the round Sprite badge in the center of the bonnet and that little bit of color really pops on the bonnet. These badges are notorious for coming loose and getting lost on the road. We drilled a small hole on each side of the badge and ran a wire horizontally through the back of the badge to hopefully prevent a loss if the badge were to become loose.

Bugeye Grille Installed

Next up was the front sidelights/turn indicators. As we previously discussed when installing the rear beehive glass bowls and chrome trim rings, these can be a challenge to install. As with the rear, we taped a rubber protection shield we made from an inner tube to the area around each one of the lights before attempting to install the glass and chrome. This worked quite well and the front lights actually went in pretty easily.

Body protection for sidelight glass and trim installation

Since acquiring the Bugeye years ago, we had always used one of the original steel wheels as a spare tire. However, the steel wheel will not fit around the rear disc brake calipers. Unfortunately, Panasport no longer makes a 13 inch wheel for the Sprite so we ordered a VTO wheel that looks very similar. We had one of the Pirelli tires mounted to the VTO wheel and will install it in the boot and secure it with a two piece strap similar to the original. The strap was purchased from Sports and Classics.

VTO Wheel

Finally, we adjusted the headlights. There are several good instructional videos available on YouTube to show how this is done. The early Sprites have three adjustment screws on each light and these are used to focus the light either left or right, up or down. Once the headlights were properly focused, we installed the chrome trim rings. This was easy given that we chose to use spring clips like those used on an MGB rather than the single self-tapping screw inserted through the lower point of the trim ring. Detail about the spring clips is covered in Bugeye Restoration Video Episode Fifty-eight: https://vimeo.com/916270590/1a203247b5?share=copy  

One more bit of chrome on the front of the Bugeye really dresses it up!

Bugeye Headlight Trim Rings Installed

Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Fifteen may be viewed by clicking this link: https://vimeo.com/1117237383/2d360a8fd0?share=copy

0:00 – Heater/fresh air ducting installation

1:29 – Paint Protection Film (PPT)

2:00 – Sidelight/Turn Indicator installation

2:20 – Chrome Bonnet Grille Installation

2:45 – Bonnet Badge

 

John’s Initial Drive and Performance Debrief

Posted on by

John came over on Sunday July 20, 2025 to check out the progress on the Bugeye restoration and take the car for its first real drive on public streets. We had a wonderful visit and John and I got to experience Donald Healey’s little car on the open road. Of course, this also gave us the opportunity to assess what was working well and what needed improvement.

First drive on the open road

The car performed without incident – always good! The engine ran very smoothly and sounded great but did not have the acceleration we expected. The suspension offered a plush ride compared to what John had been used to pre-restoration. New springs, rebuilt shocks, new bushings everywhere, a new steering rack, new Pirellis and reupholstered seats with new foams all contributed to the improved ride. The 3.9 differential that replaced the 4.2 may have had some effect on low end torque.

After John returned to his home on the other side of Florida I spent some time trying to analyze how we lost some performance. I discovered that the butterfly in the carburetor was not fully opening when the accelerator pedal was depressed. This was due to the addition of the Speedwell Engineering hanging accelerator pedal assembly, combined with layers of dynamat insulation, aluminum insulation, plush carpet, and a rubber Matthau all combined to prevent the accelerator pedal from completing its natural travel. As the attache video shows we removed the aluminum duct insulation and cut away the offending carpet and rubber mat thereby freeing up the pedal to full open the carb butterfly. 

We also substituted a fast-drop carb piston damper LZX 2085 for the original. We are hoping that these improvements and substitutions will give us the performance we are looking for. All of the spark plugs look great with a tan burn residue. Timing and fueling appear to be spot-on.

Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Fourteen shows some of the initial drive of John’s Bugeye:

https://vimeo.com/1105259492/319edbc3f6?share=copy

 

Interior Cross-member Cover

Posted on by

The frame cross-members that are located in front of each of the interior seats are covered with carpet. Getting in and out of the car would create significant wear and tear on that carpet. Someone on the Austin Healey Experience Forum made plastic covers for the crossmembers using plastic that was originally intended as a receptacle for yard waste. We thought we would give the idea a try and ordered one from Home Depot through Amazon.

Lawson Easy Bagger

It turned out that the plastic material was easy to cut and bend into shape. We made a couple of variations and installed a pair in the car. Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Thirteen shows the creation and installation of the carpet covers.

https://vimeo.com/1105240596/3778f4f161?share=copy

Early indications are that the cover is going to work quite nicely!

 

Bleeding the Brakes & Bedding-in the Pads and Rotors

Posted on by

We used a combination of the traditional pumping the brakes while also opening and closing the caliper bleeder valves with the Gunson’s EEZIBLEED system.

Gunson’s EEZIBLEED

Combining the two methods did result in some braking action, but it was not the firm pedal that we were looking for. We let some time pass and then came back to this project.

Since the brake lines were essentially full of fluid and we had removed much of the air in the lines, we tried a slightly different approach with the EEZIBLEED system. Rather than putting fluid in the pressurized container, we simply pressurized the system to 15 pounds and used the compressed air to push the silicone brake fluid throughout the system. This process worked pretty well and we ended up with decent pedal feel. While the brakes are good enough for travel on the road and initial testing, we will undertake the bleeding process once again after we get a few miles on the car. It is just a usual iterative process with these little British cars.

