The entire story about George which includes where he went after his time at ARDUN Mechanical which was not first to Sikorsky but to a plant in Penn has been published in the Bonniville Racing News he was interviewed by Bill Hodinott who has written a number of very interesting storys for the BRN. Bill offered the story to a number of publication such as Hot Rod,and also Rod and Custom and a few others but not one of those mags was interested in publishing the story about the ARDUN history and George's involvement. At the time we still had someone living who was involved in such a historic design and only the Bonniville Racing News would publish the story. Even the late Wally Parks from the NHRA sent a letter of thanks to Bill Hodinott for doing the story Wally wrote in his letter a thanks from one of the oldest of the old timers. During one of my many visits with George he related to me that the entire ARDUN program died after a testing accident in which one of the very first ARDUN V-8 sixty engines was being raced in a midget race car. It seems the throttle stuck wide open causing a very bad accident which almost took the life of the driver. The aftermath of this testing accident the law suit and lack of insurance etc put an end to the ARDUN production and almost caused the complete shut down of the ARDUN Mechanical company. After that event Zora moved on to other things and George was out of a job. Zora did offer to give George the original ARDUN when he left but as George related to me he and his wife Rita were living in a small apartment in New York City at the time so he had no place to keep such a thing. Just think about that for a moment he would have been the owner of the first complete ARDUN test motor which they had running just two months after putting pencil to paper way back in 1947. That motor is belived to be the one owned by the founder of the Bean Bandits in California. A while back in the BRN that motor was being offered for sale I think the asking price was around $55,000 This motor is belived to be the one used in Zoras pre production 1949 J-2 Allard which he personally raced at Watkins Glen in 1949. That Allard which is still ARDUN powered and restored is located in CT today. Well I could go on and on about this stuff including the true story about certain cheap copies of prints but thats it for now. Sorry its taken me so long to add to this post but I find it difficult to find the time to do this stuff I would rather be banging gears in my Hot Rod making my ARDUN bark loudly during these great summer nights in stead of sitting in front of this computer LOL.
No,....... Please "ronnie s.g." tell us more about the "true story about certain cheap copies of the prints"(The ones that are signed and numbered by George),...... I would love to read about them,.... ( just let me know when you feel like I have given you enough rope !)
Wow such an angry person!! Heres a picture to help lighten up the mood. Heres the Kudasch couple congratulating the San Giovanni couple after our cross country journey From Conneticut to California and back. Over 6000 miles across America in a steel Deuce roadster powered by a Supercharged ARDUN. Georges design performed perfectly.
Thanx for contributing to this thread Ron. Your Ardun and Flathead knowledge is well appreciated, even by some of us on the other side of the pond. I for one would love to see more tech posts by your good self !! Hows thaqt digger coming along? Rat
The complete story about the origin, build-up detail and history of the ARDUN heads and many of the notable names who set records with them can be found in Bill Hoddinott's books of reprints of articles originally published in Bonneville Racing News. ARDUNS at BONNEVILLE includes extensive interviews with Clem TeBow and Don Clark, the first to set Bonneville records with the ARDUN conversion. There are in-depth interviews with eleven ARDUN racers, some still actively campaigning original ARDUN heads. Bill's other book ARDUN TECHNICAL, details the build-up of an ARDUN-equipped engine, including information on some of the alternative components and techniques available, depending upon the intended use/output of the engine. Included in this book are interviews of Zora Arkus-Duntov, after whom the heads are named and George Kudasch, the engineer responsible for the design detail, which has been called, "the most beautiful hot rod engine, ever." This is the only complete, first-person detailing of the story of the birth of the ARDUN ever published. Also interviewed are Ron San Giovanni and **** Blaine, each owners of ARDUN equipped duece roadsters that have been driven coast-to-coast. Bill himself has a blown and injected ARDUN-powered duece roadster which he runs in East Coast Timing ***ociation meets. He offers the books for $34.95 each, post-paid to the lower 48 U.S. states. Contact him at ardunbill@webtv.net. -Gary-
Gary Thanks for helping inform everyone about what Bill has published his Book has a wealth of information that will help anyone interested in the ARDUN. Rat my Ch***is Research dragster restoration is completed heres a picture of my latest project my land speed Lakester. My test motor in the lakester will be a 671 blown and injected 258 cubic inch flathead. The width of the body will allow me in the future to run an ARDUN and since theres so many cl*** options I have also started to gather up four cylinder motors both A and B blocks. Not sure if and when I will change the type of engine but I will keep looking for parts as I go along. Ron
