History--Kukura and Lindsley Roadster

An acquaintance in the local Early V8 club has just purchased the Kukura and Lindsley '32 roadster, apparently a car with some serious SCTA history.
It is apparently the first roadster over 200MPH, and ran for many years at Bonneville, working up from a beginning as a Merc Flathead hotrod and ending its career as a blown Chrysler channeled roadster.
The original owners are dead, and only a single crew member survives. He is purchasing from relatives who don't know much except that they want to make lots of money on the deal...and of course there are family politics with possibly valuable mementos. Most of the brass timing tags are in the possession of a sister who is at odds with other family members, and somewhere in the mess are old club jackets and other neat stuff he's trying to get with the car. I have seen a couple of tags that came with the car, and we have found an early picture in the old HRM book "Hot Rods" from 1951.
Who knows what about this car?? Any magazine leads? I'm passing info along, as the new owner doesn't do computers. He followed this car for 25 years, by the way, before being able to buy!

 

Bruce, I'm really into "documented race cars" and enjoy helping out with info I may have on cars. Tell your friend to get EVERYTHING he car related to that car, keeping all that history together is the main deal. if family members won't part with stuff at least get a list of what they have, offer to make Xerox copies of any literature if they won't sell. I'll take a look thropughmy files and see if anything pops up. Does he have the car now or is the deal still in the works?

 

The first Roadster over 200 should definately be on the first page.

 

Very interesting.

Hot Rods Trend book no.102 ??
if so what page? I didn't see any 32s identified with those names. Maybe a car in the back ground?

 

Someone please post a photo, I remember cars and peoples faces, but names were never a strong point in my memory bank.

 

Details, Trend 102?? at least some early ..maybe it was the '54 annual. Only one of those names at that time, too. I know little because my wife got sick and we had to rush out of the meeting after about 2 minutes of conversation!
After i get a bit of info, I'll call him and get some facts--I think he has the car, but don't even know that for sure--he had a couple of placques, and wouldn't have had those otherwise.

 

I will follow this one closely....good luck on your search.

 

More info will help. Jim Lindsley ran a coupe in the early 50's. This is supposedly the first unmodified roadster to break 200 mph - the Waters, Sugrue, Edwards, and Smith '32.


Mutt

 

Also, the guy buying the car certainly understands the need to secure all the car's timing tags and records--in fact I doubt he'll sleep until that is accomplished. Apparently this stuff is caught up in some sort of family feud--pure hell.
I'm pretty sure correct book is the 1954 HRM annual, and only one of those two people was associated with it at that time.
It started reaching big numbers later with a Latham blown Chrysler--don't know if that was still the pressurizer beyond 200. My info is VERY sketchy right now. I think the car is channeled, a modified roadster.
The new owner is a very long-term collector who has owned everything from Duesenbergs to early rods--very into history and interviewing geezers bearing the wisdom and knowledge of the past. He tracks lots of cars over years and decades, keeping in touch with owners and biding his time. He reads the classified ads in HRM from the fifties and sixties and follows up--occasionally tracing a car through the 40 and 50 year old ads! I'm hoping to get him on here in person.

 

Bruce, I just went through both the '54 Hot Rod Annual, and the Trend book #102 "Hot Rods", and couldn't come up with anything on the roadster under either name.
Please keep us informed as you get info!
Thanks!
Mick

 

I just glanced at the stack of books as I ran out of the meeting and off to the emergency room, so I guess I noted the wrong work. Will update as I go.
Car ran from early postwar times at least into the sixties. I'm going to go look at thae early large R&C with the Bonneville rules next. I'm diving into this with too little info, and need to call the guy up and get more...

 

Bruce, Hope all's well after that ER trip. This car find has us all interested now, look forward to more details.

 

Wife's up and running again, so back to roadsters!
This wife is a roadster magnet--she found my Brookeville body, then found and bought a complete original B roadster that wasn't even for sale! Definitely a keeper. The B won't go 200, for some reason...maybe I need chrome headnut covers or something...

 

Here's the first roadster the set a 2 way average of 200mph at bonne...

It was called the Jim Lindley-A.J. Michele roadster though. But it was destroyed in a towing accident shortly after. Maybe it was rebuilt?
(I stole this info and the pic from "The American Hot Rod" by Dean Batchelor)

 

Hey,

If the new owner gets beat out of all the records and trophys 'n' such
contact SCTA. I'm bettin' their archives gotta have records & photos.

 

I found a September 21, 1947 El Mirage program, the results from the August 31 meet show Jack Kukura qualifying a "B" roadster at 108.04 car number was 367.

 

Bttt for Bruce

 

I need to drag the actual owner in here and show him how to type on the computerator. I don't have enough info to relay yet. Bruce

 

Bruce, here is some more info I dug up on the roadster. I'm pretty sure this is the car that your friend has acquired, although there is no mention of Jack Kukura being associated with it. Perhaps at a later date.

The Jim Lindsley and A.J. Michele "Cal-Loui Special" (named after the two states that the owners came from, California and Louisiana) ran two 331 c.i. Chryslers and ran in the E Modified Roadster class. It ran a dissapointing 96.80 mph qualifying run,but set the class record at 154.51 in 1953.

In 1954 however it became the first roadster to run 200with a new class record of 202.07 mph average. It also won best appearing car and crew at the '54 Bonneville meet.

I love this kinda stuff and would love to see a pic of what the car looks like now.

Mick

 

Early Jim Lindsley...



Mutt

 

Neat stuff! I haven't had a chance to run down the owner, Norm Arbour--wife's been sick and beginning of school year is nuts. I'll be able to track him after Hershey, and perhaps I'll have some real input then. Gotta see this thing...

 

We'll be here waiting Bruce.

Paul

 

bruce, where is the car now? my father and i acuired some timing tags, a gear grinders patch and a bunch of photos of jack and the car. i would love to know how the car is doing

 

i remember something about that car there is a article it was called CAL-LOUIE SPECIAL . driver from out of state. i think hot rod mag.

 

also CAL-LOUI- on noise of car.

 

Mutt you would be 100% correct in the Waters-Sugrue-Edwards & Smith being the first over 200+ MPH.
Original engine by Ernie Hashim.......I Cry everytime I see it as it has died a tortured death by a complete Idiot! My 2 cents!

 

Hi all, I stumbled on this site trying to find information about the Cal-Loui car. My grandfather was Jim Lindsley and my dad is Larry Lindsley. I would be interested in finding out where the car is now. If anyone can help that would be great! Thanks.

 

Hi Kingsmen Nate, I would be interested in hearing about what you have. Thanks!

 

Last I knew Norm Arbour, a pretty hard guy to track down, but I think he has gotten rid of it. My ONLY handle on the guy is that he turns up occasionally at local V8 club. I'll question him if he returns.
He was VERY discouraged in the project by the family members he bought the car from. They had everything, papers and timing tags and such, but would not sell it all to him even though money was not really an issue...they were insisting on selling it piece by piece on Ebay, and I think had managed to disperse a lot of it beyond recovery. I'd certainly like to know more about the car...I'm not at all sure I'll see Norm again, though I THINK I could find him at Hershey perhaps.

 

Keep us posted, the story I remember was that the Cal_Loui Special was the result of a chance meeting between Jim Lindsey and A.J Michele, Lindsey was running a single engined Chrysler powered roadster and lost the dipstick on a run, went into Wendover and noticed a guy with a new Chrysler with Lousiana plates, filling his car at the local gas station...Lindsey asked to borrow his dipstick and A.J agreed, but asked to go back to the flats with Lindsey to see the car run...the next year A.J showed up in Lindsey's California garage with a new Chrysler engine and wanted to put it in Lindsey's roadster. But Lindsey already had a Chrysler so, after some discussion, decided to put A.J.'s Chrysler in the roadter with his own, one in front and one in back...thus the "Cal-Loui Special...and the first highboy roadster to run over 200MPH.

Not sure if I got this all right, been years, but it would be great to find either the whole car or at least parts of it...