1959 Austin Healey Bugeye

Convertible

1275 cc

Manual

Clear

For sale is my very nice 59 Bugeye. I've owned it a little over a year. Especially noteworthy is the fact that it was never rusty- I bought it with a current California registration. It came with a new top, side curtains and LEATHER seat covers. They are the first ones I've seen on a Sprite. It is a beautiful car- straight, shiny and correct. The body needs nothing. The interior could use new carpet if you want perfection, but it's pretty nice the way it is. The car came with a 1275 engine and a rib case trans. It also came with the weber carb and manifold and electric fuel pump. While not original, it runs so well and starts so easily that I left it on- A set of rebuildable 1 1/4 SUs and intake and exhaust manifolds will go with the car in case you crave originality.. The previous owner also added later midget front discs. The brakes are awesome compared to front drum Bugeyes. It has a correct jack and lugwrench, and a later Midget Rostyle spare. I added a correct generator with a new tach drive and cable, a new battery and a correct heater with new ducting. I added seatbelts and door seals to the interior. I bought a new tonneau cover. The exhaust was bad so I put a new custom exhaust with a header on last spring- it sounds great.. The engine was smoking through the summer and the trans was popping out of reverse, so I just did a valve job- new valves, guides, springs and gaskets. I bought a rebuilt trans and installed it along with a new clutch kit. It now runs, shifts and starts great! I removed and polished the cockpit rails and the windshield frame. I replaced the windshield and gaskets. All the gauges work and appear to be correct bugeye parts. I am sure the tach and speedo are. The electrical system is fine. It charges, all the lights and heater fan work. The horn has an issue with the contact ring in the wheel- it grounds randomly, sounding the horn whether you want to or not, I disconnected it. The wipers do not work, I don't know why, I only drove it on sunny days, so fixing it was put off.. The tires were nearly new, so I didn't replace them. I did buy a set of Minilites from England and had them installed. As you can see from the pictures, they look nice on a Bugeye. A word about the title. I got a clear CA title with the car. It shows the car to be a 1960 and their DMV gave it a CA vin number. The previous owner didn't know why. The correct vin should be on a plate on the manifold side of the engine bay. The plate is absent, I assume that is why CA gave it a new vin. I had no trouble getting a MI title, it should transfer without any trouble. I sent the body number to the British Motor Trust. They gave me the correct vin and stated the car was built 3-59. Pictures of the body #, CA vin and the Heritage certificate are below. There are two screw holes that do not show up in the pictures alongside the header for a vin plate. They are available from Moss Motors. The car is ready for anything. It started quickly the other day when it was in the 20s. At this point, it needs nothing to enjoy it! I'll be glad to answer any questions, and will work with your shipper. It would look great in a driveway with a bow on it on Christmas day!!!