Rusty Bowtie

General Category => General Discussion - Intros => Topic started by: sammons on March 20, 2015, 04:58:11 PM

Title: what is it?
Post by: sammons on March 20, 2015, 04:58:11 PM
My cousin stopped in last weekend, anyway I was looking at our grandparents old pictures. Grandpa got his picture taken in this car, it was on some sort of tour and was in Dodge City. He once told me what it was, but I can't remember. If I recall, around the  fourty's he was a mechanic for Chevrolet. All grandma had wrote on the back was "25cent Dude in a 26,000 car" 

Kind of looks Oldsmobile'ish, Packard, Hudson roadster proto-type? The wheels are rather unique for the time. Sure would like to remember or find out so I can write on the back also! Any idea's?

Title: Re: what is it?
Post by: madmike3434 on March 20, 2015, 08:45:42 PM
this is a tough one, its definitely not the big 3 motors.   thinking a rarish  Ghia type custom euro body builder.  Trying to pull the name out of my memory banks as in the early 50's these were low production custom cars.

will repost if I can remember what I think it is ?????????????

mike
Title: Re: what is it?
Post by: logride on March 21, 2015, 09:15:58 AM
1950 Muntz jet?
Title: Re: what is it?
Post by: sammons on March 21, 2015, 10:05:06 AM
Logride you maybe in the ball park. Looks like that was bought out from Frank Kurtis , (1949 Kurtis-Kraft Sport), by MadMan Muntz in '50. Every thing looks right except for the round park lamp under the headlamp and the wheels. If you look at the kidney bean style front wheel (at the rear) you can see a really bad wheel rim seam.  Possibly a prototype?

Side note, I found Muntz was the inventer of the 4 track tape player. We bought an old car that had one of those in it.lol
Title: Re: what is it?
Post by: madmike3434 on March 21, 2015, 10:30:23 AM
bingo think you nailed it.

mike........... 8)
Title: Re: what is it?
Post by: vette59jdwl on March 21, 2015, 10:41:44 AM
Sammons  you are correct Only other thing is that one could by the Kurtis Sport in different stages of completion and could finish the car the way they saw fit .One other thing they were only build from 1949 to 1950 and were made of fiberglass and it was hand built.That and it was powered by a jaguar xk 120 would go like snot   vette59jdwl
Title: Re: what is it?
Post by: ghost28 on March 21, 2015, 10:50:24 AM
Nice looking part of history, but my wife would say it looks like a june bug.
Title: Re: what is it?
Post by: sammons on March 21, 2015, 10:57:02 AM
Thanks fellas! I'll write both Kurtis & Muntz on the back. Looks like Muntz started off with Studebaker six drive train components but somehow the motor wasn't delivered. Went to Ford and was supplied with flatty v8, then a Caddilac v8 and then to the cheaper Lincoln v8. They spent sometime at Bonneville,  early times with a beefed flathead turning the engine way over builders recomendation due to tach hookup mistake almost doubling rpm to 6000. 142mph! There was some talk of one (after production) got a '55 vette 265 v8.

Interesting anyway.
Title: Re: what is it?
Post by: Kiwijeff on March 23, 2015, 06:14:00 PM
Cool little vert.
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