1948 Kurtis-Omohundro Comet

99 1948 Kurtis - Buick Sports Car This car is known as the "Kurtis - Buick Special", and was the forerunner of the Kurtis Sports Car. Frank bought a 1941 Buick that had been wrecked and totaled with less than 500 miles on the odometer. After acquiring the car, he stored it away until 1946, the year he began the build. Frank designed and built this car for himself and it became his personal driver. He discarded the Buick body and kept chassis and drivetrain. A four passenger convertible body was hand - formed out of aluminum panels over a steel tubing framework. The cowl and windshield frame were custom cast in aluminum. The grille was built from tubing, and the car was fitted with a removable padded Carson top. The sports car was completed in 1948, and it looked quite futuristic compared to the rest of the prewar designed cars of Detroit. Frank drove the car regularly, including a trip to Indianapolis to view the Indy ‘500’ in 1948. In 1949, he advertised it for sale in Motor Trend . The sports car was snapped up by Earl Muntz who went on to purchase the Kurtis Sport Car assembly line, and started building and selling the Muntz Jet to the public in 1951. This Ad Appeared on the Back Cover of the 1949 “ West Coast Annual Racing Album ” With the Advertising Slogan: “ World ’ s Largest Manufacturer of Racing Cars. ” The Kurtis - Buick Appeared in Many Magazines in the Late ‘40 s Including a Cover Story Shown In the October, 1948 Issue of Mechanix Illustrated. Also Shown is an Article From the February, 1948 Issue of Motor (USA).