1974 Kelmark GT

Non-negotiable Price - $25,000

Only 6,282 miles.

History - This Kelmark GT is a wonderful, high quality example of a kit car. The kit car craze, which peaked during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, was a phenomenon we all remember where automotive enthusiasts would purchase a set of parts (a "kit") and assemble their own working vehicle at home. A major draw was the ability to create replicas of rare and expensive classic or exotic sports cars like the AC Cobra, GT 40 and Ferrari Dino GT among others. These kits allowed enthusiasts to own a vehicle that looked like a dream car but at a fraction of the cost. The majority of these cars were built on VW Beetle chassis.

Kelmark Engineering got its start in Okemos, Michigan sometime around 1969 in the business of V8 conversions for Corvairs and Volkswagen Beetles. The company name was a combination of its founders, Russ Keller and Randy Markham, and was producing its own cars as soon as 1974 with the Kelmark I GT. The Kelmark II GT got the company closer to a commercially successful product in late ’74, as it was based on a VW platform, and looks continued to reflect the Ferrari Dino. But it was really the next model, the Kelmark GT, which netted the company some real success.

The GT was wider, enabling it to fit on a standard Beetle chassis, its glass was sourced from readily-available donors and offered in several different build configurations from builder’s kits to a full turnkey car. Beyond that, the GT was also offered in a number of special editions that accommodated upgraded power plants, like Mazda rotaries, Porsche and Corvair six-cylinders and Buick V6s. Kelmark even debuted a Toronado GT option that featured a tube chassis and Olds 425 and 455 ci V8s.

This particular Kelmark has a very special human story behind it. It’s about the dedication and drive of a 14-year-old kid to have and drive his first car and the supportive Father and Grandfather that were car enthusiasts and decided if the boy wanted a car fine, but he was going to learn something valuable in the process. Young Kelly was going to restore his very own GT car from the ground up! And that he did. Not only that, at 15, he wrote and published, at the request of a kit car magazine, a full article about the build progress. At 30, Kelly is now a Life Flight paramedic. His wife (also a paramedic) was very passionate when she said something that was one of my Dads favorite phrases, “man it rides like it’s on rails!”

To Kelly… and the hundreds of thousands of kids like him working hard to build, buy, customize and fix up their first car, following in the footsteps of their dads, grandads and great grandads. Welcome to the club!

Features - This car is built on a VW beetle chassis with a VW air cooled motor. It was ground up restored in 2008. The re-manufactured engine and drive train have less than 1,000 miles on them since then!

AS IS - NO WARRANTY. THESE ARE USED VEHICLES AND AS SUCH SHOULD NOT BE EXPECTED TO BE PERFECT. BUYER IS WELCOME TO INSPECT OR HAVE A PROFFESIONAL INSPECT (AT BUYERS EXPENSE) THE VEHICLES AT THIER CURRENT LOCATION (BY APPOINTMENT). SEE 'TERMS AND CONDITIONS" AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION.