Kurtis Indianapolis 500 car on the dyno

[neil_bolton]

I thought that you Motorsport chaps would be interested in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjMwdJLbyCk

I was recently having my car worked on at Evolve in Luton and there were some cars going on the dyno before mine - cars run by FS Racing Ltd.

One of them was this Kurtis Indianapolis 500 car - a car I've certainly never seen before and by all accounts is simply an Indianapolis 500 engine shoved in what I can only describe as a Caterham like chassis.

Enjoy

[aeropilot]

neil_bolton said:

One of them was this Kurtis Indianapolis 500 car - a car I've certainly never seen before and by all accounts is simply an Indianapolis 500 engine shoved in what I can only describe as a Caterham like chassis.

Looks like a rare Kurtis 500S rather than a Kurtis Indy racer?

Actually, they generally didn't have an Indy 500 engine of the period, as this was the famed Offenhauser 4 cyl unit.
You could order your Kurtis 500S with any of the engines from the manufacturers of that 1953-55 period when they were made, although by default you got a Ford Y-block (I think), but many had Cadillac, Buick Nailhead, Olds Rocket, Chrysler Hemi and the then new in '55, Chevy smallblock.

Edited by aeropilot on Friday 3rd December 08:21

[flemke]

Lovely car. Thanks for the video.
One has to ask - was it beyond the wit of those guys who were just hanging around and staring to help to push the car up the ramp, rather than forcing the driver to slip the clutch?

[Mojocvh]

flemke said:

Lovely car. Thanks for the video.
One has to ask - was it beyond the wit of those guys who were just hanging around and staring to help to push the car up the ramp, rather than forcing the driver to slip the clutch?

Sounds real sweet.

[Ganglandboss]

Evil looking car!

This one was running at the Cholmondley Pageant of power a couple of years ago:

[neil_bolton]

aeropilot said:

neil_bolton said:

One of them was this Kurtis Indianapolis 500 car - a car I've certainly never seen before and by all accounts is simply an Indianapolis 500 engine shoved in what I can only describe as a Caterham like chassis.

Looks like a rare Kurtis 500S rather than a Kurtis Indy racer?

Actually, they generally didn't have an Indy 500 engine of the period, as this was the famed Offenhauser 4 cyl unit.
You could order your Kurtis 500S with any of the engines from the manufacturers of that 1953-55 period when they were made, although by default you got a Ford Y-block (I think), but many had Cadillac, Buick Nailhead, Olds Rocket, Chrysler Hemi and the then new in '55, Chevy smallblock.

Edited by aeropilot on Friday 3rd December 08:21

You may well be right, I don't know anything about the car, and was trying to remember what the chaps were telling me

[GravelBen]

Maybe its just me, but... its not exactly tuneful, is it? More just a wall of noise.