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1959 Kellison J-5

Roadster

This is one of two 'factory' roadsters and the 14th J-5 model supplied in 1959. The frame is a Chuck Manning design (similar to Corvette but with extra cross-bracing). It was originally built to run at the Salt Flats powered by a Chrysler Hemi. Renewed with Corvette power, it was California street registered in 1961. It was next converted into a drag car, last competing in 1965. It then remained non-operative in the same family until the current owner purchased it in 1998. The Corvette engine, period worm and sector steering, along with drum brakes, were retained. Circa 1958, the coil-over suspension was added. It was completed in 2009 as a street-legal roadster, but while fine-tuning, the current owner was convinced it could be a potent vintage race car. It was raced in the 1956-1959 class at Elkhart Lake, Monterey Historics, Circuit of the Americas (Austin), Sebring, Homestead, Indianapolis, and Watkins Glen. While a very competitive race car, it retains its street license and is driven regularly.

Jim Kellison created Kellison Engineering & Manufacturing Company in 1954. The operation was based in California and specialized in kit car creation. Kellison served as a fighter pilot during World War II, and his closeness to aerodynamic designs undoubtedly influenced his streamlined and attractive race car bodies. The company sold its product in a variety of guises and completion. The first of these products was dubbed the J-2 Roadster. The open roadster body had a 102-inch wheelbase and measured 169 inches in length.

The J3 had similar dimensions, being 169 inches in length and a 98-inch wheelbase. Prices ranged from around $380 to over $500 for a complete unit.

The K2 rested on a 154-inch length and an 86-inch wheelbase.

The J4 Grande Turismo Coupe was Kellison's first closed-cockpit car; it was designed to accept a V8 engine mounted in the front of the vehicle.

Kellison used fiberglass bodies to clothe his molds. The elegant bodies rested on tube frames.

During the mid-1960s, Kellison created a new division in his company, named Grand Prix Sports and Racing, for the development of racers for Formula A, B, and Vee.

by Dan Vaughan