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1947 KURTIS, 2018 NSRA WESTERN NATS

Our feature car, a 1947 Kurtis, has quite a story.  Not only is it one of 17 ever built, it was originally owned by Arlen Kurtis, son of Frank Kurtis, owner and founder of Kurtis Kraft.  The Kurtis was the timingtower.com pick at the 2018 NSRA Western Nats.

Frank Kurtis is famous for building midget cars, quarter midgets, sports cars, Bonneville cars, Indy cars and the start carts for the SR 71 Blackbird.

This Kurtis was given to Arlen as an early high school graduation gift.   Arlen received the car at the start of his senior year.  Unfortunately, the gift was made at a time the design of the Kurtis was being was being sold to Earl Muntz and Arlen’s Kurtis came in pieces and parts with “complete assembly” required.  With help from employees of Kurtis Kraft, Arlen finished assembly of the car in the summer of 1951.  Arlen’s Kurtis had some modifications that other Kurtis cars didn’t have.  For instance, the dashboard was modified to accept Stewart Warner gauges.    The car was painted yellow, the same color as the Indy-winning car built by Frank Kurtis – a car sponsored by Justice Brothers Ed and Zeke.  Both Justice brothers worked at Kurtis Kraft at one time.  Because the car was manufactured in 1949, it was titled as a 1949 Kurtis.   Sitting in the Kurtis below are Arlen’s wife Carol and his son Chris.

The Kurtis was the first all American sports car and was on the cover of the first Motor Trend magazine.  Not all of the 17 Kurtis cars built were identical.  For example, the first 3 cars built had a Studebaker suspension while the remaining 14 had Ford suspensions.  The engine in some of the Kurtis cars were flatheads, while others had 331 ci Cadillac engines.  The early cars had aluminum fenders, the later cars had fiberglass fenders.

In 1952 Arlen went into the military and sold his Kurtis. Years later, Arlen’s wife, Carol, found the car in a salvage yard in El Monte, California and in 1990 bought the car.  In the salvage yard the car was wedged between dozens of cars and was deteriorating.  With the help of fork lifts and other power tools, Carol had the Kurtis removed from the logjam and gave it to Arlen for Christmas.  The Kurtis was in pretty bad shape, but after a multiyear restoration, Arlen’s Kurtis was once again on the road – painted the same yellow as it had been in 1951. 

More than 60 years later Arlen had his Kurtis back on the road.  Arlen’s wife, Carol, and son Chris were at the 2018 Western Nats in Bakersfield with Arlen’s Kurtis.  

 

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Below Carol is out cruising in the Kurtis.

 

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