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I have a 1958 Bug kart for sale. This is suppose to be the first Bug kart, as well as one of the first manufactured karts.
If you Google 1958 Bug kart and go to the "Rod and Custom" magazine link there are the specs and several pics of this kart. Check them out and judge for yourself!!
It has hands wheels, original steering wheel and linkages. The throttle and brake pedals and linkages appear original as well.
I'm leaving Wednesday morning for the New Castle event and can deliver it there, or will ship, if necessary.
The price is $1500.00. I accept Paypal and cash. Any questions or more pics call 336-392-3780 or email fast10p@yahoo.com Call will probably be better this week as I'mm trying to get ready for New Castle and Mid-Ohio.

Sorry, Dwain. It's not a '58. The '58 had a scrub-on-sprocket brake, and did not have Hands wheels, even as an option. It's a '59 that you have. They had the internal band brake on both wheels, and the Hands wheels were an option. My Pop was a Bug dealer then, and we had my '58 with the little square of lining that pressed on the sprocket for a brake (did nothing!). Pop had an early '59 dual A-400, and even his still had steel wheels. The late '59's had sissy rails as an option. There were few '58's ever made, and I've never seen one in a vintage event. TJ

Hi Ted!! Thanks!! I'm going by the pics that came up when I googled "1958 Bug Kart" and went to the July 1958 Rod and Custom Magazine article " The new karting craze". It has pics and specs of "the Bug". I guess I took for granted they were pics of the '58 model.
It sounds as if you know these karts pretty well, does everything else appear correct for the '59 model?

Yes, Dwain, it's certainly a '59 model. The brake and Hands wheels are dead giveaways. The rest of the chassis did not change from '58 to '59, so it's an easy mistake to make. Some of Tom Pierson's (Mr. Bug, himself) VERY early '58's were just a little wider than my slightly later '58 and Pop's '59. I've never seen one of those early-early '58's in person. Most of them had 750 West Bends on them. You'll see Moon wheel discs on some early Bugs. These were all steel wheel karts. I'm sorry I can't post any pix of mine; someone stole the photo album from our hobby/kart shop. TJ

TJ,, i posted a couple pictures on a bug kart on the vintage site its got side rails and hands wheels ..

Pop and I sold quite a few very early Bugs at the dealership, and we each had '58 Bug Customs as well. There weren't side rails or Hands wheels until well into the '59 model's release. Faye had an early '59 for her personal kart with sissy rails. Hubby Tom decided to include them on the spring '59 release. The early pictures of her kart still had the steel wheels. The later '59 pix of her kart show an early Mc10 mounted really low off the frame on a solid mount. That kart was changed to a live axle, but still had the dead axle early frame as mine also did. Pop's '59 dead axle dual had sissy rails with welded-in side pans. I still have several pix of that kart converted to live axle with a PP 58 hanging off the seat back, and with early 6" Go Power rear wheels. It was also converted to a Palmini brake. The older scrub-on-sprocket brake was gone by the first '59 model year run, but no '58's had the internal band brake, or Hands aluminum wheels, or sissy rails. Not even Faye's kart. The internal band brake was on both rear wheels. You can see the actuation bar on Dwain's kart. They didn't stop any better than did the earlier brake. Mine had dual E-65's, and you could only stop it by putting your feet out on the pavement, like the Flintstones. Vince Hughes beautiful Bug Custom is a '59 (or maybe an early '60) with sissy rails and Hands wheels. I can't understand what makes karters remember their karts being earlier than they really were! I guess the only way I remember is that I got appendicitis in 1958, when I was 14. I remember talking the Doc into letting me run the kart a couple weeks sooner than he wanted me to.

AUCTION ENDS TODAY ABOUT 12:30 EDST (AFTER LUNCH)!!!!Starting bid still at $750!!! Check it out!!

Kart has been re-listed

Kart "no-saled" . I'm open to reasonable offers. 336-392-3780 or email here or at fast10p@yahoo.com.