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Hot Rods A Kurtis Ride-A-Long

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ryan, Aug 29, 2022.

  1. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    Ryan submitted a new blog post:

    A Kurtis Ride-A-Long

    [​IMG]

    Continue reading the Original Blog Post
     
    63fdsnr, jnaki, dana barlow and 9 others like this.
  2. That thing is super cool.

    I'm realizing lately I value the driving experience over anything else. I don't expect that out of the boring dailies but I could see myself getting way too deep into vintage racing, autocross etc.. sitting around at car events is boring, and I've been doing it since I was in the womb. I'm setting up an OT car right now, and I raised up the front suspension and installed a heavy duty sway bar so I could put it hard into corners. For years I've been lowering everything I touch to look cool and here I go raising something up? Must be old age.
     
  3. corncobcoupe
    Joined: May 26, 2001
    Posts: 7,257

    corncobcoupe
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

  4. missysdad1
    Joined: Dec 9, 2008
    Posts: 3,305

    missysdad1
    Member

    My latest build goes right along with the theme of the Kurtis: simple, light and FAST! There's nothing on it that doesn't make it faster...'cept the brakes. :)

    red roadster 93.jpg
     
    63fdsnr, KKrod, VANDENPLAS and 8 others like this.

  5. Dream Boy
    Joined: Apr 12, 2022
    Posts: 13

    Dream Boy

    Take off the fenders and lights and it becomes a two passenger sprint car.
     
    tractorguy and gnichols like this.
  6. jaracer
    Joined: Oct 4, 2008
    Posts: 2,419

    jaracer
    Member

    A great video for the guys who say that a Hilborn setup is not streetable.
     
  7. krylon32
    Joined: Jan 29, 2006
    Posts: 9,397

    krylon32
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Nebraska
    1. Central Nebraska H.A.M.B.

    Wonder if the Kurtis roadsters are where Steve Moal got the inspiration for some of the cars he's built? The black roadster in your lead picture is stunning.
     
    Tim, 41 GMC K-18 and chryslerfan55 like this.
  8. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 8,801

    Marty Strode
    Member

    Makes you want to build something similar, doesn't it.
     
    tractorguy and 41 GMC K-18 like this.
  9. @Ryan , when you say Jake Delhomme are you taking about the former starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers? That Jake Delhomme?
     
  10. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    Yes. More untapped traditional performance...

    I don't think he's old enough to have had one of these in the 1980's?
     
    chryslerfan55 likes this.
  11. those and Cad powered Allards... love them....
     
  12. Jim Wood
    Joined: Jul 13, 2022
    Posts: 60

    Jim Wood

  13. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    I love those Cad powered Allards as well... And a few of these Kurtis' got Cad power initially too.

    I like em cuz... well, Cad motors are just so damned gorgeous... Thing is though, they are wholly inappropriate for any kind of road going race car - a lesson that Briggs Cunningham taught us. Essentially, they are just too heavy and while the torque is nice they just don't have the power up high needed for momentum.

    That's one of the reasons the SBC is so special historically. Think about... a 331-inch Cad prolly weighs somewhere around 700 pounds? Meanwhile, a typical SBC is only around 550 or so pounds. That's important in a front engine car and you are tying to get 50/50 distribution.

    Apparently, these Kurtis 500s were just short of that 50/50 goal when they had Cads and Chryslers in them. When the SBC came out in '55, Frank Kurtis put one in his test mule, got 50/50, and suddenly had a car that felt much closer to his Offy powered roadsters.
     
  14. Gotta be fake. Gimpy says it can't be done. And he knows about everything that's automotive. He'll tell that guy it can't be done... o_O
     
  15. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    Looks like an EFI conversion to me if you pause it...

    That said, MFI is totally doable on the street... Even a hilborn setup... I gotta buddy here in Austin that runs one on a SBC. He uses a hand pump that he designed to prime it... He does always seem to be fiddling with the tune though.... I'm sure it's not a set it and forget it type of deal.
     
    VANDENPLAS, Tim, tractorguy and 2 others like this.
  16. jaracer
    Joined: Oct 4, 2008
    Posts: 2,419

    jaracer
    Member

    I did pause it and it looked like the mechanical setup to me.

    I ran a Hilborn setup on my sprinters and they felt quite street drivable to me. They started easily, idled good and pulled from idle to wide open and I only had high gear. It was one of the thing I didn't really have to fiddle with. When I was getting rid of my race cars I always thought I'd save an engine setup and put it in a Camaro or Nova complete with fuel injection. However, a guy made me a deal on a complete car rather than a roller and I took it.
     
  17. Looked like the one on my Sprinter too. And I used one on the street. Just carry a pill box. Fiddling is what hotrodders do. The set it and forget it deal kinda sounds like something modern.
     
    tractorguy likes this.
  18. I had a 500S for a few years, fun track car!
     
    chryslerfan55 likes this.
  19. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,345

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

  20. lowrd
    Joined: Oct 9, 2007
    Posts: 405

    lowrd
    Member

    Ron Popeil was not a hot rodder! Set it and forget it! Don’t try to improve anything by fiddling with it? Not me.
     
  21. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,294

    jnaki

    upload_2022-9-4_5-25-45.png

    Hello,

    There are two Kurtis Kraft cars I would like to drive. One is this Tahitian Red Kurtis Sports Car from the Sam Parriot camp during the mid 50s to the 60s. It was one of the most consistent competitors from that era.

    There are plenty of stories going around about the background of his sports car builds, good or bad from the City of Industry. Despite those stories, that is just a part of history of drag racing in the 1959-60 time line. Not too many people knew about the history, except for the fact that the Kurtis Sports car won almost every time he raced.
    upload_2022-9-4_5-27-18.png
    Just think about the power of the Cad motor in that lightweight sports car !!!

    Much has been written about Sam Parriot and his fast Kurtis Sportscar. He usually took home the trophies at the end of the day. We saw and filmed his Kurtis Sportscar at Lion’s Dragstrip in 1959-60. @Dean Lowe and his trusty camera took this classic photo in 1959. Great shot...
    upload_2022-9-4_5-30-1.png

    It was quite a build, all top notch stuff, including that bright Tahitian Red Color. It also went fast. In the film, he is behind at the start, but comes from behind to win against the modified Corvette, easily.
    upload_2022-9-4_5-32-29.png then... upload_2022-9-4_5-33-6.png starting to pull ahead
    upload_2022-9-4_5-33-28.png 1959


    Jnaki

    The other Kurtis Kraft build would take some doing in the “magical” sense, as we would have to go back to 1957-58 season.
    upload_2022-9-4_5-36-20.png @Dean Lowe
    Look at the determination in that driver’s face… this is/was serious business in the name of fun.
    upload_2022-9-4_5-37-31.png

    The second Kurtis that my brother and I saw was a fantastic build of a quarter midget at our local So Cal race track. When we went to the track to see some other friends, the atmosphere was electric. We were so impressed that we instantly saw the next level of participation for us. As we walked around the pits and saw the intensity from all of the competition, it was totally appealing.

    But, the appeal was short lived. My brother told me that we could not fit inside of those quarter midgets. We tried to sit in the one our friend drove, but it was not enough space to sit down. So, we liked the Kurtis quarter midgets and wished we could have raced them in the local races. That would have been really something back then, and now.






     
    63fdsnr likes this.

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