I used to work at Pantera Specialists at about 9th and Cherokee..And I would go over to the V8 shop to get parts or stuff we had ordered from them.. K&L also built my transmission for my 1971 Mustang to back up my 351 Cleveland...I could get around 130 out of her on the strip....
Great pictures and story. Nothing like the HAMB to bring us to light on past history. Thanks for posting.
Thanx Ryan, this gave me some serious goosebumps, this Iconic sleekster is the all time fave of mine for salt cars. The 1951 Hot Rod cover is ultimate! Cheap thrills, nuthin like it! ~sololobo~
REMEMBER,HE GOES TO BED EARLY<I HAVE OWNED THE TOADSTER SINCE 1960,RACED IT for 4 YEARS & THEN PUT IT ON THE STREET I WILL HAVE TO LOOK FOR A CURRENT PICTURE & O' I HAVE THGE PICTURE OF IT UP-SIDE DOWN IN THE AIR ABOUT 1947
i remember seeing the kenz@leslie cougar F/C back in the day at our local track; omaha dragway. also guzman ward and klein coming down out of the high country.
Great to see this thread come back around. Still want to see more pics of K&L as the 46 Delivery I have would like to get a cosmetic resurrection.
I always thought the the original streamliner, 2-engined and baby blue, was the best looking of the '50s 'liners. It appeared to be just as well shaped and finished as the Mercedes and Auto Union cars from the '30s. Never liked it as much after the 3rd engine and red/white paint were added.
Hey DOK, I worked @ K&L about 69 to 72 when we moved to the Big Warehouse.There were only 3 guys that did the majority of the move.I know where me & Micheal are, -Denis or(Dave some)whitch one are you?Les was out selling parts.Do you rember the case of B&M Trick Shift being thrown across the parking lot?ha We pulled a few all nighters during that move.The address was 1965 W. 13th. When K&L was in the original building(the old muffler shop) there was an old house & garages behind it.We stored parts,Cragar wheels, in a semi trailer.The streamliner was in a garage bay and had empty Bell helmet boxes stacked on it. Those were great days.The industry was growing @ such a pace I don't think anyone knew where it was headed. It was a real pleasure having been along for the ride. Roy Leslie was a great person.He was a large man with a heart of gold as big a the state of Colorado.Sadly the world lost him way to early.I only met Bill Kenz a few times so never got to know him.Victor at the V8 shop was another person that should be rembered as a big part of the K&L history.He had a 57 Bird with a 430 linclon, drag car. I rember going to the V8 shop and being in amazement of how clean it was.The floors were painted and spotless.Most times Roy would in the back working with the funny car or in the engine room.K&L V8 was the elite Ford shop in the area. K&L Distribution started life as a muffler shop.Ran by Ron Leslie.Later started selling parts,the rest is history.In the early years we would take the funny car,load up a bunch of parts in the trailer with it, and go do seminars around the area for the jobbers. It was a great era to have lived through.I wish that for a day we could all go back so the younger hot rodders could enjoy that feeling.There are so many great stories that came from K&L and a lot of good people came thru there also. You are correct about Uncle Ed,very good mechanic.I used to go to his shop on the weekends and hang out.I called it (helping him) work on customer cars.He would allways let me know if I did not hold the wrench correctly.ha Ed was a jokester and a joy to be around and never met a stranger. These people were mentors, to the group of people around them,all you had to do was be there. Well enough for now from me,anybody else out there.Tell your stories about K&L and the golden HOT ROD era. Jack
I worked at the warehouse in the mid-80's in sales. Worked with Ron every day. At that time along with the automotive performance parts, they also sold motorcycle parts, and the B & G stuff. B&G had their own sales guys (we were always making fun of them!) and motorcycle parts had their own sales guys. Met some great people there and got to go to SEMA a bunch of times. Good times!
I used to deal with them from '77 to the mid or late 80's. Great open houses with all the vendors and cars. I probably dealt with you guys. I always thought that K&L was the best place to deal with. Much better than un-Reliable or Comp or Bandimere.
Yea, I remember a few of those open houses. There were a couple that we had off site; one at the Merchandise Mart and one at the hotel off of I-25 with the gold dome (I don’t recall the name of the hotel). Haaha, I probably sold parts to you!
it's on display at Ron's parts supply warehouse in Denver. It's painted in the white with red flames Skyland Ford livery.
The streamliner was on our business cards back then. It used to sit in the parts warehouse off of 8th & Umatilla in Denver covered with dust. The warehouse guys would always bitch about it being in the way if they had to use the forklift to pull parts from the higher shelves. I probably walked by that thing 100's of times!
Just a personal observation....Years ago Bill Kenz regularly visited our Early Ford V8 club meetings. He was the guest speaker one evening and the whole evening he reminisced on the development of the streamliner. He explained that at one time they took all of the glass out of the "Odd Rod" thinking it would be faster, but it actually slowed it down. I also remember a garage seminar where Bill demonstrated Ford V8 carb tuning. I feel honored to have been able to meet this gentleman.
Found this in my stuff. Sorry for the first page last just learning how. Anyway My Uncle did some body work on this car way back. I wasn't sure the pics were on here or not.
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0 width=468 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Kenz & Leslie was one of Colorados best-known race teams. The pair had successes in many forms of racing, including land speed cars, Pikes Peak, and oval track racing. Ron Leslie was the member of the team that loved drag racing. He raced AA/Fuel Dragsters before building his first funny car. The dragsters, like the later funny cars, all were Ford powered. Kenz & Leslie had connections at the Ford Motor Company that allowed them to get the newest parts from the factory. The team used Logghe chassis and 427 SOHC Fords for power. The High Country Cougar was a seven-second car that frequently raced the "Assassination" cars of Roger Guzman for the right to be considered the best AA/FC from Colorado. (Photo by Leonard Maxwell courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag Race Memories; additional text from Bill Duke) I remembered them for their drag race cars.
i Remember when my dad would send me down off of Zuni to by parts for our cars...I remember these cards very well! Always loved going there cause I got to see thier cars! very cool thanks!!!
Can anyone help me out with the pinstripping on the driver side in front of the wheel, above the SCTA sticker..........it looks like half of a bird wing going through a circle? What is that? I cant make it out very well in the photos but i am very curious.
Wow ... I just stumbled onto this thread. Thanks for the pictures especially #1 as I was a Security Policeman @ Lowry AFB Dec '88 - Nov '91 and shortly after that became an Aurora Police officer.
The Jalopy Journal
