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and connecting it to the engine with a bell housing adapter. A stronger shaft is needed to withstand the torque of the V8 engine. Also, since the ring gear turns backwards it requires a free flow oil system or a reverse cut ring and pinion gear set. They also required a heavy duty differential or differential modifications. The
Corvair differential was not designed to handle more than 250 hp (190 kW). When you put the power and torque of even a mild V8 to the stock differential, it tries to split the case from the pinion gear being forced against the ring gear.
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differentials through many modifications, re-manufacture and re-engineering, along with careful assembly. This included having reverse cut ring and pinion gears made for the
Kelmark transaxle setup which ran in reverse. His setup was in great demand by the mid-engine Corvair enthusiasts. One of the trademarks of the CIDCO diff is the shoulder bolted steel plate cover on top of the differential in place of the tin cover.
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In the early days, Crown created a modified
Volkswagen differential carrier by adding two extra pinion gears to the existing two gears which in effect lessened the load and made the differentials last longer. It was called a Beef-a-diff. When Corvair transaxles started to be used in high performance
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A mid-engine V8 conversion for the
Chevrolet Corvair. This mid-engine conversion turned the rear-engined Chevrolet Corvair transaxle around 180 degrees and used a special bell housing and input shaft to bolt the V8 where the stock air-cooled engine would normally be connected. This makes the rotation
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The main advantage of the
Kelmark Conversion is increased power and good engine placement in terms of weight distribution. The setup has a 40/60 front to rear weight distribution ratio. The main disadvantage of the Kelmark Conversion is that it requires rotating the transaxle 180° in the flat plane,
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in 1977 and 1979. The final body design of the
Kelmark GT, as well as the Kelmark II, was 5 inches wider than an original Ferrari-built Dino 246 GTS in order to allow it to fit over a VW chassis. Some people thought it had similar apearance to a Porsche 904 Carrera which also had a fiberglass
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In late '74 Kelmark
Engineering decided to adapt it to fit the Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle chassis. This revised car was introduced as the Kelmark II. The Kelmark 1 GT Coupe was partially restyled into the Kelmark II utilizing styling cues from the experimental Two Rotor Corvette to make production
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A fully loaded
Kelmark GT with all luxury options such as leather interior, air conditioning, and high-end stereo equipment as offered by "Kelmark Motors" in Holt, Michigan. The cars were mostly powered by a rear engine, Buick 3.8 litre V6. This caused the car to be tail end heavy; which,
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Back then a CIDCO transaxle could be purchased, this stands for
Corvair Improvement Distributing Company as owned by Bob Anderson. At one time he developed Corvair transaxles with many improvements, not only for Corvairs but the kit car industry as well. Bob improved the longevity of the
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A fiberglass body kit for a
Standard Volkswagen Beetle chassis using a VW or Porsche Type 4 engine. Many used Hot Rod VW engines such as the 1679, 1835, 1915, 2076 and 2332cc displacement engines with twin carburetors for 'mild' to 'wild' performance increases. A few also utilized the
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The same as the Kelmark GT Independence except it was finished in metallic silver. Most had the optional rear high-rise scoop installed at the factory. This allowed clearance to install a Buick 231 Cubic inch V6 using an engine adapter to fit the VW transaxle, such as those sold by
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tested several specialty sports cars. The Ruf CTR Porsche 911 Yellow Bird and the Koenig RS Porsche 911; which, broke 200 mph. These two ran at 211 and 201 mph, respectively. Again, these were low volume custom sports cars. In these same tests, which were completed by
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drive unit mounted in the mid-engine position driving the rear wheels. Typically, these rare GTs were powered by the Olds 425 or 455 cubic inch (7.5 litre) engine. One of these models was outfitted with a highly tuned, Chevrolet big-block 454 cubic inch engine and was tested by
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More customized, and could be mounted on a tube frame, Porsche or heavily modified VW chassis or even a custom combination with Mazda Rotary, Chevy Corvair, Porsche 6, Buick V6 or small-block V8 power. It is estimated that only 200 Kelmark GTs were built as Liberator
248:. He used a custom tubular frame built by his company Mid-Engineering. This special chassis utilized the Oldsmobile Toronado Turbo-Hydamatic 425 transaxle behind a 700 hp Chevrolet ZL-1, 454 big-block motor. The Mid-Engineering chassis used
90:. They produced a unique car for the time period: a V8-powered Volkswagen Beetle. It was marketed as the Sleeper, and was meant to look like a stock Beetle. It was this style chassis that the original Kelmark GT Coupe was designed around.