Yeah,..... well,.... sorry about that,... But it kinda' gets me a little worked up when a less then truthful opportunists "ronnie-come-lately" tries to revise history and his own involvement with it,... for his own gain and the ability to pound his chest as the best friend of a man he or the entire Hot Rod world would have NEVER known of if Clyde Hensley hadn't been on his toes. You see ronnie never met George until after the Rodders Journal article came out in Issue #25,..... Clyde was involved up to his eyeballs with George way before that,.... And I was following it very closely,.... The ONLY prints that George had at that time were the COPIES!,... And excuse me if it gets me upset when the honesty or integrity or myself or a good friend is called into question, especially by someone that seems not to remember the entire truth. It was only because of Clyde Hensley the world got to know who George Kudasch was, And what contributions he made to Hot Rod history,... Clyde was in possession of the only blueprint that George had of the famous Ardun conversion. As Clyde told me, “That I would call him out the clear blue and talk about a project that he did over 55 years ago,... he was so surprised and dumbfounded that he wanted me to have the original”, That blueprint was loaned to Jay Fitzhugh to be copied for the article in The Rodders Journal #25. Jay made Clyde 3 additional copies of the original, two of them were returned to George, Clyde still has his copy. The original was sold on Ebay by Clyde and the money hand delivered and split with George. Clyde came up with the idea to make smaller copies, limit them to 100 copies, reverse them (white instead of blue) and make them half size so you could actually frame them and hang them on a wall and become partners with George.( the originals were 60"X42") George was all for the idea and had Clyde bring the 100 1/2 scale blueprints to him to sign and number. The only Ardun blueprints (The copies) that George had were hand delivered to George when Clyde went to George's house at 53 hilltop circle, ****ord Connecticut. George loaned all of this art work to Clyde at that time to copy and sell,... During this time Clyde was still a Product Expert for General Motors in the archives that was a part of GM photographic (A position Clyde held until because of budget cuts, the department was one of the first to be decimated) and had all of the artwork photographed by GM's photo department and he still has all of the prints and negatives of the art. Clyde discovered George while studying the Zora Duntov collection that was sold to GM by Zora's widow Elfie, it all started when Clyde discovered a 1948 artwork picture postcard of Zora on a race track with a blown engine and a dog running along side of the race car with a piston and rod in it's mouth. George said that was the only time he had ever gone to a race track. The postcard said “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 1948” on the art side and it was sent to Zora in 1993 by George, it was written in Russian but it had a rubber stamp of George's name, address and phone number in English,... So Clyde picked up the phone and dialed the number, George answered and asked who he was , so he explained how he found the postcard in the Zora collection and that he wondered what his connection with Zora was, (he did not know that Zora had died in 1996) he told Clyde that Zora dated his sister in Russia and that him and Zora went to the same mechanical engineering school in Berlin Germany before the war (WWII) and that both he and Zora were Russian Jews but Zora got to come to the USA before the war and George and Rita came after the war. George was forced to work for Messerschmidt aviation because of his engineering background. When George came to the USA after WWII the only person that he knew here was Zora, And George could not speak English so the first job George got was from Zora, he told Clyde that Zora brought a empty Ford flathead V-8 block to him and explained what he wanted and George took it from there. He also told Clyde that Zora had an engineer from Chrysler come and watch George design the cylinder heads, this was in 1947 and the first "Hemi" that Chrysler came out with was in 1951, George did not speak English and did not know the mans name. Chrysler has nothing hemi related before that. George was a very brilliant man. When Clyde sold the original blueprint he told the buyer that he would not openly sell full size copies of it (and this was with Georges blessing), but that he was selling the 1/2 scale prints and he had George sign one to him. Clyde also has his personal copy from George. If someone wants to make copies and sell them, no one can stop them , but to say that what George hand numbered and signed are cheap reprints is going a little to far! Is this person jealous of Clyde for giving George the recognition he deserved in his lifetime? Does he think that the copies that Clyde gave to George are the real thing? Would he like to see another one?? Maybe he would like to know how to prove that the three copies are indeed copies,.... and there is only one original????? ( and BTW, He don't have it !) The bottom line is, because Clyde Hensley was in the right place at the right time he got to meet a very interesting and talented man and became friends with him. He also got him the recognition he deserved in his lifetime! Oh and by the way he paid George and Rita over $4,000.00 in their lifetime,... money that George was Glad to have!! Can anybody else say that!!! Clyde is selling the remaining 1/2 scale blueprints signed by the man himself on “The Bay” and there are about 12 left, the last one sold will be the number 91, that was George's age when he p***ed. These are the facts as