Now SOLD to Steven in West Virginia! Congratulations on your new Bugeye, our 351st sold!
This is “Benji” (AN5L 16360). Benji is a good one! The car has undergone an excellent restoration for a prior owner about 10 years ago, and still looks almost brand new. Benji would’ve been built in 1959 but it’s titled as a 1960, probably because it was first purchased in 1960 and that’s when it was titled and registered. So technically it’s a 1959 but it’s titled as a 1960 (which is common in our universe).
We’ve just completed an extensive freshening of the car (it had been primarily sitting since its restoration). We’ve changed the front wheel bearings to a tapered, upgraded type, changed the radius arms, fitted an aluminum radiator, installed all-new wheel cylinders (there are drum brakes on all four corners), and installed all-new brake springs. The brakes work excellent; in fact, I must say the car stops just as nicely as it would if it had discs installed. We install tons of disc kits, by the way, but the biggest advantage is that they’re more consistent, they never need adjustment and they don’t fade as badly is drum brakes tend to. For a car like this one, I don’t know that discs are required because the drums are so wonderfully tuned-up! We’ve also changed the master cylinder and slave cylinder and the front suspension bump stops.
We’ve cleaned and replaced the O-rings and gaskets, cleaned and greased the rear bearings, and changed the brake hoses as well. The brakes are adjusted, the E-brake adjusted and the car is now ready to go! We put in premium products wherever possible including an upgraded premium master cylinder. We still need to fix the gas gauge and the horn, which you can see is not working on the driving video. The steering wheel is also off-center but that’s an easy fix for us (a common one, too!). In addition, the fuel pump on the car is a cheap electric one and should be upgraded to our solid state kit.
In general, with all the cars we sell, it’s a good idea to budget another 10% to 20% in service and/or upgrades; for example, this one has lap belts but I would put in our retractable seatbelts. There are many improvements available for any of the cars we offer, and we’re happy to custom build it out to your specifications, or give you advice as to what the specifications could be! If you’re looking for a wonderful car to start with, this is a nicely restored car with an excellent underside and a beautiful interior. The engine bay is very clean as well, and the car is a delight to drive as you were able to see in the video.
Benji is currently fitted with bias-ply tires. It’s very interesting for me to drive a bias-ply-equipped car. I tend to prefer radials because of their larger contact patch and far superior grip – there’s no substitute for modern technology. However, there is something refreshing about driving on bias-ply tires; there’s a decidedly vintage quality to them. For example, they follow road seams in a little different way than a modern radial, and they need to heat-up a little bit before they adhere to the road nicely. If you look at the video, as the car transitions from a left turn to right at the parking lot you’ll see that the tires slide nicely, just like a modern radial. It’s a lot of fun to tool around with these for a particularly vintage feel. So there’s no mandatory need to change to radials but I like the ride quality a little bit better and if you want radial white walls or black walls, we have them all in stock.
If this is a car that interests you, please don’t hesitate to call. I’d be happy to go through Benji with you and discuss how we might make it even better. Shipping is available anywhere in the world!
We are delighted to be able to help find this gorgeous automobile a new home!
