Vehicle Description
The history of American motor racing is deeply rooted in the dirt
oval tracks that dotted our landscape. From the 1930s through the
1960s, these tracks hosting weekly races for midget and sprint car
drivers to show their stuff. Drivers could make a decent living
running week to week on the circuits, sometimes racing 5 nights a
week or more! But of course, they all strove for glory at the race
that mattered most to them: the Indianapolis 500. As much as the
drivers sought glory at Indy, car owners and constructors competed
for prize money and notoriety, pushing the limits of engineering
and the rule books to eke out that fractional advantage over the
competition. Some of the greatest drivers in history such as
Andretti and Foyt made their names on the dirt tracks, driving
Offenhauser-powered sprint cars, and fighting through the ranks to
make their names at Indy. In the 1930s, a young fabricator named
Frank Kurtis (born Frank Kuretich) was working for Don Lee Racing,
building bodies for midget race cars. He soon branched out on his
own, building his first complete midget racer chassis from the
ground up in 1932, in the process forming Kurtis Kraft. His early
cars proved successful and he soon connected with other West Coast
designers, engineers and racing enthusiasts, briefly branching into
road car design where he designed new bodies for old Fords and
Buicks, pioneering the Hot Rod and Custom era. He also built a
handful of examples of a sleek sports car powered by a Ford
flathead V8, a car that would eventually become the Muntz Jet. But
Kurtis' love and expertise lay in building racing cars, and in 1941
he designed and built his first entrant into the Indy 500, which
was driven by Sam Hanks. Frank Kurtis continued to foster his name
at Indianapolis, while still offering sprints and midgets in
complete and kit form. Kurtis chassis set numerous lap records at
Indy, with most cars being powered by the equally legendary
Offenhauser four-cylinder or the wickedly fast, howling NOVI V8
engine. Kurtis Kraft cars often dominated the field in sheer
numbers, especially through the 1950s when the Indy 500 was a Grand
Prix world-championship event. All told, Kurtis Kraft built 120
Indianapolis 500 cars, four of which were outright winners, with
one of them winning the race twice! A series of road cars were
offered in the 1950s that were loosely based on the Indy cars, and
powered by Buick, Cadillac or Chrysler engines - putting Kurtis
Kraft in the sports car business as well. Today, any Kurtis
Kraft-built machine is considered highly collectible and prized for
its exceptional quality and performance. Hyman Ltd is very pleased
to offer this Kurtis Kraft KK 500 C;�The�Federal Engineering
Special, a fine example of one of Kurtis' greatest ever racing
cars. Built in 1954 by Russ Snowberger, a well-known racer who
competed himself at Indianapolis thirteen times between 1928 and
1947. After retiring as an active driver he spent the rest of his
career as chief mechanic for the�Federal Engineering�team out of
Detroit, Michigan.�This KK 500 C competed in the 1955 and 1956
Indianapolis 500 mile races. The car was again entered in 1957 but
didn't make the grid. In the two years it competed, this car was
driven by the highly respected west coast driver Fred Agabashian.
Fred's first appearance at Indy was in 1950, piloting a Maserati
8CTF powered by an Offenhauser four. He switched to a Kurtis 3000
entered by Andy Granatelli for 1951, and in 1952 he was hired by
Don Cummins, at Frank Kurtis' recommendation, to pilot the famous
Cummins Diesel Special - built on a Kurtis chassis. That
combination was fast enough to earn driver and car the pole
position for that year. Sadly, it ended in tears for Don Cummins
and Agabashian as turbo failure halted their race some 70 laps in.
Two top-six finishes followed for '53 and '54, in two different
Kurtis 500-Offy chassis. 1955 saw Agabashian paired up with our
featured car, entered by Federal Engineering and powered by the
proven and robust Offenhauser 270 engine. He qualified the car on
the second row, in fourth place, at a very respectable 141.933 mph.
Unfortunately, oil on the track caused a spin and a 32nd�place
classification early in the race. Agabashian returned in 1956,
again in this Federal Engineering-entered Kurtis. He qualified
seventh this time, and ran a steady, measured race to finish
12th�at the end of the day. While this car did not return to race
at Indy, it did go on to race in other events around the country.
Thankfully, Russ Snowberger had the forethought to remove and store
a large part of the original Offenhauser motor and it has remained
with the car throughout its life. This wonderful Kurtis was
restored in 2000 by John Snowberger, the son of the man who
originally built the car, to its 1955 specification and livery.�
The Offenhauser 270 dual-overhead cam four-cylinder engine has been
rebuilt by noted Offy expert Steve Truchan and is said to run well.
There is nothing quite like guttural thump of a big-bore Offy, and
when running on Methanol as these cars are designed for, they make
incredible power. This truly is one of the greatest racing engines
of all time, from any era, and in combination with the brilliance
of the Kurtis chassis, proved a formidable competitor. Wearing a
very authentic restoration, this KK 500C is very nicely presented
in its original yellow and blue livery, adorned with Agabashian's
#14 from 1955. The paint quality is very good and the livery is
hand-lettered in blue as original. Blue upholstery ties in with the
blue lettering, and the car is equipped with its correct Jones
tachometer and oil pressure, temp and fuel pressure gauges. It
rides on correct Halibrand knock-off wheels with their natural gray
magnesium finish, and still retains the tires it raced at Indy
with! �A set of aerodynamic Moon-disc wheel covers are included,
which were fitted to the car to get maximum speed during
qualifying. Period photos show the car equipped with the discs, as
well as in the garage, in the pits and on track with Agabashian
behind the wheel. Groups such as Vintage Indy Cars and the Classic
Racing Times are comprised of dedicated enthusiasts who are
committed to maintaining the legacy of these iconic machines
through organized track days specifically for vintage and historic
Indy, Sprint and Midget cars. Other historic motorsport organizers
are opening up to include these important racing cars. Through a
close-knit community, there are plenty of opportunities to use such
a car in a manner in which it was intended. Highly desirable and
with solid history, this Kurtis KK 500 C remains in very good
order, with a careful, period appropriate restoration. Massively
collectible, this is an exciting way to experience the living
history of America's greatest motorsport event.
