1961 Kurtis 500J Conversion Question

[landoflogic]

Hello,

Sorry for the title, I really don't know what to call this. I'm considering trying to make Jack Turner's 1961 Kurtis at some point, but obviously this is not a car that has ever been done before. UnionVac allegedly made conversion pieces for it years ago, but I've never come across these and nobody I've talked to has ever seen them, otherwise I would have bought them by now. My idea is to take the AMT Watson kit, the generic Watson conversion made by Calvin, and then also try and build the nose piece from scratch. The hood would also need some modification, but nothing that some milliput couldn't handle.

Walt sent me drawings of the car a little while back which will help me greatly. I lined up my 1960 Tony Bettenhausen model up with the drawings and most of the bodywork for the AMT car line up well with them. The rear seems to be slightly lower than on the Watson, but that's a detail I can live without. I think the other big thing is the left side of the car slants out, as evidence by the photo. Not sure how I would change the Watson to reflect that.

The big difference is the nose of the car. That's the part I would be building from scratch. I have no idea where to start with this. There are some very talented people on the forum that do this stuff all the time, and I have had people give me tips before. I have the drawings, so that takes out a lot of the guess work, but what methods do you all choose to do when making scratch pieces? Any tips welcome. Is it even a good idea to try and use the Watson to make the Kurtis?

Also, if someone has or has seen the UnionVac Kurtis parts, let me know. 

Elijah

[kip]

The 1965 Novi #59 (Jim Hurtibise) had a very similar nose. Lance made this car a few years back. I already built mine so I can't mold one up for you, but I think it may be what you need for a start. The opening looks right or at least close as does the rest of the nose piece.

kip

[jef]

Who will you get to make the decals?

[landoflogic]

Oct 23, 2023 16:22:36 GMT -5 jef said:

Who will you get to make the decals?

Gary Sleeper of GWS/Circle Track decals. He does custom decal orders for front engine cars. He's done awesome work for me in the past. He's the one who made the decals for my Norm Hall Kurtis. He also used to do the decals for Gary Doucette. 

[landoflogic]

Oct 23, 2023 8:25:13 GMT -5 kip said:

The 1965 Novi #59 (Jim Hurtibise) had a very similar nose. Lance made this car a few years back. I already built mine so I can't mold one up for you, but I think it may be what you need for a start. The opening looks right or at least close as does the rest of the nose piece.

kip

Thanks for the idea Kip! I hadn't even thought of that. This could work but, as you said, I'd have to find someone with the nose piece. 

[kip]

I found that I have a 1963 Novi kit unbuilt. The nose opening is similar to the 1965 Novi but the top surface has several humps (that are not on the 1965 nose) that would have to be removed. Take a look at some photos and see what you think. If you think it may work I could try to mold a copy

kip

[landoflogic]

I'm not entirely sure how I would remove the humps on the nose, I guess a lot of sanding. Question would be if it would look right without them.