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automobiles (the Kelmark GT). Until 1986, Kelmark Engineering manufactured kits and complete, finished, turn-key vehicles which were either Volkswagen-based or built on tubular race car-type frames. The outfit gained its name from Jim
162:, and the side glass was the rear windows of a Chevrolet Caprice/Impala turned backwards. The Kelmark GT was offered in the following packages and could be ordered as a basic kit, partially assembled, or turn-key automobile:
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Initially constructed as a V8 engine special. The car had exterior styling that was distinctive for its debut in the beginning of '74. The style of the Kelmark 1 GT Coupe was copied directly from a Dino 206 /
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until March 1987 to come out with a 200 mph street legal sports car, the Ferrari F40. The F40 was a low production volume special which was not a mainstream Ferrari. Just a few months later
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applications the differential again being a weak spot was modified by adding two more pinion gears. This created a cross legged look whence the "spider" nickname was derived.
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at the former Transportation Research Center in Ohio (now a part of Honda's US test facility). This proved the cars advanced aerodynamic and performance capabilities.
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easier/cheaper/better. The Kelmark II had a large in-set hood scoop. The Kelmark GT went back to the smooth hood similar to what it used before on the Kelmark 1 GT.
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rear suspension arms and custom half shafts to allow wide performance tires. To put this accomplishment into perspective one should consider that it took
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ham, the two co-creators who started the operation. Up until at least 1989, the Kelmark GT was still available as a kit albeit the manufacturer was
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and broke the 200 mph barrier. Thus, becoming the world's fastest street-legal sports car in 1977.
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engineer, was responsible for the record breaking car. Later, he was the design engineer at GM for the
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reported this as the “Fastest documented speed ever attained by a street machine”, clocked at 202.7 by
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The next model iteration after the Kelmark II GT. The Kelmark GT was featured in the magazine
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Early on Kelmark gained a reputation as an innovator starting with V8 conversions for
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was an American automotive specialty shop established in 1969 and based in
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A big-block V8 "Super Car" utilizing a custom tube frame to accept an
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329:Company marketing brochure, scanned copy available
416:Automotive motorsports and performance companies
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210:unfortunately affected the handling of the car.
411:Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan
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143:Rear view of a V8-engined Kelmark GT
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289:all failed to break 200 mph.
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308:"History of the Kelmark Kit Car"
347:"Kelmark History at Bugoholics"
396:Kelmark GT Owner's Group Forum
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240:Bill Porterfield, a former
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265:, with Le Mans winning
167:Kelmark GT Independence
269:and Formula One champ
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279:Lamborghini Countach
197:Kelmark GT Liberator
220:Oldsmobile Toronado
215:Kelmark Toronado GT
206:Kelmark GT Chairman
190:Kennedy Engineering
39:Kelmark Engineering
352:2007-10-20 at the
287:Mercedes-Benz 300E
275:Ferrari Testarossa
250:Chevrolet Corvette
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88:Chevrolet Corvairs
84:Volkswagen Beetles
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16:(Redirected from
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378:"Going for it",
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369:, November 1977.
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310:. Archived from
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233:Car & Driver
229:Car & Driver
54:lison and Randy
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95:Kelmark V8-Vair
79:Kelmark Sleeper
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366:Car and Driver
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314:on 2007-10-20.
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122:Kelmark 1 GT
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184:Kelmark GTS
177:Porsche 912
173:Porsche 356
405:Categories
294:References
281:5000S and
267:Paul Frere
242:Oldsmobile
160:Ford Pinto
148:Kelmark GT
68:Volkswagen
34:Kelmark GT
271:Phil Hill
350:Archived
179:engines.
47:turn-key
382:, 1979.
285:Hammer
254:Ferrari
18:Kelmark
74:Models
43:Okemos
201:cars.
335:here
333:and
331:here
175:and
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86:and
56:Mark
283:AMG
62:in
52:Kel
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