Austin Bugeye Sprites

Nostalgia.

Funny cuz I bought 3 over years and each was more than the previous one - fist was $50 then $100 and finally $175.  Of course that was over 30 years ago.  The last 1959 I put a later 1275 cc later engine and front suspension on it.  They were inexpensive small car and rust and frog eye nose was easily damage so suspect its supply and demand.  I still like them.  At the Carlisle get-together that featured 50 years of the Bugeye there was one there with a Jaguar 6 cylinder engine.

It's inexorable; the prices go up for the good ones.  I paid $825 in 1964 for mine; I've still got it and Haggerty's insures it for--well, over $15,000 shall we say. But then, it is concours correct to the last nut and bolt.  Even the disc brakes and wire wheels were period factory accessories. Here's some photos.

Veddy nice!

Ditto that!

Nice car--extremely desirable.  There was one forsale at Carlisle that looked absolutely perfect---gorgeous red.  A complete restoration---I don't know friom a concours standard but it was beautiful.  Very low price too.  I bet it sold the first day.

I bought one in 1968, dropped a Lotus 7A engine in it that Hollywood Sportscars had built and it just flat hauled for what it was. Unfortunately, a visit to Southeast Asia with my fellow Marines caused me to sell it. The most fun I ever had for $800, and I regret not holding onto it.