One & Only Kurtis 500KK Sports Car Prototype Built by Dick Lane & Bob Sorrell

THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLYKURTIS 500KK SPORTS CAR/ROADSTER BUILT BY DICK LANE. THESR-100 PROTOTYPE BODY WAS BUILT BY THE LEGENDARYBOB SORRELLIN 1954-1955 AND THE CHASIS IS A KURTIS500KK INDY CAR CHASIS. THIS IS THE ACTUAL CAR AS SEEN ON THE COVER OF CAR CRAFT MAGAZINE IN OCTOBER OF 1955.

***The following information was found and taken from www.kustomrama.com***

BOB SORRELL & THE SR-100

Bob Sorrell was one of the most talented automotive designers and builders of the 1950's and 1960's. Working with his father from their shop on Felton Avenue in Inglewood, California,Sorrell Engineering had a hand in building some of the finest cars of the day. Tommy Ivo was so impressed with Sorrell’s skills that he hired him to build the aluminum bodies for both of his famed AA Fuel Dragsters; the Croshier-Baltes-Lavato and the Barnstormer.

Sorrell was a master fabricator and was comfortable working in a wide variety of materials, from aluminum to fiberglass and everything in between. Many of those who knew Bob have described him as a genius and his vast skill-set attracted customers from all areas of the hobby. Sorrell built and worked on road racing cars, drag racing cars, land speed racing cars, hot rods, custom cars, show cars and even fully functional scale tether cars. The diversity of the projects that passed through Sorrell’s shop is a testament to his abilities and the confidence the SoCal car word placed in him. Unfortunately the diversity of his activities has diffused the legacy of Sorrell’s impressive accomplishments. Whereas Sorrell developed projects in so many areas, the yardstick of greatness most often rewards those with a more focused approach.

Sorrell built a string of gorgeous one-off alloy bodies for both competition and the street but he is most well remembered for his outrageous fiberglass creations. His earliest cars were clothed in the wonderful SR-100 fiberglass roadster body. This design was a Sorrell original and owed nothing to the traditional body shapes being built in the early 1950s. Sorrell’s use of an envelope design and unified fender-to-body expression were just two major themes he explored. The SR-100 started life as an aluminum one-off which Sorrell mounted on a Kurtis 500KK chassis. This car was premiered at the 1953 International Petersen Motorama Show and received much attention (featured in several magazines, including Car Craft February 1954). As a result, Sorrell began to produce fiberglass versions of the SR-100.

Several cover stories in Car Craft followed and Sorrell began to receive orders for cars. Dick Lane bought a blue SR-100 with a GMC 6 for street use. Denny Larsen built a red, white and blue SR-100 with a gull-wing hard top for the 1954 Bonneville Speed Week. This car was featured on the cover of Rod & Custom May 1955 and went an astounding 174 MPH on the salt. It likely would have been in the hunt for a record if not for a broken driveshaft.

All told, Sorrell built seven fiberglass SR-100’s for customers but it is possible that only six of them actually left his shop.

***The following information was found and taken from www.forgottenfiberglass.com***

Now we’re talking!

A Sorrell SR-100 with a powerful GMC six cylinder….Kurtis 500KK chassis….flip front for easy access….who could ask for more? Not many. And I’m sure this would have been considered an idea build in all the right ways and inspired countless young men across the country to press forward with their dream of building their own fiberglass bodied sports car.

And….it’s a “magazine cover car” too. Bob Sorrell was at the top of his game when this article appeared in the Fall of 1955.

Bob’s first fiberglass body debuted in ’53 and here it was late in ’55 and he already was on the cover of a magazine. In fact, as you’ll read below, Car Craft Magazine used Bob’s work and expertise in the creation of another article – one that appeared over 3 issues of Car Craft starting in October 1955 – and we’ll feature that series of articles in the future here at Forgotten Fiberglass.

Now….onto the eye candy for the day – the Sorrell SR-100 sports car built by Dick Lane.

GMC Under Glass: Car Craft, October 1955
Racing Chassis, Hot Rod Power Plant and Modernistic Styling Make Up Dick Lane’s Fiberglass Sports Roadster
Photos by Bob D’Olivio

When we gathered together all of the material for the “Building a Fiberglass Car” story which starts on page 18, we decided that it would be a good idea to show just what kind of results could be obtained using a fiberglass body. Since the above mentioned story is a start to finish operation on Bob Sorrell’s body, we went to Bob and asked him where we could find a good completed car using his body.

Bob sent us over to see Richard Lane of Los Angeles and we had to admit that his car was good – in fact, it was sensational. Dick used one of Frank Kurtis’ 500 KK tubular frames with full torsion bar suspension. The 500 KK frame is, except for size, the same basic framework which has been under the winning car for the past three years at Indianapolis.

In keeping with the Indy theme, Lane used knock-off hubs, magnesium wheels and spot brakes made by Halibrand Engineering for race cars. The torque tube rear end also has a Halibrand quick-change center section with a 3.78 ring and pinion.

In the engine department, Lane took a 302 cubic inch GMC, bored it 1/8 inch and left the four inch stroke stoke so that it totaled about 320 cubic inches. A special twelve port Fisher-Horning aluminum head with large valves was bolted on and the compression checked out at 8.5:1.

Frank McGurk ground a billet cam and also took care of the piston, tubular push rod and flywheel department. Six Amal carburetors on the left side of the engine and the six chrome headers into a large collector tube on the right side give the engine an unmatched potent appearance.

Unfortunately, the engine was never dyno tested so no figures can be given but to quote Lane, “It really scares you when you get on it.” Future plans for this roadster call for competition at some of the Southern California drag strips and also a little closed course competition in sport car events.

We bet that this car will also be seen in a lot of automobile shows in the next few years. It’s a beauty.

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THIS IS THE REAL DEAL!! THE CAR IS IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM. ORIGINAL INTERIOR, WIRING, TIRES, TUBES, ETC. I FABRICATED A NEW GAS TANK BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL ONE WAS )OTTED. THIS CAR COULD BE FULLY RESTORED OR LEFT IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM. IT IS ONLY ORIGINAL ONCE. THIS CAR IS WHAT COLLECTOR'S DREAM OF!!

AS AN ADDED BONUS... THIS CAR IS REGISTERED AS AN ACTUAL KURTIS ROADSTER, AND COMES WITH A CALIFORNIA PINK SLIP.IT CAN BE SEEN BY APPOINTMENT AT CADILLAC ANTIQUES IN BEAUTIFUL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN LUCERNE VALLEY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME OR CALL ME AT (310)753-7234

PLEASE ONLY SERIOUS BUYERS AND BIDS. NO SCAMS OR TRADES.

THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK!

-RALPH MULDOON