Stuart, I talked this afternoon to Al Klusman. He's as much of a Bug book of knowledge as you will find anywhere. Of course, the LRB was red, as I imagined. The Stinger by Bug was red back then. I'm sure the LRB was the same red. I will say that the Trophy Spider wheels were an option. The Spiders can be found, but they aren't cheap. Will Rogers was repopping the Spiders a while back. He may still have some. Some early LRB karts even had the wide steering hoop, same as Bug's Stinger and Cool Cart. Mr. Pierson did not let older stock get thrown out. My '61 Wasp came from the factory with '60 engine mounts, and a couple other parts left over from '60 Wasp production. Ted
i'm no expert but a good bunch of the bugs came with 5"/4" hands rims and it would be era correct built that way.
finding any 4" rear rims will be a long process i know someone who had some reproduced using front rims as a pattern for the rear rims.
that was a long complicated process and cost way more money then most people would be comfortable spending.
rim wise i'd just go era correct and make finding the others a long term hobby.
definitely talk to al k he's even better with bug information than mike and of course ted.
better yet he just a great guy to chat with about anything go kart related!
post more pix i'd love to see project progression.
D
on a side note,
i noticed the pix need to be opened to see them.
that isn't a good look so i'll find out why the pixs aren't showing up on the page.
pictures should be easily visible.
i had alot going on and haven't taken care of the forum as well as it needs to be handled.
Now i don't and find myself with lots of free time so with any luck the forum is gonna get improved.
12-29-2019, 12:09 PM (This post was last modified: 12-29-2019, 12:12 PM by ted johnson.)
Bug karts only came with Hands wheels, or the Trophy Spiders. Hands and Trophy were basically interchangeable. These were the only options without special order form the factory. Bug was like Go Kart. Call the factory and you could buy pretty much any manufacturer's optional parts. It's a fact that a couple of the LRB karts I sold, the buyer didn't want the 4" Hands rear wheels. Go Power wheels were all the rage then, so I switched out rims on those karts for the Go Power magnesium 4" front, 4" or 5" rear wheels. I had a heck of a time getting rid of those 4" Hands rear wheels! I wish I had them now. A very small number of our local Brevard County karters followed my example and used the Go Power 4" mag wheels all around. I have that setup on my n1ke kart right now. Back in the day, I ran 4" narrow slicks all around on my A Super Go kart 800 for quite a while. 4" Go Power rear mags are hard to find, but they are out there. 5" Hands rears are also a little scarce. The first Bug Scorpions came with Hands 4" aluminum front wheels with the steel inner half, and 5" Hands aluminum rear wheels with the steel inner half. Bugs were available with Hands magnesium wheels instead of the aluminum for extra cost, but the Hands mag wheels are rare. I see Dave agrees with me on the advisability for you to email me for Al Klusman's contact info. Al IS a great guy!
Dave, I'm glad that you seem to be feeling a bit more yourself. God bless you, Bud. Ted
Are we absolutely positive this kart came with 4 inch wheels front and rear? I ask only because Mike Everin has looked through his hands catalog and there is no mention of a 4 inch rear option for either wheel. I'm not too concerned about the wheels so long as they are period correct for a 60s bug but I am interested in the history and would like to know what the original parts were.
Does anyone have a copy of the specs sheet that would have been part of the LRB ad I posted earlier? I found the specs sheet for the regular Red Bug and it contains all the necessary insight for anyone looking to restore that particular kart. It would be very helpful to find that same information for the LRB.
Also, if Al is also called Big Al then I do have his number. I simply haven't had a chance to call him yet. Thanks again for the help!
Stuart, no difference between the Little Red Bug and the Red Bug. Two names for the same kart. You can see from the pic of the brochure that the kart has 4" wheels front and rear. Hands didn't make many 4" back wheels. I don't remember them being offered separate from the kart. If you see a Bug from those days with aluminum colored wheels, they're Hands. There were very few 4" rears made by any manufacturer. I don't think even Go Power hade many of them. I sold very few pairs of Go Powers. I imagine Hands' 4" rears were only sold on the Little Red Bug, not in the catalog. All other Bugs had either 5" Spiders, 5" Hands or 6" Hands on the back.