told to Clyde by George, but due to his advanced age George was getting some stories confused, the most confusing is the one where he told someone that he donated the original blueprint to GM archives, think about it a Ford head design to GM. GM was NOT interested in anything Zora did before GM hired him in 1953 (Clyde tried to explain the connection, but GM didn't care,... only what he did during his time with GM was wanted for the archive ) , Clyde explained that to him and he said he wanted Clyde to have the original anyway because He was the only person alive besides him that knew he did that job for Zora. Clyde was also able to photocopy Zora's original photo s****book ***led Early hot rods. He told George that he was going to make him famous! George laughed and said that "what I did 55 years ago was of no consequence" and that it was some obscure job that he did a long time ago. Clyde told him this was going to change and that history would be corrected. He was totally oblivious to the huge effect he had on Hot Rodding, he told Clyde that his next job was with Sikorsky helicopters designing the rotor blade hydraulics from 1948 till he retired in the early 1980s. This is the true story, (I don't have any reason to lie about this, there is nothing for me to gain,.. other than to set the record straight),..... I may have left out a few details like one of George's “new found Ardun Poser buddies” that once the story came out (thanks to Clyde) took it upon him self to tell everybody how Clyde had stolen the blueprint from GM and sold it to keep all of the money and how he was going to get Clyde fired from his job, or how after George died he called and left threatening messages on Clydes answering machine about how he owed Rita money and how he need to do the right thing and pay up, when he or Rita didn't understand the payment plan Clyde had with George, (“keep all the money until it gets to $400.00 then send it to me” so he only mailed it 2-3 times a year. Clyde ignored this person and will continue to ignore him (but personally,... I will be watching his posts), as he was an opportunist and only wanted his photo taken with George and his Ardun powered Deuce, and trying to become somebody in his life that he is not. Bottom line,.....If Clyde didn't know about Hot Rod history and do his homework Nobody would have ever known about George or his story, And that Friends, Would have been a real tragedy!
Having been involved with running the Ardun powered Original Golden Rod 990 Streamliner at Bonneville in the 70's and 80's, details of who really did the design work is very precious to me.
I have been watching this post for some time now, but the time has come for me to say something. I don’t like it when someone bashes my husband and doesn’t know what they are talking about. And it's also second hand information no less. Yes, Jay Fitzhugh told Ron about George Kudasch, Jay called Ron to tell him about the Rodder’s Journal article long before it was completed. So you see, we knew George before the article came out. And it was through a friend at the post office that we got George’s address and sent him a letter asking for permission to meet him. George left a message on our machine and was very happy that we contacted him. When the weather got warmer we drove to ****ord to meet George and Rita in our Ardun powered Roadster. I brought over a fruit basket to thank them for their time, because I figured they were private people and didn’t want to be bothered after our first meeting...well, I was wrong. We sat in their beautiful living room and George told us about his life and how he came to know Zora Arkus Duntov. George was happy to know that Ron and I met Zora and Elfie in 1990 at Watkins Glen. We both were fascinated with this elderly couple who were so much in love, and have been through so much during the war. Ron wanted to know about the Ardun Engine Co. and George remembered almost everything. We did not write anything down, we are not going to write a book, we just wanted to meet these two people who were connected to us by an engine in our car. A few weeks later we invited George and Rita to our house, but Rita was not feeling well, so George made the 20 mile trip by himself. While he was at our house, he took many pictures, and I took pictures of Ron and George (with George’s camera) of the two of them taking a ride in our roadster. The next week he sent us copies, along with a picture of the “Christmas Post Card.” I really resent being called “new found Ardun Poser Buddies”....if we were in it for the fame and fortune, we would have published something in our local newspaper or on the HAMB a long time ago. Ron is a very proud and HONEST man. And he is definitely not an opportunist (as you stated). It was after people started talking trash and publishing a personal picture of ours of George that things got out of hand. Ron did help Rita get money that was due her for the sale of blueprints on ebay. That is no lie. Clyde was “supposed” to put the blueprint on display at the GM Archives Museum. George did not know that Clyde was selling it on ebay, until Ron informed George of that fact. AND- I know for a fact that Ron did not threaten Clyde at all. He simply asked him to do the right thing. Yeah, that’s the sign of an opportunist.....NOT. Funny, after Ron contacted Clyde, Rita finally received some money I am posting this from work. Ron does not know that I am doing this, so don’t think he is standing over my shoulder telling me what to write. In ending I would like to thank Clyde Hensley for one thing: If not for him, we would never have known George and Rita Kudasch....
