Vehicle Description
In response to the fast-rising costs of racing in the 1940's, Frank
Kurtis offered Midget racing cars in both complete and kit forms
that were capable of accommodating Ford's 136ci V8/60hp engine.
This combination was particularly effective on the popular URA
(United Racing Association) "Blue" circuit reserved for
non-Offenhauser-powered cars. According to reliable estimates,
Kurtis produced approximately 550 fully assembled Midgets and
another 600 in kit form. Kurtis Kraft Midgets rank among the most
effective and influential American racing designs- regardless of
the era, ensuring the introduction of Kurtis as the only non-driver
into the National Midget Hall of Fame.
This Kurtis Kraft V-8/60 is a particularly special "one-off"
example of these game-changing Midgets, purchased new by Los
Angeles-based machinist and racer Leland "Buzz" Lowe, a friend of
Frank Kurtis. In fact, Lowe sold the steel tubing Kurtis required
to construct the cars and owned the fourth postwar Kurtis Midget
built, selling it in favor of this car, believed by Kurtis
historian Gordon White to have been the first built with torsion
bar front suspension. Unlike the customary Kurtis Midget design,
this car is the only tube-frame Kurtis Midget ever built with a
flat-top tail section and without the customary raised headrest.
This car was also subsequently updated to Lowe's preferred chassis
setup utilizing a transverse leaf spring mounted ahead of the front
axle.
Provenance of this singular Kurtis Kraft Midget is fully known from
new. It features the work of many Los Angeles-area racing legends,
including the hot V-8/60 Ford engine, completed by California
racing legend Clay Smith. The In and One gearbox, quick-change
differential, and rear axle were all supplied by Ernie Casale
Engineering via Bob Stelling. The horsehide leather cockpit
upholstery leather cockpit upholstery, nicely preserved and
unrestored, was the last job hand-stitched by none other than Chet
Miller, the "Dean of the Speedway", who perished just week later at
the wheel of a Novi during practice sessions at Indianapolis.
Wheels and tires were purchased from Bell Auto Parts and sold to
"Buzz" for this car by Roy Richter, founder of Bell Helmets and
Cragar Wheels.
Following completion, the car sported racing numbers 86 and 93 and
it was campaigned up and down the west coast for over a year with
several colorful Californian drivers including Danny "Poison"
Oakes, Bill Brereton, Frank Wilson, Frank Armi, and others. In
1948, Lowe sold the car to his former Lincoln, Nebraska school
chum, Lloyd Van Winkle, who was by then a Ford dealer. Van Winkle
soon tired of racing and sold the car, which passed through a
couple of Nebraska owners until 1950, when it was bought by Joe
Nichols of Omaha, who retained the car until 1979, when Ron
Williams of Davenport, Iowa purchased the Kurtis. During his
ownership, Williams restored the car, including a total rebuild of
the Clay Smith engine. Following restoration, Williams showed the
car and won awards with it before placing it in storage.
In 1987, Frank Kurtis saw a photo of the car in the newspaper and
contacted Lowe, who immediately realized it was the unique car he
purchased from Kurtis back in 1947. Lowe and his wife Lois stopped
to visit Williams on a return trip from Pennsylvania and asked to
see the car. Williams was initially skeptical that Lowe had owned
it when new, that is until Lowe pointed out his "Buzz Lowe" name
hand-stamped on the aluminum front engine plate. Although a little
reluctant, Williams sold the car back to Lowe, who ran the car in
the Western Racing Association (WRA) events until his retirement in
1991. After Buzz passed away in 2000, the Kurtis was loaned to the
Justice Brothers Racing Museum in Duarte, California, where it was
on display until just recently.
Fabulous documentation accompanies this "0ne of one" vintage
Midget, including a copy of the original invoice for the car
listing its "as-delivered" features, issued by Kurtis-Kraft on July
24, 1947. Further copies of the invoices document purchases of the
steering, In-and-Out gearbox, rear end, and Cragar clutch from Bob
Stelling of Glendale, California. Copies of the invoices dated May
27th, 1948 from Smith and Jones of Long Beach document the Clay
Smith-built engine the car retains today, which sports an Edelbrock
intake manifold, dual Stromberg "81" two-barrel carburetors, and
finned cylinder heads. Displaying its later #93 livery and
continuing to benefit handsomely from the 1980's restoration
performed under Ron Williams, this Kurtis-Kraft Midget also
includes a number of period photographs. A true piece of racing
history that remains wonderfully presented today, and a unique
opportunity for the astute collector! Sold on Bill of Sale. Please
feel free to call with questions or discuss your opportunity to
purchase.
