1947 Kurtis-Omohundro Comet

33 Phil Continues: When The Cars Were Sold: Sometime around 1959 or 1960, I noticed a classified ad in the Detroit News for two matching Kurtis - Kraft cars! I called the person selling the cars. He was Kent ’ s uncle, because I recall mentioning Kent ’ s name and the seller very abruptly told me his nephew was not the owner of the cars, he was. He was not interested in talk- ing to a kid (me, who couldn ’ t afford them) about the cars and ended the conversation quickly. A Conversation with Kent Walter On December 18, 2007, I contacted Kent via phone for the first time since I spoke with him in 1954. He didn ’ t remember the incident about having trouble driving in the rain. When I mentioned the dark blue car, Kent Walter corrected me saying the car was black. He told me that his uncle ’ s name, the owner of the cars, was Sam Cornell. Apparently Sam had a home in Florida and probably one in Berkley or in suburban Detroit. Sam sold the cars around 1959 – 1961. The buyer(s) is/are unknown. Sam died in 1986. Kent said that one of the cars (he didn ’ t mention which one) was said to previously have been owned by Mickey Rooney—the Hollywood star. And, a California resident. Kent agreed to send me four snapshots of the two cars. They arrived in early January, 2007. I told Kent that I in- tended to run an ad in Hemmings using one of the pictures of the car in order to try to find someone who would know something about the cars. That was fine with him. Before I got around to do that, Geoff Hacker called me. I then instead sent copies of the snapshots to Geoff Hacker and we pursued another path of inquiry which is un- folding as I write this. Period Photographs The photos show the cars exactly as I remember them, except the “ dark blue ” car is shown as a “ black ” car. The last time I saw the cars was in 1954. The snapshots of the bronze car were taken in Florida (Kent drove it there) in the winter of 1958. The snapshots of the black car were taken in the summer of 1959. Either I am mistaken about the color of the dark blue car, or it was repainted black after 1954. One snapshot shows that the bronze car lacks windshield wip- ers! That ties to the story about the difficulty encountered driving in the rain. Summary/Comments The two cars were radical in 1953. Note the photograph of Kent standing next to the black car … the beltline is well below his waist … and Kent was only about 5’8” or so … thus, these cars were LOW! That concludes my summary of my recollections and recent phone conversations with Kent Walter. Sincerely, Phil Fleming (April 2, 2007) Phil Fleming Holding “ Most Elegant Sports Car Award ” Garnered by the 1947 Kurtis - Omohundro Comet at Amelia Island Concours d ’ Elegance, 2009.