What is up with the bellhousing in this BAT auction?

[eschaider]

If you read the seller's description of the car it is apparent he is uninformed and uses clumsy English to describe the car. When you look at the car it looks like it was poorly constructed which is unbelievable for a Kirkham. The owner was as uninformed about building the car as he is about describing the car.

Inspection cover not withstanding, the bell housing is a cast bell housing that offers no protection to driver or passenger if something goes awry in the clutch / flywheel department and there is an explosion. There should be some type of blowproof steel bell housing on the engine.

Then of course there is the matter of how the engine was built. The narrative suggests the seller does not know the compression ratio when he says the "engine is said to feature 9.8:1 compression" Interestingly he follows that up with a statement that the block was sonic checked for core shift. It is interesting he has specific knowledge about a sonic check but what sounds like hearsay information about the compression ratio. Might just be an uninformed copy writer or ...

With either 45 or 200 miles on the car this car is definitely not sorted out and just from the pictures requires considerable attention. The transmission appears to be a top loader and while period correct does not provide an overdrive capability which you might find useful on the highway. You also don't know which top loader it is.

$90K is cheap for a Kirkham but this particular Kirkham will require some TLC after purchase. If you are up for the TLC this could be a decent buy.


Ed