Now sold to William! Congratulations!!!
I bought this dry California car from the fourth owner. AN5L 38688 is a black plate California car that spent most of its life in San Diego. It’s extremely solid and I shipped the car East so we could find it a new home.
This is a quick Bugeye, and “Zippy” is an appropriate name given by the most recent owner. He has a 1275 engine, exhaust header, larger 1.5 inch twin SU carbs (all for better breathing and more power), disk brakes, anti-roll bar and 185/60 Yokohama tires for excellent handling and grip. An ammeter has also been added. We just put in our new carpet kit, and the interior and trunk now look great, especially with the color coordinated red piping on the seats to match the racing stripes.
This car also has a Datsun 210 four speed transmission installed, which gives Zippy a fully synchronized gearbox. The transmission added value for me when I bought this car, because I have known a few select
customers who have had trouble with the non-synchro first gear in stock Bugeyes. This set-up is easier to drive for anyone new to the classic car hobby who might otherwise be intimidated by the original non-synchro first gear found on smooth and rib case versions common in these cars. This gearbox behaves like a modern manual transmission and is therefore less of a barrier of entry for a newcomer to the world of old British cars.
The car shows 73,231 miles and had a major service in January of 2014 in San Diego at 70622 miles. The engine and transmission were removed and all new gaskets were installed, including a new head gasket. The head was machined to ensure it was flat. The Speedo and fuel sender were also repaired, and now all the gauges work great. The car has not seen much mileage since those repairs. Compression was confirmed at 140 PSI in all cylinders at the time of that service. New steering rack boots were also installed. Receipts for this work are shown in the photo slide show below.
These are slightly widened stock Bugeye wheels, wearing performance Yokahamas for maximum adhesion. The tires are older, so should be replaced soon, and you could use these nice rims or perhaps switch to minilights, which always look great on cars with racing stripes!
The front bumperettes are also non-standard but well placed and a good alternative to the front bumper, which doesn’t protect the car very much anyway, since most things in modern lift are, well, just taller. There is no top currently, although we can promptly custom fit one for the new owner if so desired.
This is a clean and solid car with great performance upgrades. The four speed all synchro box would make this a great gift for anyone for whom old car gear shifting is not second nature.
This great Bugeye is for sale for $18,995. Call or email if you would like us to send Zippy to your door!