Jim Stepan finally allotted time to eat some lunch… The Jim Khougaz car was securely covered up, and all distractions were put away.
Jim Busby and I came in and took the covers off the car, the next thing I knew the sandwich was forgotten; he had spotted something amiss and immediately got to work.
I should have known. I guess I owe Jim Stepan a sandwich!
Man. There are a lot of Jim’s around there! Good thing Jim Busby Jr. wasn’t there!
The Jim Khougaz Bonneville Car…
I went by the shop the other day and indulged myself in an all out detail shot of the Khougaz car… It was incredibly satisfying, as every little inch of this car is perfect.
I also learned a lot more about Jim Khougaz and why this car is so special.
Jim Khougaz was way ahead of his time with all the clever innovations he developed with this car, he applied lots of concepts only used on Airplanes at the time… as you may notice the cockpit looks like it belongs in a plane.
The body is so cool, because it comes straight out of the book of hot rodding… It is an old 1927 Model T body where the engine now sits where the former owners drove and rode along inside of it. I had no idea! That is why hot rods, and particular Bonneville cars are so cool!
Not to mention the car went 112.76 in 1957, then 207.88 miles per hour, which in 1958 was no small feat… if they had the rear end figured out, they would have pulled off a world record instead of rolling the car into smithereens!
Hanging right above the Kurtis 500, is this picture of Phil Hill… A long time friend of Jim’s.
I just look at it and imagine how cool it must have felt to be zipping along in that Ferarri with nothing but a fresh polo shirt, goggles and a helmet on.
The Khougaz Car is getting ready for Pebble Beach!
Come August you will see this amazing car on the grass at the Pebble Beach Councourse d’Elegance... Richard Munz with will be accompanying the car having just finished driving his all steel ‘32 to Canada.
The Busby A Team received a box of scraps from this car 50 years after it had rolled at Bonneville. They put it back together… See the story here.
David Busby’s son, David and wife Carla together, while little David gets his fill of the 750 horses under the hood.
We talked about this car before, right HERE.
Rick Knoop’s Jaguar XJR-5 Chassis #10
At long last Rick’s engine showed up and we can put it together.
We will be updating this post with new pictures every week, so keep checking in…
