Kelurgon J5r Pros And Cons

The Kellison J5R a Classic Piece of Forgotten Fiberglass

Forgotten Fiberglass Classic Cars from the 1950s

As a child of the 1960s when I think about fiberglass cars my thoughts turn to [kit cars like the Shelby Cobra]. I'm sure this stems from my father and uncle assembled one of these in the garage of the family home.

However, for most classic car enthusiasts fiberglass is synonymous with [the Chevrolet Corvette sports car]. In this article we hope to open your eyes to the other possibilities in this category. In an upbeat Postwar America, fiberglass sports cars challenged the conventional thinking of large automobile manufacturers.

Companies like Glasspar, Kaiser Motors and Kellison shaped exotic looking cars from the strong and lightweight

And rightfully so, since the company began producing these classic seagoing vessels beginning in 1947. However, the company also dipped their toe into the automotive industry when they developed the G2 roadster body in 1949. The one piece construction weighed in at only 185 pounds.

Many believe it was this automobile that inspired Chevrolet’s design team to launch the Corvette in 1953. The G2 sports car is credited as being the first American built all fiberglass automobile. After a successful showing at the Philadelphia plastics exhibit in 1952 the Glasspar Company went public in an effort to raise capital to build more automobiles.

Unfortunately, only about 200 G2 sport roadster bodies would see the light of day. The Glasspar manufacturing company decided to withdraw from the overly competitive automotive industry and focus on its core market of building high performance boats. In the late 50s they launched the 13'6" G3 fiberglass boat. Rated to carry up to 60 hp this 50 miles per hour boat became a best-seller in the flourishing water skiing community.

The Fiberglass Kaiser Darrin

They only built the car in 1954. Manufactured by a company owned by the industrial giant Henry J. Kaiser, the automobile came to life thanks to American designer Howard "Dutch" Darrin. This two door roadster actually had two sliding pocket doors.

The first of their kind, the doors mounted on rollers and tracks that slid into pockets built into the front fenders. The 161 in the model name stood for the cubic inch displacement of the standard straight six-cylinder engine. Unfortunately, the motor only pumped out about 90 hp which led to less than stellar performance.

With stiff competition from similarly styled European automobiles like [the Austin Healey 3000 Mk III], selling units became an uphill battle. Therefore, they only produced 435 total Kaiser Darrins. Kaiser continued to build cars, but pulled out of the American market. Howard Darren purchased the remaining stock which he then sold out of his Hollywood California showroom.

However, he made some improvements like installing a McCulloch supercharger on the six-cylinder engines. This dramatically boosted performance. In fact, it gave the Kaiser Darrin Roadster a top speed of over 145 mph and knocked five full seconds off the 0 to 60