Grizzled hot rod veteran Kevin was but a pup back then. Cute little thing ain't he?? A product of the cradle of hot rodding. -Abone.
I still really miss the car. It ended up in Tennessee, then sold to someone in Iowa who did all sorts of unspeakable things with rusty license plates and shrunken head accessories. Then... it ended up with a guy who really appreciates what it is. He's actually done a few things I probably would have if I'd kept it. He says he loves the thing and he'd never sell... but it might be about time to reach out to him to see if he'd reconsider. FWIW, I pulled that engine well before I sold the car. And I still have the steering wheel and shift knob. (an original V8 knob Bruce Lancaster gave me) The engine ended up in my F1. The steering wheel and shift knob set on my bench waiting for... something.
That is the engine that ended up in your F1? The little flatty that never saw more than 15 psi of oil pressure?? Nice little mill. -Abone.
The first flattie I brought back to life was in the T - RPU....in the early 80's...the 1937 tudor was about 1988.......have to dig up the 50 Club Coupe....of course having a running Studebaker V/8 sorta gave me an old ball flavor...been following since.......
A few months after Kevin got it running, I came out to KC on Christmas break and shot a few pics: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/spy-shots-from-the-grimlock-garage.39812/
Awesome thread, loving this. I recall thinking at the time that all the cool hot rod stuff happens in Kansas City.
That's true hooliganism at it's finest. No license, no lights, no windshield, straight pipes raising hell in a 'posh' area of town... r
Yeah, I remember the first fire-up of my SBC in my '34, around 1987. I'd bought a kit from PAW and put the thing together myself...my first and last time to build an engine from a bare block. I was so excited I forgot to put coolant in the engine! Luckily, I ran it only a short time and no harm was done. And what excitement to hear that thing come to life and fill the air with power. Thirty years later and the engine still runs like a champ. I've spent the past several weeks putting it in my '51 custom.
Great story ! There is nothing like the first fire up, especially when it's a project that has been a while in the making, and several buddies involved. Back in 2001, I had been building a Track Roadster for a friend of mine, Lonnie Gilbertson. We decided to assemble it over the 4 days of the Portland Roadster Show, and the climax would be starting it up on Sunday afternoon, along with driving it out at the close of the show. Knowing that there would be a herd of people surrounding the car during the start up, we chose to do a preliminary start on Saturday night, just to make sure it would run. It was a wise choice, as we discovered a fuel leak at the carbs when we turned on the electric fuel pump. So we left the pump turned off and started the engine, and ran the fuel dry in the float bowl. We had the problem remedied, and everything went fine on Sunday afternoon. With Indy Veteran Len Sutton in the seat, the 292" Flathead roared to life, and delighted the 12 deep crowd surrounding the car. What memories !
Good story! Hard to believe it was just 2004. That could have been a bunch of us guys from The Cove area in Stamford CT. in the 60's. My best friend Dennis and his brother Ed and Kooch. Car could have been Hemi powered 53 Stude or a 34 roadster or the 50's MG with a small block v8 ford motor or my 32 five window. Seems like not that long ago. Serious? Hell we weren't serious about anything! It was the best of times!
That was a tough roadster too. I remember a lunch run, Kevin had a coworker riding shotgun. I cant recall if I was in my coupe but somewhere along Southwest Blvd. Kev got throttle punchy at a light drove over a curb finding a shortcut through a truckers lot. There was dust and gravel flying, roar of a flathead and maybe a donut or two. It was awesome
Last one is my favorite....Kevin pushed the roadster out of the garage to not wake the baby. He and Ryan leaped into it as it was coasting down the street and compression started it a 1/2 block away.
So Kevin pushed the car out so not to wake the baby. Isn't that right before Ryan did a big greasy burnout down the street? --Abone.
God.. I love the old HAMB stories. I dig them up all the time and read them. What I wouldn't give to have been on here back then. I love Kevin Lee's roadster and all of the stories that accompany it.
I graduated high school from Liberty Missouri a suburb of Kansas City, in 2004. I really wish I had known about the hamb back then.
2004 I was 19 buying a 1959 Dodge Coronet with no tools or garage to work on it. I would loved to know about the hamb back then. I love threads like these. They relight my passion for old cars.
Was there a build thread for this little roadster? Very interested in the chassis, channel, suspension etc. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I think there was, but it may have been several small threads. The hamb was a different place a 14 years ago. I’m not sure if the search function incorporates the older platforms? I suppose you could skip the line so to speak and just ask @Kevin Lee whatever you curious about.
There was an entire thread for the day we lit it off the first time (see my avatar), If Ryan had the drone back then the movie would have looked like Solder Ants on a Water Buffalo carcass. Damn that was a good day. I could spend hours telling it and I got an idea that everyone else there could do the same.
The Jalopy Journal