On July 14, 2025, we took the restored bugeye on the road for the first time. It was a short ride at slow speed intended only to break in the new disc brake pads and rotors. We followed the recommendation of Steve Christiansen of Ol Phartz Partz from whom we purchased the rear disc brake kit. However, his instructions are very similar to that provided by both Moss Motors and by Green Stuff, maker of the brake pads we used on the front wheels.

As Steve says, “the rotors and pads require a thermal cycling process for maximum performance and longer wear. This will also lessen the likelihood of the rotors, cracking due to thermal shock. To bed in the brakes; accelerate moderately to approximately 25 mph and apply the brakes down to about 5 mph using normal to light pedal effort. Do this 8 to 10 times, slow slowly building up heat in the pads and rotors. Do not make severe stops or apply brakes during acceleration. After temperature has been built in the pads and rotors, use the brakes extremely hard several times. Park the vehicle and let the brake cool for about 1 to 2 hours until the rotors have cooled to ambient temperature.”

We completed the bedding-in ride and will test drive the car for a longer distance the next time out. The short Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Twelve shows a little about the final brake bleeding process and the brief test drive.

https://vimeo.com/1101278228/9cef5f77df?share=copy

 

 

 

Original Jack Restoration & Jacking Up the Car

Posted on by

Jack Restoration

The car we purchased from Michigan had an original jack to be used on the side of the car. While it was pretty rusty, it did appear to function and it even had its original wooden crank handle! The jack doesn’t lift the car very high but it does get both tires off of the ground, one side at a time.

Original Rusty Jack

To restore the jack we first had to cut four welds as shown in the accompanying video to disassemble it.

Cap Welds to Cut

More Welds to Cut

More Welds to Cut

Gear Exposed

Once disassembled we took the components to friend, Randy Forbes. At Randy’s, we media blasted the components with aluminum oxide. We then returned home, masked the assembly, covered the screw and painted the inside of the jack with black Rustoleum spray paint along with the gears and the inside of the assembly cap.

Masked and Ready to paint the Inside Casing

We put some grease on the gears and returned to Randy’s where he re-welded the four welds we had cut.

We painted the round bar that is inserted into the car with two coats of POR-15 black paint for durabilityand then over-coated it with the Rustoleum spray paint. We then sprayed the entire jack with the Rustoleum. The little wooden handle was still in great shape. We painted it with five coats of clear polyurethane and reattached it to the handle.

The final step in the restoration was to grease the screw and run the rod up and down a few times. The jack was then good (or perhaps better) as new.

Jacking up the car

We had not planned it that way, but we ended up putting the newly restored jack to use right away. We needed to lift the car to bleed the brakes one more time. Previously, we had used the floor jack to lift the rear of the car at the differential, but we discovered that now that we had approximately 5 gallons of fuel in the tank the additional weight dropped the rear of the car making it impossible to get the floor jack to the differential. So we used our newly restored jack to lift one side of the car, which raised the fuel tank enough that we could then insert the floor jack below the differential and lift the car to put it on the jack stands.

At the front of the car, the tie-down hoops create an obstacle for the use of the floor jack. We screwed together three 2 x 4s to make it possible to lift the car with the floor jack and also install two jack stands. However, even this proved to be problematic. When one tries to tilt the bonnet forward, it contacts the 2 x 4s before it is fully opened. So, when we take the car off the jack stands, we will cut an angle on the face of the 2 x 4s to eliminate the contact. There is always something!

Front Jacking Blocks

Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Ten shows the full restoration of the original jack as well as its use in lifting the car for the brake work:

https://vimeo.com/1099970250/715d09e4e4?ts=0&share=copy

As it turned out the three piece 2 x 4 stack of lumber we used for jacking up the front of the car did not work as well as we would like. When trying to open the bonnet the body came in contact with the wood and would not fully open. Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Eleven shows how we modified our process to get the car up in the air and then back on the ground.

https://vimeo.com/1101255301/f978bae782?share=copy

Wipers, Mirror, Driver’s door and Rear Turn Indicators

Posted on by

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

Tight is right

Posted on by

Although the subject is not very interesting or exciting, going through the car to make sure all of the fasteners are tight and/or properly torqued where appropriate is critically important for the safe operation of a newly restored vehicle. In the short video below, we move from fastener to fastener under the car and also report on the size of the wrench required to do the job.

Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Eight:

https://vimeo.com/1092524345/9c58773a53?ts=0&share=copy

Starting the engine in the car and a few issues

Posted on by

With June 2025 upon us, it was time to wrap up a few final items and get the engine started. This step is always exciting but also riddled with anxiety!

Good friend Randy Forbes helped us improve the looks of the engine bay by carefully bending a 1/2″ stainless steel pipe to replace the original copper heater pipe.

Original copper and new stainless steel heater pipe

The stainless pipe clearly looks better in the engine bay!