BULL ! First of all,... if you have been watching this post as you say, you should have known that Texas******** posted the picture in post #5,.. "HONEST Ron" posted the negative comment about the signed and numbered prints in post #15 and I didn't respond until post #18 !,....... Here is what I posted in #18 My old pal Clyde, ( the one that has the E.J. Potter "****** Mary" bike) is not only the guy that has them and sells them,... (Clyde actually was the one that found George, George was amazed that anybody knew about those old cylinder heads), some of the proceeds of the print sales went to George, and then Rita until her death,.... Call Clyde (734) 658-1052 or email him at clydescooltoys@aol.com. In fact Clyde had the actual original blue print, (along with two raw bronze castings of rocker towers) and that is where the Velom copy's came from. George studied with Duntov,.. when George first came to this country, Duntov gave him this as fill in job until he could find something permanent,.... he quickly got a job designing the controls for sikorsky helicopters Not exactly an attack (does anybody else see this as a attack ?),..... the attack came from HONEST Ron in post #19 when he called me a lier Heres what HONEST Ron wrote in responce ,...... First I would like to correct some incorrect information form a previous post. The full size ARDUN head casting BLUE print which George is shown signing in that colored photo which by the way was taken by me is not copied form that cheap less than half size black and white copy being sold on Ebay. Also besides the full size Head casting print I also have the full size BLUE print of the entire valve train as originally designed by George Kudash in 1947 the TWO blueprints are form the actual print veloms which Geroge was involved with from his time working at the ARDUN mechanical company in New York so long ago. If anyone is interested in the two full size BLUE Blue prints there are a few sets still avalible. You can contact me at Ronnieroadster@aol.com Second,...... Read what I wrote !,... GM didn't want it !, they didn't care about anything Zora did before his involvement with GM, they don't care about Ford stuff or early Hot Rods. Third,........ If what you say is true, about Clyde selling the original print on ebay and George knowing nothing about it (which proves you and Ron don't have it !,... so much for HONEST Ron!). why would George agree to number and sign the 1/2 scale copies when Clyde hand delivered the money to George, And loan Clyde ALL his artwork? And there is a lot more,...........(if you like I can get really detailed) Ron threw the first punch on this thread (and it was BULL!),.... It really is a shame because until then I really respected him and his Hot Rod activity, He has enough accomplishments to his own credit to be proud of,..... with out fabricating untruths with "wordsmithing" And trying to discredit Clyde, and call me a lier (which I take offense to) Last issue for now,...... you said "Funny, after Ron contacted Clyde, Rita finally received some money" ,..... yes this is true, and it was per Clyde & Georges agreed amount of $400.00,... when it reached that amount, As he always did.
