Black Space Bug Jr. Engine

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Hi Guys,

I've had a black Space Bug for awhile now. Found it attached to the back of an old 50's Cox Prop Rod. When I saw Mudhen's post I immediately recognized what he was saying. I always knew it wasn't pure black, it does look "purply" in bright light. I always believed that that was just the true color of the plastic in the mold - a very deep maroon, and I'm still not convinced otherwise. I ran down to take mine apart to look closer. Here's some pics we can discuss...

Front view in normal light:


Back view in normal light:


Now taken apart, normal light:


Bright light:


Normal light:


Bright light:


Normal light:


Bright light:


So you can see that "Black" is definitely not black, but is to my eyes is a very dark maroon. I don't see any evidence of wavy appearance, it looks pretty uniformly colored to me. Someone has scratched into the inside of the backplate an '11' on the top and a '2' on the bottom - a clue prehaps?

So now we know at least 2 of this exact same color scheme of engines are confirmed to exist. I also saw what I thought was a black Space Bug Jr. in an Ebay auction many years ago in a pile of old engines, but can't say for sure. Did someone fake a whole batch of them identically and then quietly distribute them? Did Cox make a very small batch of promotional ones? Is Elvis really still alive?!!!

Fake or not I love the little bug and have it proudly displayed in the center of all my space bugs.

Tim

I got me one of them too, only mine is new in box...made it myself! Lol!

As most of you know I've been a avid collector and historian wanna be for a long time and I consider Mudhen to be the ultimate expert on Thimble-Drome products, nobody else comes close. We are very, very lucky to have him as a member, not that anybody was questioning his expertise, I just wanted to clarify...

Nice photos Twitch, welcome to the fourm! Did you change the glowhead on your SBJ?

The black Space Bug Jr. has been a controversial item for years, it's also known that over the years many engine collectors have made them themselves, much like the Strato Bug and O.K. Cub Rear Intake.


I also got one in dark green

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hey Buddy!

It's like we talked before and worth repeating, about the old MECA collector that swore he had a factory prototype black SBJ, the same guy that claimed to had a SB with two piece head purchased that way.

Who knows it may have been something so simple that some collector back in the mid-sixties took a mint but 'yellowed' white tank SBJ and dyed it and created a story to go with it.

I had noticed the post '55 cylinder with newer glowhead, but forgot to notice early non-flange case, good call.

ultra rare Cub .049 rear intake.

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the .049A does!

[url=https://servimg.com/view/16862646/422]

It was never produced as shown in ad, the version that was sold looked like this:

Several years ago, I saw a black Space Bug Jr in an antique mall. I don't remember the exact price they were asking for it but I know it was something high (the reason I didn't get it). After getting home to do some digging online about it, I read somewhere about a "super rare" black version. Not long after that I decided I would go ahead and go get it to only find that it was gone when I got there... I have regretted not buying it since, I still do even knowing now it it is highly likely a fake.

Just stating the obvious guys.
We're talking about a material that was very much
In it's infancy.
I have a PT19 in a box from the early 60's.
The fuz Is sooooo brittle now that if I take it out it feels
As tho any rough handling will shatter it. I'm sure it
Wasn't like that when it was sold, it's the passage of
Let's face it half a century that hasn't been kind to
The material.
They'll only be in there mid to late sixty's now but there
Must be lots of surviving Cox employees who could put
This to bed once and for all?

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Very interesting reading!
There are so many resources on this forum!

Just to be clear:
Maroon is NOT the new black

Regards
Thomas Pedersen

With , money, time, and patience anything can be reproduced. Which carb body came on the prototype Cox Olympic rear drum engine?



The black and the pure white were molded last year by me and a friend of mine that does this stuff for a living. Anything can be molded and made again with rubber tool molds and made in any color you want. Pink, green, blue, yellow,......

It will look and feel real and bend like plastic but once it hits alcohol or other solvent it will melt. If a suitable alcohol resistant material can be found then it will be very difficult to tell real from fake.

Jason

I have Space Bug Jr.'s in red, yellow, and natural. I know they also made a blue, but how many other colors did the factory produce?

George

Well, so I'm willing to accept that my engine was faked, but at least I'm happy to know that I own one of the "Genuine Authentic" fakes! I love the story and the mystery and if it puts me in the same company as Tim Dannels then thats cool with me!

You know there's still a tiny little part of me that wonders ... no one has actually come out and said "I'm 100% sure its faked", and unless we hear from an original source we'll never truly know. Since Cox never advertised a "Black" version, maybe the original color was supposed to be Dark Maroon? Also, being more than 50 years old its not too surprising that a cylinder or glow head was replaced, or that someone put it on a Prop Rod. After all 50 years ago people didn't buy them to collect, they bought them to use!

Yeah I know, I know, its a fake .................................. probably



Thanks Mudhen and others for all your insight!

Tim

Thats it, white was first in '53, red, blue and yellow appeared the following year. The SBJ (Space Bug Jr.) is kind of unique in that its cylinder porting was designed to be easy to start (at cost of performance) and was able to swing a large prop. One magazine test mentioned testing the SBJ with a 10x5 prop, unusable RPM, but it would run!

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Jason_WI wrote:With , money, time, and patience anything can be reproduced. Which carb body came on the prototype Cox Olympic rear drum engine?



The black and the pure white were molded last year by me and a friend of mine that does this stuff for a living. Anything can be molded and made again with rubber tool molds and made in any color you want. Pink, green, blue, yellow,......

It will look and feel real and bend like plastic but once it hits alcohol or other solvent it will melt. If a suitable alcohol resistant material can be found then it will be very difficult to tell real from fake.

Jason

Jason,

Are you selling your Olympic Rear Rotary Valve Prototype? If you are selling it, I will pay you a couple hundred more than you originally paid to buy it from you.

Sorry not for sale at this time. I have seen 2 sell in the last 2 years so they are still around.

Jason_WI wrote:Sorry not for sale at this time. I have seen 2 sell in the last 2 years so they are still around.

Please let me know if you hear of one up for sale.