Al is Big Al, or also "Torque". He's a big fellow, wonderful to be around and very friendly. I went from Lathrop, Missouri to Fremont, Ohio to The Big One with Al in 2015 I will TRY to attach a pic of some of us at Fremont in 2012. L to R: Dave Luciani, Jack Canady, me, Al Charlie Craibe. Charlie and I always pitted next to Al and Jack. Ted
According to this brochure, the red bug came with 5 inch wheels. It also states it came standard with a bendix brake and an optional upgrade was the Hurst Airheart hydraulic brake. If these karts are one in the same and if this brochure is accurate, then there is some incorrect information floating around. Tgis is exactly why I like to find the actual documents on a given kart. Either they aren't the same kart or the Little Red Bug did not have 4 inch wheels. I'm inclined to believe they aren't the same kart as the Little Red Bug ad clearly shows the bug mechanical brake and small wheels.
12-30-2019, 08:02 PM (This post was last modified: 12-30-2019, 08:12 PM by ted johnson.)
Bug changed their standard equipment as often as men change their skivvies. If they got a good buy on a different part, they bought that new part and used it until they ran out. The first Little Red Bugs DID have the Hands 4" wheels. I had one on the showroom floor for several weeks. I know they offered the Spider magnesium wheels as an option on all Bug karts. You could always get the Airheart brake on all live axle Bug products for extra cost, beginning, I believe in '62. The Bendix became a more popular option as it worked more smoothly than the Trophy mechanical disc. The early Trophy caliper was mounted to the bearing hanger by a cast aluminum bracket. Later, they welded a small "L" shaped steel bracket on, as the aluminum brackets often broke. My personal '61 Wasp had a steel bracket I fabricated. It was the same dimensions as the cast bracket. It lasted until I sold the kart late in the season. I have a Pro/Engineer CAD designed steel or billet aluminum bracket on my computer. I designed it for a Bug guy who broke his cast bracket and couldn't find another. It looks factory, but being machined, it'll last a long time. I'm certain that the later LRB karts came standard with 5" wheels. However, I sold a few with the 4" wheels all around. I guess Bug renamed the kart Red Bug, but the early ones were called Little Red Bug. These karts can not be pinned down to say: "They came thus and so". They came however Bug happened to make that production run, and might change next week. It isn't like they sold thousands of this model. It wasn't very popular. Most buyers wanted the Wasp, Flyweight, Lightning Bug or Scorpion. They were heavier, but the frames were less likely to break as they had the wrap-around rear bumper. We even sold more Lightning Bugs with the V-11 Saetta engine than we did LRB's. You are just not going to find definitive proof of exactly how the kart was produced from week to week. They aren't Fords nor Chevvies. I had stacks of Bug brochures, but tossed them when we closed the shop in '64. Every printing had several minor changes to the kart. Go Kart did the same thing. If you had ever visited Bug back then, you'd understand. They had frames stacked against one another many deep, and many stacks wide.
BTW, look at that second brochure. That's a later kart. It has the 5/8" steering shaft, the 5" Spiders, the Airheart brake, the swing mount sitting horizontal and the Faye's pedals. I imagine that's from late '62 or '63. They obviously had changed the name as well as the bolt-on parts. Your kart is an earlier model. It's still the same kart. TJ
This is a great thread, the history about Bug is awesome. I personally own three Bugs and love the difference each one offers, keep the information coming.
(12-30-2019, 08:37 PM)John Wolkiewicz Wrote: This is a great thread, the history about Bug is awesome. I personally own three Bugs and love the difference each one offers, keep the information coming.
John, Check the sub Forum Vintage Kart ID. There is a category on the Bug karts.