One more thing,..... I wasn't going to say anything about this yet,.... but I am tired of Clyde's or my integrity being brought into question,.... The reason Clyde never did, or never will sell copies of the full size prints (which he is perfectly capable of doing) is because when Clyde and George talked about selling the originals on ebay they agreed it would be wrong to sell copies in full scale,..... If you knew George, you would know he was a man of integrity and a deep commitment of what was right and wrong,.. He and Clyde thought it would be wrong to sell prints in full scale to anybody else then the buyer of the original prints, to honor the uniqueness of the original. Clyde and George were dedicated to this. and Clyde has kept his word. "HONEST Ron" did indeed get a copy of the full scale prints from George (yes a copy NOT the original as was implied in a earlier post) I was just curious when exactly did George give "HONEST Ron" the permission to re-copy them in full scale and sell them? I can't believe George would have changed his mind on on this agreement,.... Did I mention George was a man of INTEGRITY ? One last question for "HONEST Ron",... How many sets do you have left, and what do they sell for ? maybe you can m*** produce them and offer a HAMB discount ? In case you missed it, here's HONEST Ron's sales pitch from post #19 "If anyone is interested in the two full size BLUE Blue prints there are a few sets still avalible. You can contact me at Ronnieroadster@aol.com" Ronnie,.... you should have never opened this can of worms on post #15,.... and by the way,..... the can ain't half empty yet.
Well, let me add a few corrections and comments of my own as to who is a "poser" and who is an "opportunist" regarding the discovery and befriending of George and Rita Kudasch: It is correct that when Clyde Hensley was working for GM Archives, he discovered a hand-drawn greeting card which had been sent to Zora Arkus-Duntov by George Kudasch. George had worked for Zora at Ardun Mechanical Corp. in the 1940's, when the ARDUN cylinder heads were created. Clyde contacted George who, until that time, had been completely unaware of the subsequent history of the ARDUN overhead valve conversion heads after the company went bankrupt in 1948. George appreciated that someone would be interested in the obscure (to him) work he had done so many years previous. He gave Clyde a blueprint and other items that he still had in his personal files and a pair of bronze, prototype rocker arm supports that he had used as paperweights through the rest of his career. When Jerry Burton was writing his biography of Zora, published in 2002, he obtained information and artwork from the Zora Arkus-Duntov Collection at GM Archives, including a partial view of the cylinder head detail and the cover of the Ardun sales brochure. Presumably, these came to the collection by way of Clyde. Burton credits the Collection, not Clyde. When Jay Fitzhugh was doing research for his ARDUN article for The Rodders Journal, which ultimately appeared in the Spring 2004 volume #25, he contacted the GM Archives (possibly on the advice of HARMS WAY), which led to Clyde, which led to George. Jay quoted George extensively in his article and Clyde made a blueprint available to Jay. The print is included as a two-page color photo in the article. Long before any of this, the Spring 1999 volume #11 of The Rodder's Journal carried a 16 page article on Ron SanGiovanni and his ARDUN equipped duece roadster and his wife Laura and her duece coupe. When Jay Fitzhugh learned that George lived in ****ord, Connecticut, only a short distance from the San Giovannis in Wallingford, he contacted Ron. The San Giovannis met with George and Rita and the couples soon became very close. Shortly after meeting the Kudasches, Ron informed Bill Hoddinott, a writer of articles for Bonneville Racing News and fellow ARDUN enthusiast. Bill interviewed George for a series of articles which appeared in Issues #118 thru #121 of BRN in 2004. Some time after the #25 Rodders Journal was out, Clyde put all of the items received from George up for sale on eBay. Several people who had come to know the Kudasches contacted Clyde, inquiring how he had come into possesion of them, believing that they had been donated to the GM Archives. Clyde cancelled the initial auction listing. Clyde said that George had given the items to him personally and that the GM Archives weren't interested in them. He also said that it was his intention to give half of the auction proceeds to George as a surprise gift. When informed that the items were being sold, George said he did not wish for there to be any controversy, he had given the items with no restrictions, as he was happy that anybody was interested in them. Clyde re-listed the items on eBay with a $3000 reserve, where they sold. As a bidder, I was not informed that any additional full-sized, nor half-sized copies existed or would be sold. Technical Note: The blueprint of the cylinder head was described as "the original" and possibly as the "original drawing". A blueprint is not an "original", it is a copy of a drawing. An engineering drawing would have been made using pencil on drafing paper then, possibly, "inked" with drafting pens and India Ink to improve the permanence and contrast. A "print" is made by placing the drawing over a piece of treated paper and exposing it to a strong light, which penetrates the relatively transparent drafting paper. In the "old days", the paper turned dark blue when developed, except for where the light was blocked by the dark lines of the drawing; these remained white. More modern papers can be obtained which produce prints with blue or black lines on a white background. It is also possible to make a copy of a drawing or a print on mylar or paper which is transparent enough to be suitable for use to make additional prints from. This is what the "vellum" was that HARMS WAY referes to. To my knowledge, none of the "original drawings" for the ARDUN exist anymore. There are several prints of various description and vintage in circulation. Only a small number remain from 60 years ago, but it is missleading to refer to them as "original." Clyde had 100 one-half sized, black-on-white copies produced, which he had George sign and number. The proposition, as contained in the eBay auction ads, was that he would give George half of the proceeds from these sales. Several months after the sale of the lot including the full-sized print and other articles and after Clyde had sold several of the half-sized copies, George had not received any money from Clyde. Ron San Giovanni sent several emails to Clyde, with no reply. I supplied Ron with Clyde's address and telephone number, so he could try to contact him that way. George found a different print in his files, this one showing the rocker arm detail. Ron San Giovanni had a small number of full-sized, white-on-blue prints made of it and also of the cylinder head detail drawing made from a vellum made from the print which had been given to Clyde. He had George sign and date them "March 3, 2005." Ron took the photo shown (without attribution) in post #5 of this thread to record the event. One pair of signed, full-sized prints was put up for sale on eBay and brought $1000. Ron gave this money to George around March 15, 2005 to partially make up for the money that George had not gotten from Clyde. I visited George and Rita at their home in June of 2005. It was obvious that George had come to regard Ron as the son he never had. Rita expressed to me privately how much good it had done for George to have received interest and friendship from so many that had appreciated his involvement with the ARDUN. When George was hospitalized as result of a stroke in March of 2008, Ron visited him on the night of his death. Though it was painful to see his friend, who had been so lively, alert and vital, even at the age of 91, suffering in semi-consciousness, Ron held his hand and told him that he had come to see him. Though he couldn't speak, it became clear that he was comforted by the knowledge. Ron gave a eulogy at the funeral and was thanked by many, who were surprised to learn of the portion of George's life that had brought this young man into such a close relationship. I wrote an obituary, which I sent to numerous rodding. automotive and engineering publications. I asked for and received permission from Ron to include the photo he had taken of George signing his blueprints. All of the publications that ran it included a photocredit to Ron. A few months later, after the obituary had been published in several rodding magazines, Clyde again had the half-sized copies for sale on eBay, but from the item description, it was obvious that he did not know that George had p***ed. I emailed Clyde a copy of the obit. Clyde claimed to have "forgotten" what his agreement was for splitting the proceeds, when confronted about his obligation to send payments to Rita. Clyde finally did make some payments, as confirmed by Ron, but to claim that he was the benevolent partner, looking out for George or Rita's best interests is disingenuous, at best. Rita p***ed away just a few months ago. I guess this leaves Clyde off the hook. Any reputable antiques dealer knows the ethics of dealing with persons owning materials of little obvious value, but great collector value. Any reputable antiques dealer also does scrupulous research into the items he is selling, in order not to make inaccurate statements and is careful not to make speculative claims about them. A reputable archivist would never profit "on the side" from items obtained through the special cir***stances of their employment. Clyde does not, did not, but did; as regards the above three issues. Now, who's the poser and opportunist?
umm... wow... you guys are p***ionate. My guess... all folks involved are pretty good folks that just haven't taken the time to see this deal from the other's perspective. It's just an old hot rod part.
They aren't arguing about the part, they're arguing about the people. Parts are solid, without emotion. But they do cause it. If there ever was a part to be p***ionate about, it sure is Ardun heads.
