BugeyeBob Episode 001 - Autotopsy...
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- Just how bad is the damage on this 1958 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite? Let's dig in and find out.
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Go Bob, go! Looking forward to this, best of luck.
Thanks!
My first car was a 1956 Bug eye I went on to own 6 of them and numerous other BMCs (Big Healey, MGBs Tr and jag) My brother and I operated a repair garage/wrecking yard that we specialized in BMC in Brantford Ontario Canada. The Bug Eye always held a special place in my heart! They are really fun and feel a lot faster than they are! We ran one in local SCCA events and always had fun! Your is still repairable but you need to use caution in your disassembly I would highly recommend a rotary or a jig for the body. The factory BMC manual has all the datum points and measurement for the shell. Start from the inside and work out The rear damage will be a challenge as there is no trunk hatch The rear body structure is one piece. I would recommend removing it, and repair your way out. The skin you can see from the outside is non structure just like the AC Aca (later Cobra) Great project I would wager a bet that you will refer to it as the "bugger" before long!
Thanks, I'm going to build a custom rotisserie for the body. I'll have to go through all the manuals I have to see if I have the one with the datum points. The rear of the body will have to be completely pulled apart because the rear trunk floor is also rotted out. Because of severe rust in the wings and T molding I'm going to have to replace all that also. Fun times!
Can you give me more information on the Factory BMC manual? I've got the reprint of the MK 1 BMC Workshop Manual, but the body section in it (O) only has one page showing any dimensions. I've also got the BMC Body Service Parts List, it shows bill of materials and explosion drawings, but not much in the way of location datum for repairs. I thought I saw a manual once that gave a lot more detail on the body panels, brackets, and cross members that was used by the Concourse judges. I think I came across it once and can't seem to find a link on where to get one.
The Bugeye was not produced in 1956. You may have had a 1958 which was the first year of production.
Good Luck Bob, I'll be watching. 🙂
Thanks! It's going to be a long fun project!
What a car looking forward to its progress thanks
It will be a long slow process, but please hang in there for the full ride!
I really liked the detailed analysis. Good luck with the project. I've subscribed to keep track.
Thanks. I appreciate the comment and your subscribing!
Hello there Bob! You have quite the project you've taken on. I'm definitely going to follow along. I got my '59 on the road fairly recently after a long rebuild. Perhaps some of my videos will be helpful. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions! Cheers, Ian.
Thanks Ian. I'm going through your videos as I get time. I think I noticed you using engine stands to make a rotisserie. I did this with a 1957 Crestliner boat I restored and plan on doing the same with the Sprite. Only problem I have is so much work needs to be done on the rear of the body I'm going to have to weld up special arms that go in the rear leaf spring mounts for the rear. Got them drawn up, just have so much else to do before I get there. I'll definitely contact you with questions!
Bob, you have at least all of the parts intact. Go BOB Go. We British car owners support you. Thanks for posting and brining it back to life. Cheers from Texas
Thanks! I've joined the local "Panhandle British Car Owners" club here in Pensacola FL and gotten some great info from the members here. I've enjoyed almost all my visits to the Lone Star state... All except that one trip to Lubbock from Clovis NM that was in freezing rain that is!
Quick buff with some compound and you're gold.
Seriously a big job ahead of you Bob, but certainly doable, I'll watch your progress with interest...
Thanks for watching. Feel free to laugh at the mistakes I make along the way. That's what I do...
For those who don't know, in its native land (England) it's an Austin Healey "Frog Eye" Sprite.
"Frog Eye" is perhaps more appropriate given the "mouth" on the Sprite. Something about coming across "the pond" that seems to mess up the translation in our "common" language.
@@BugeyeBob-zt6ne Just as a little aside, in the 1960s there was a kids' TV show called "Hector's House" with three principal characters, Hector (a dog), Sza-Sza (a cat) and Kiki (a frog 🐸).. There were also still a lot of Sprites around at that time, many of which became referred to as "Kiki" because of that show.
I can still remember in 1971-72, my dad rebuilding a frog eye for a young fellow (a Colonel's son) at the army base where my mum worked as the Colonel's secretary. It was a fetching shade of sky blue and rust when it arrived - When it returned home, it was all blue once more, and also named Kiki! 🐸
Couple of weekends and off you go!
😅I'll just be glad if I have it all done by October 16th of 2028, the 70th anniversary of the car! I've gotten some feedback from people saying they had been working on their cars "for the past 10 years."
Good luck Bugeye Bob.. you will be busy on this one!
Thanks! Fortunately I've got plenty of time so it should be fun.
Hey Bob, you could buy a new trunkfloor, Ive replace the trunk floor also, I thought it is the same like the later sprite/midget, the gearbox might be a problem, the one i had was beyond repair, rusted gears, bought an other one that was serviceable, the same with the differential, succes with the project
One of the great things about this car is that because they wanted to make it cheap they used a lot of parts from other British cars. Only issue is that some things I might have to get from England, but at least I know they are available. Floor pans and a lot of other body parts are available from several companies here in the US.
Looking a little crispy there Bob
"a little" might be an understatement. Thanks for watching!
Subscribed😊
Thanks for subscribing!
You can buff most of that out. A real cream puff. Parked in Davy Jone's Locker since 1967.
"It's just a flesh wound..."😂
For a moment I thought the car was called Bugeye Bob! Greetings from the UK
I can understand the confusion. I think Bugeyes are the only car I know of that sometimes get a man's nickname. Glad to see someone from the UK is watching!
It's a cream puff!!
Just need to buff it out...😂
Did this car use to sit in Loxley Alabama?.
Not sure. I found it in Pensacola, but Loxley isn't that far from Pensacola so anything is possible.
This looks promising Bob, I'll be watching with interest.
I found the background music a bit distracting (I'm hearing impaired), maybe you could lower the level a bit when you're speaking?
Thanks for the feedback. Several people mentioned the background music. I figured out how to tweak it so the videos after the first couple of episodes should be better.
Turn the music down when you're talking, can barely hear you as it is. Subscribed for more though
Thanks for the feedback and subscribing. I'm working with a different/new software package for editing so please hang in there.
Frog eye sprite.
"Frogeye" in UK, "Bugeye" in US
Your best bet is to get it barely running, put insurance on it, run it into something, and have the insurance declare it totalled.
I value my life too much to risk running it into something. This is one of those vehicles built back in the day when your body is the "crumple zone."
@@BugeyeBob-zt6ne To get my antique sports car fix, I realized they were way to expensive and too much trouble, and switched to spoked wheeled cruiser motorcycles. .
Instead of buying an MGTC for 40,000.... I paid $1,900 for a 2007 Honda Shadow Spirit in mint condition with 8,000 miles. 🙂
Really, I just wanted something super pretty, super cheap, super new for a change, lots of chrome, and with spoked wheels
Motorcycles, the way to go. You can get a wrench in anywhere, and 50mpg 🙂 less is more
Very good good luck bob
Subscribe everyone 🦘🇦🇺
Thanks! This should be a fun project.