Kellison to the track

[kps]

After 17 years of sitting idle the Kellison is about to make its first trip to the track. I hope to be able to get it through tech to run the Vintage race group at Sebring this weekend. I have been able to run it down our road to check the systems but not at speed. A lot of people have helped with the restoration but none more than Dietmar. As some of you know Dietmar builds my National engines and I have been able to run with just about anybody discounting for my age and lack of talent. While working on a vintage car you encounter special problems as there are a lot of one off items and obsolete items. Dietmar made up some of these parts from scratch. He is an excellent source for help with special probolems. The engine in the Kellison is a Butler rebuild to what I would call regional level. It has no track time since it was completed in 1991 as far as I can tell. Thanks to all for parts help and advice. John

[butchdeer]

great to see another car resurrected. Hope to see you at the FV Birthday party in April.
Butch

[kps]

Sebring Report, The car passed tech and made it to the track. We ran four successful sessions including two races with no serious problems. Actually we were able to beat the small bore roadsters. I can't get over the difference between the Kellison and my Caracal D. The acceleration really suffers with the fan and the large diameter treaded tires. The handling was not bad but required a different driving style which will take some practice. You really need to let the car slide to keep the speed up. I was on Hoosiers and they provided all the grip I needed. The bad news is that the car is 940 lbs without the driver. I need a jockey. A large number of people stopped by to comment on the car. One lady believed that she saw it race in Ohio in the early 70's which is where the original log book shows it was raced. Sure could use power brakes to get this thing stopped. My only other problem was sliding around in the seat. Two people could fit in this car. The unusual steering worked just fine but requires a lot of force to turn the wheel. My times were 30 seconds a lap slower than my time in the Jan National with the D. I plan to bring this car to the Birthday Party. John

[RacerGeek]

Would love to see some pictures. If you email some to racergeek@aol.com I'll post them here.

[RacerGeek]

Edit: The pictures are in the VEE PHOTOS section. Still, very nice looking car!