Amid the tumult of 2020, this Bugeye business boomed | Hagerty Media

[Hagerty]

There is a lot of change in the collector car market these days. New buying and selling platforms are cropping up. Younger enthusiasts are entering the market and paying big money for cars and trucks built in recent decades. In all this excitement it's easy to forget about old and slow English sports cars.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/people/amid-the-tumult-of-2020-this-bugeye-business-boomed/

[Firehawk2K2544]

One of my fraternity brothers had a Bugeye sprite circa 1969.
The side doors of WHAT WAS the DU house at Marietta College were wide enough to have four guys pick up the Sprite and place it in the dining room.
With all the tables and chairs removed for the Saturday night party
(think Toga party from Animal House), the Bugeye was right at home driving around until
Ma Steadman (housemother) came out of her apartment........

[jaysalserVW]

What has happened with the Comment Section? Why all of the signing in, re-signing in--up and down and back and forth--about 6 times??? Is this a way to discourage comments? I'm always amazed at WebSites which make it difficult for readers and users to access/use. Why waste the Readers' time?

[Julie]

Hi Jay - sorry to hear you are having login issues. I am going reach out to you directly to help troubleshoot this more. Thank you!

[sorrktm]

My first car was a 66" Sprite and my one buddy had a 59 Bugeye. Great fun and fond memories. We did a 1275 conversion on his Bugeye and that was a fun car to drive. I kept the 1100 in mine with a few "tweeks" and did some auto crossing. Sold it to go back to school but I still miss it.

[RichardLW]

I bought my Bugeye for $295 in 66, replaced the clutch and fixed up the body in my parents back yard, hanging the engine from a tree. Drove it daily to College and weekend trips everywhere. Quite a car. Outran a cop in upstate NY where He could not take the curves of route 9N like my Sprite could. Had to sell in 68 (for $700) when I moved to South America.

[BA]

I had heard that AH originally referred to the new Sprite as "Frogeye". Has anyone else ever heard this?

[cobrafia]

In the late '70's, Chip Weiss was hillclimbing the old Bill McDaniels champion Bugeye. He (and my brother, against my better judgement) talked me into co-driving the Bugeye at Weatherly H.C. As I went to leave the start, it snapped the splines off of one of the axles. Fortunately, I hadn't crossed the starting beam. The officials decided this would be a good time to take lunch up the the corner workers. Chipper, my brother and myself, with the assistance of every Spridget driver present jacked the car up on the starting line, pulled the axles out and cleaned out all the broken pieces (well, all we could see, anyway) while another local racer drove to his garage for a spare axle. We slapped the rear back together, my brother and everyone else helped reassemble the car while I suited up and I strapped in just as the stewards call for the next car. Since I hadn't left the start line, I hadn't lost my eligibility for the run and I fired up the car, all 948 cc's and scooted up the hill. The icing on the story? The local radio station was broadcasting the hillclimb live all day. The announcer had filled the "dead" time of lunch by doing a play by play of the action (a first quality Ferrari pit stop, total confusion), even pushing his mike under the car for live action. I don't think we got bleeped out for our language, but I'm really not sure. At least the FCC didn't close down the station. Sprite people are the greatest people in the entire sports car world, no one has more fun than a Spridgeteer.

[02-orignal-ownr]

I was in a friend's wedding, and we met at the local men's store to pick up our tuxedos the day of the event. He was driving a Bugeye, and I was in my Renault 4CV. Parking spaces were few and far between in downtown Ft Lauderdale on a Saturday; we could only find one. So we managed to get the Sprite and the 4CV in the same place, fed the meter and off we went. When we came out, a very puzzled meter maid (that's what they called 'em back then) was looking at the cars, but since they were both inside the boundaries and there was time on the meter, there was no reason she could write a ticket. Apparently while we were inside, a news photographer happened by and posed the meter maid with her ticket pad out, looking confused. It was in the paper the next day.

Bugeyes were new when I was in high school, and I always wanted one. It took 15 years to gather space and money to start my search; 16 cars later (this was long before the internet) I finally found a nice one, low mileage and un-modified. Even better, unrusted or damaged. It's still in my garage. They're like driving a go-cart with a body. From the driver's seat, not only can you put your hand flat on the pavement, but you look up at Minis and VWs.

[brb]

The shop is as cool as the cars. Both reflect well on the owner. Well done!

[Jnick]

The car is a rare breath of sanity in a crazy world and far cheaper and more effective than chemical anti depressants! Proof positive that statistics like JD Power reliability reports and 0-60 times are not related to fun.