1954 Kurtis 500M

The legendary automotive genius, Frank Kurtis, built a successful company by building custom and race cars. At the tender age of 14, he took a job at Don Lee Cadillac, where he worked alongside Harley Earl. In the 1930s, Kurtis was designing and building race cars in a garage behind his home. As the 1930s came to a close, Kurtis went to Indianapolis, where he was hired to make repairs on some of the competing cars.

In the early 1940s, Kurtis built a car of his own design and entered it at Indy where it was driven by Sam Hanks. When World War II ended, Kurtis devoted much of his time to producing midget race cars. He soon built two more Indy racers, one for Ross Page and the other was the Novi Special.

In 1948, Kurtis entered his Kurtis-Kraft Special, which won second place and emerged in first place in the championship points for the season. Johnny Parsons won the 1949 Indy 500 in a Kurtis-Kraft car named the Wynn's Oil Special. It was later sold to Jim Robbins, who would finish second in 1951.

There was a cycle-fendered version of the same chassis that was dubbed the Kurtis 500S. In total, about 30 examples were built, all clothed in aluminum and usually fitted with Cadillac power. Another iteration of the car was created, this one given a fiberglass body with integral fenders and an inset cove in the side. About 20 of these '500M' vehicles were built in 1954 and 1955.

This example wears an older restoration that was completed around 1985. It was purchased by the current owner in 2007. The new owner installed a correct Cadillac 331 cubic-inch V8 and fitted it to a LaSalle three-speed transmission driving a Ford rear axle. The work was done by Classic Craft of Springfield, Ohio. The interior was redone in Bakersfield, California, and a new top was added at the time.

The car is painted white with a black Naugahyde interior and a canvas top.

In 2009, this rare vehicle was offered for sale by Bonhams Auction at the Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel, CA. It was estimated to sell for $125,000 - $150,000. A bidder willing to satisfy the car's reserve was not found, and the car left the auction unsold.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2009

The Kurtis 500M was built at the time Kurtis 500 Roadsters ruled the Indianapolis 500-mile race. The 500M is a fiberglass-bodied Indy Racer. It has a tube frame, torsion bar suspension with large drum brakes and Halibrand magnesium wheels. Its total weight is 2,500 pounds. The engine was the choice of the buyer.

This car is fitted with a slightly modified 331 cubic-inch Cadillac engine, fitted with two Carter four-barrel carburetors, and a three-speed Cadillac transmission coupled to a Ford differential with 3.86 to 1 gears. Known previous owners include Chuck Queen, Bill Chapin, and Chuck Davis. Davis painted it and did some mechanical restoration work on it in the 1990s. The current owner purchased the car in 2004.

When new, the car attained 23 to 25 miles per gallon city driving and reached 95.23 mph from a standing start in the quarter mile. It had a top speed of 135+ mph and up, depending on engine modifications.