New stainless heater pipe mounted in place

Then it was time to get our electric fan’s thermostatic controller working. The water temperature fitting in the engine cylinder head is used for the water temperature gauge in the dash. Fortunately, there is also a bung for a temperature sensor or thermostatic switch in the top of the aluminum radiator. We modified an original temperature sender fitting by tapping it with 1/8″ NPT threads to receive a new switch that we picked up from Amazon. It turns on the electric fan at 190 degrees and cuts off at 175 degrees. We also have an override switch built in behind the dashboard. The wiring for the switch was previously anticipated and incorporated in our wiring loom.

Modified sender fitting and new thermostatic switch

Electric Fan Thermostatic Switch Install

With that job completed we then put about four gallons of fuel in the fuel tank and checked to see if we had any leaks. Experiencing none, we then turned on the ignition and ran the SU fuel pump to pump fuel to the HIF44 carb in the engine bay. Again, no leaks!!

No fuel leaks below the fuel fittings

With that behind us we then turned off the ignition and cranked the starter to generate fuel pressure as observed at the water temperature/oil pressure gauge.

The engine started right away as anticipated, since we had previously run it on a stand in the garage. However, we also encountered a very bad vibration and knocking sound. The noise seemed to emanate from the driveshaft tunnel. While we initially thought the noise might be coming from the driveshaft striking the body, after thinking about it for a while, we determined that they carburetor was running too rich, and the idle was set too low. once adjusted the engine smoothed out and the vibration disappeared. Hooray! The problem and solution can be seen and heard in Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Seven.

We also discovered that we had a problem with the gear shifter hitting the driveshaft tunnel thereby restricting its full range of motion.

Gear Shifter Hitting the Gearbox Tunnel

That was nothing that the careful application of the Dremel tool couldn’t solve. After a little paint was applied we reassembled everything and it was another problem solved.

The next problem we encountered was that the alternator was not charging the battery. We are using a Speed Hut, electronic tachometer supplied by Bugeyeguys.com. The electronic tachometerr does have provision for a charging light, but it is an LED. Unfortunately, an LED bulb does not generate sufficient load to signal the alternator to start charging the battery. We found out that you must have an incandescent bulb in the circuit to get the alternator to do its job. So, we modified our wiring and added an incandescent warning bulb in the charging circuit. The wiring modification is routed through Deutcsh connector D1. This process is also shown in the Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Seven. We just tucked the new light under the dash out of sight.

Finally, we made a slight modification in the carburetor float bowl overflow pipe by cutting off the curve at the end of the cunifer pipe and fitting a piece of quarter-inch rubber fuel hose at the end. We also replaced two 3 1/2″ bolts that go through the chassis floor into the gearbox mount with two 3 1/4″ bolts to avoid the possibility that the longer bolts might contact the upper part of the mount and cause vibration.

Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Seven:

https://vimeo.com/1092260334/7e6d3cd034?share=copy

Content summary:

0:00 – Heater pipe stainless steel replacement

0:25 – Radiator fan thermostatic switch 

1:33 – Fuel in the tank

2:32 – No fuel leaks!

3:02 – Rotating starter for oil pressure

3:17 – Engine start

4:45 – Knocking and vibration

5:25 – Searching for source of vibration

6:03 – Shifter surround modification

6:35 – Vibration problem solved

7:30 – Shifter problem fixed

8:06 – Alternator not charging

9:07 – Wiring modification in charging system

10:52 – Modifying the carb overflow drain pipe

11:18 – Gearbox mount bolts

 

 

Grounded!

Posted on by

This post, while very short, is nevertheless important in the restoration process because on May 26,2025 (Memorial Day) the Bugeye came off the dollies and jack stands to sit on its own tires! There are a number of items remaining on our checklist before we call the job done, but this is a milestone event.

On the Gound

Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Six commemorates this exciting accomplishment:

https://vimeo.com/1088522337/9962ef627a?ts=0&share=copy

Throttle and Choke Cables

Posted on by

The Bugeye throttle cable used for HS1 or HS2 carbs is too short for use with the single HIF44 carburetor. So, we had to make our own. We had some cable conduit on hand that was long enough but we needed to find the proper ferrules to use for the ends of the cable. We finally located the right size step ferrule and purchased some from Venhill USA. Part number F82B, stepped ferrule for cable LB1TS – 5.5mm O.D. https://www.venhillusa.com/f82b.html The stepped ferrule is used at the end of the cable that sits in the chassis fitting close to the accelerator pedal assembly. The other end of the cable uses a standard bicycle cable ferrule. The Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Five contains information about the proper length of the new cable.

The choke cable is also not a standard or OEM cable. We are using a choke cable sourced from Bugeyeguys https://bugeyeguyparts.com/products/locking-choke  that has a two-step lock feature, stopping once at high idle and then stopping again at full choke. However, the downside of this modification is that the cable and its conduit are too long. With our special cutters we shortened the cable and added another stepped ferrule. This ferrule is a little larger than the one for the LB1TS cable because the choke cable is a larger diameter. We used part number F115 for the LB3Ts cable 5mm Diameter.

Bugeye Restoration Video Episode One Hundred-Five: https://vimeo.com/1088506360/d8e3e4af71?ts=0&share=copy