Very few of the Bugeyes that arrive here have the front bonnet lock set-up correctly. Pieces are usually missing, nothing ever lines-up, and the latches almost never work. Let’s face it, the nose weighs so much that it isn’t going anywhere under normal circumstances. (I drove Gumby for 20 years before the car had a nose latch).
But all bets are off if you crash. You want the nose to stay in place, so it can absorb energy and stay in place should you roll. The nose is a heavy object, and you want to make sure it is secured to the car. Thus every car that leaves our shop goes out into the world with a working nose latch. Rattles are reduced. And it’s just good craft.
The yellow car shown here had a working mechanism but the locking plates were butchered. Holes were elongated, which made for a bonnet that bounced a bit even while latched. The customer agreed it would be nice to repair this old wound and so we installed new black lock plates as shown.
You can buy these pieces in our catalog if yours are missing. They are linked below.
