I am probably not the person to be initiating this thread, but I did want to make sure it got done. Dick 'Krafty' Kraft, one of the pioneers of our hobby would have turned 90 tomorrow. I honestly never met the man in person, only spoke with him on the telephone about once a month for the last couple years of his life. Conversations were simple, he would tell stories and I would listen and take notes as fast as I could. To me he was almost like an idol. I am sure to him, I was some young kid from Indiana who called occasionally and like to listen to his stories. He lived a very full and rich life. From growing up on the groves in California, hanging out with Jack McGrath and the Potvin Bros, to his time in the merchant marines. The last time I spoke with him in December of 2008, he called me a 'good friend'. I will ALWAYS cherish that. He sadly passed on January 16th of 2009. If you knew Dick, I would love to read any stories you would like to share. Probably the most famous photo of Dick in his rail 'The Bug'. (Notice how he changed on the C to K as the caption mispelled his last name.) Dick sitting in his T at a car show. The expression on his face seems to reflect what he told me once. He did not like car shows very much. Mainly because you could not drive fast in them Hard for me to look at this picture without noticing the size of the mans biceps. I believe I read once that he could bench press 300 pounds. My favorite photo of Dick. If this does not help to define what hot rodding is, I don't know what does!
Brought this over from a thread I posted on last year...... Every grease monkey that’s ever turned a wrench on a hot rod owes a bit of gratitude to Dick Kraft for helping to pave the way. As many of you probably know, “Krafty” was the uncle of famed So-Cal paint guru, Stan Betz. Here’s a shot of young Betz sitting in the chassis of what he called “Krafty’s Sports Car”. Powered by a V8-60, he said Krafty and Art Ingalls collaborated to build this and another identical car while Ingalls was working at Frank Kurtis’ shop. I’m guessing this next picture was probably taken in the mid seventies. It’s an interesting shot of Dick and his wife (then girlfriend ?) Margarita. The contraption they’re riding was built by Von Dutch for use as a prop in a movie. Betz was a lifelong friend of Dutch and got the bike when they were finished using it. It served as a delivery vehicle for Betz Speed & Color for a while before mysteriously disappearing... above photos courtesy of Stan Betz R.I.P. Krafty ……and thanks.
Went to California in '95 with the guy who cloned Dicks aluminum roadster.They had talked on the phone alot during the time the clone was being built for him by Ron Fournier,and a get together was a good excuse to go.We met Dick at Stan Betz' old shop,and got the grand tour of Stan's stuff,plus a wealth of good old stories from both of them.Everybody was very gracious and patient with us,and we had dinner at Dick's place one of those nights,met his lovely wife,who did the cooking.To me,Dick was a contradiction of sorts.He was a perfect gentleman,and I liked him instantly.Stan,too.Yet,I had the feeling that he was an original badass,and while we were hanging out,it was easy to forget his age.It was great to hear the insiders view of the stuff we'd read about in Hot Rod and Car Craft as kids living in Tennessee.He was there,in the thick of it,and knew all the players. Hell of a trip,I'll never forget it.For years after,my buddy and Dick would talk often.He would dig out cool stuff,photos,etc,and send them to the clone owner.He sent me a couple of signed pics,too,and I was just the guy who came along on the trip. He was the real deal,one of the nicest people I've ever met.Told a helluva good story,too
RIP Dick...............Stan Betz ive known since i was a kid, heres a pic of his shop truck that "Dutch" flamed in the early days
Thanks for starting this thread, Dick Kraft was an original, never met him but almost all hot rodders in SoCal and elsewhere knew who he was and benefitted from his contributions. Like many early rodders, safety was not at the top of his list...the first shot of the "bug" shows it without a "roll bar," which is on the second shot. As I remember the story, C.J. Hart would not let him run the "bug" without some kind of roll bar, so Dick installed the bar in the second shot...but it was welded up from electrical conduit, and after C.J. bent it with his hands, he sent Kraft back home again to do better.... A great hot rodder, he is missed.
Couple of random shots...photos courtesy of Stan Betz... caption: To Sid , Built Stutz for George Barris for Movie...Frame 2 x 4x 1/8 box, Ford 6 Motor, Corvair Steering.....Also(sp) gun .
Thought I would bump this back up to the top. The reason for my searching and finding Dick back in 2007 is that I am the lucky owner of a 32 Ford Roadster that he raced during the 1948 SCTA season. More photos and history of the Roadster (much of which came from my conversations with Dick) can be found here.... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=430371&highlight=kraft+bronson
Excellent read.....was struck by the similarities of these two images...have posted the one on the bottom a few times but can't get any info on it....interesting combo
Does anyone have any pictures of the Bug in the NHRA Museum? Any pictures of the car and any other history other than the well known shots? I'd love to see them. Thanks, Kevin
That roll bar was made of a rusty old piece of 3/4" galvanized pipe. I helped build "The Bug" and was there when this pic was shota
The Jalopy Journal
