These days, most Bugeyes have sliding plexiglass side curtains. We sell new reproductions of this type of sidecurtain, as well as replacement windows and rubbers in our catalog. To pay tolls or reach in or out of your car with these windows fit, one merely slides the rear window forward.
But when Bugeyes were first produced in 1958, they came with soft-windowed side curtains. These were clear plastic windows (much like the rear window on a convertible top) bordered in vinyl and mounted to a metal frame. To open this type of curtain, a single snap was fit to the frame on the back corner, which allowed you to reach in or out. Some Bugeye trivia… the earliest cars had no snap!
This type of sidecurtain is more rare than the plexiglass type, but it turns out these soft windows were offered as an option right up through March of 1960 (and car number 34,556). In fact soft windows have been recorded on cars right up to 39,945 in May of 1960. But in December of 1958 @ car 8283, sliding pane windows first made their appearance. These were apparently an option thereafter (instead of the soft plastic) through most of the Bugeye production run.
So if your car came before #8283, you should have soft side curtains. Between 8283 and 39,945 you might have originally had soft sidecurtains fit (I doubt there is any record of which window was fit to your car). Regardless, with our new interior shop in full swing we have started making soft side curtains again and have them for sale here. You’ll need to send us frames as a core, and we’ll powdercoat them and sew on new windows and vinyl. The price is $399.95 per pair (It takes a lot of time to make them as there is a lot of stitching involved). We are excited to now offer something that no one offers new and restoration has been previously very hard to find.
We now offer “soft” sidecurtain restoration. Click here to order!