Im often amazed how a few people have done things without knowing the full extent of their contributions while others have to flaunt it every single chance they get and make sure everyone see them. Im not talking about this post, but people in general and the few here on this board. I sure wish I could have met George Kudasch who by the sound of it, was a lot like my grandfather( a machinist as NASA) that worked on the proto-type space shuttle. Years after he retired a few people pulled him out of retirement to machine parts for jet engines. I used to go into work with him and watch them test engines in a huge wind tunnel. He never talked about it outside of work and after work made wooden chairs and tables then gave them to friends and people that really wanted them. So sad that times have changed. -Jason
Wow ! and this is only his second post, both of them are on this thread with no introduction !,....... what a HAMBER you'll be ! The answers,.... (drum roll please) 1. Your right, Clyde discovered the story about George and because of this Hot Rod history was corrected. 2. Your right, George gave the print and castings to Clyde, no strings attached. 3. Your right, these things came from the G.M. archives, from the items that they bought from Zora's widow Elfie, Clyde takes no credit for that other than to recognize and catalog the items. 4. Hmmmmm not so much, I gave them Clyde's direct contact information, like I did on this thread,... I called Clyde and told him to expect a call, and Yes your right, Clyde made the blueprint available to Rodders Journal. 5.Your right,... both cars blew me away! I think they are both top end examples of traditional Hot Rodding, Ron and his wife deserves credit for having a true eye for capturing the feel of tradition Hot Rods,... love the roadster,.. but the 5/W is just killer ! 6. This seems logical,..... 7. Your right,.... I think it was fitting that George got the recognition that he deserved,... 8. I don't know,... I will be glad to ask Clyde about this and respond later,.. however I don't recall the original auction canceled,... but you could be right. but like you posted in your 2nd item, George gave them to Clyde. 9. Your right again (sort of),.... Before Clyde even listed the prints I had talked with him about them,... I suggested they be loaned on a permanent basis to the NHRA Museum, He told me at that point he had already talked with George about it, and thats when they decided not to offer full size copies. 10. Your right. 11. As part of the auction the buyer received a set of the half scale prints, signed and numbered by George. 12.Technical point taken,.... however I believe they were referred to as the original blueprints, not the original drawings. 13. Your right,.. and Clyde did,... Clyde gave the cash in a envelope from the auction to George in person when he had George sign and number the half scale prints. George was grateful for the money. 14. This is just plain untrue !,..... Clyde hand delivered the money to George at his home the same time George signed and numbered the the half scale prints. Clyde was in contact with George,... they had a deal and Ronnie wasn't a part of it!, but he took it upon himself to stick his nose in where it doesn't belong !,.... as per Georges request Clyde sent him money when it reached $400.00,.... and the auctions were spaced out and not overlapping, This all happened 6 years ago and Clyde has yet to sell all 100. This was all between Clyde and George, who had given Clyde the print in the first place,.... If he was the scoundrelly that he is being painted to be, he didn't have to give anything to George,.... ( the phone calls and emails kind of fly in the face of what Ronnies wife posted) 15. Very possible and in fact probable,... I have never seen the print of the rocker arm detail. 16. It was nice he gave George that money ( If in fact he did), the rest is just BULL !,... Clyde gave George and then Rita every cent he promised them ! 17. That's kind of funny because George told Clyde that they were being smothered by some people that were interested in them only for something he designed years ago,.... the attention and recognition was nice but somewhat overwhelming. 18. Ron must have cared deeply for George, I was aware of him speaking at the funeral. 19.Actually I read about it in Rod & Custom or Street Rodder and called Clyde,.... the obits (which I believe were attributed to Ron S.G.) was the first I had known of Georges p***ing,... Clyde asked me "Where have you been? George p***ed a while ago" 20. This is just BULL again !,... How would Ron or You know anything about Clyde's and Georges agreement? George was so secretive about his business dealings, he didn't even let Rita know about most of it. Clyde paid her as per his and George's agreement,.... the half scale prints originally sold for over a hundred dollars,... and continued to sell for less and less,... one at a time, couple this with "send it when you have $400.00" and it took longer to reach that amount,..... 21. How much does Ron sell the full scale prints for? and again I would like to know when George gave him permission to go against his own word about not selling full scale prints,..... where do I send the check to ?, I might like to have a set,.... If I can afford it. 22. Once again Clyde paid George and Rita every cent he promised them, even though if he wanted to, he wouldn't have had to. Maybe you should call GM archives and ask for information about Hot Rod parts, After Market items, or parts designed for other auto manufactures from other engineers that have worked for them including Zora,.... They don't care about that stuff,....period!, I guess Clyde should have never have followed up on this, then the Hot Rod world would still be oblivious to George and his brilliant mind, Zora would still be credited with the design,.. and this thread would not exist.
When George came to the USA after WWII the only person that he knew here was Zora, And George could not speak English so the first job George got was from Zora, he told Clyde that Zora brought a empty Ford flathead V-8 block to him and explained what he wanted and George took it from there. He also told Clyde that Zora had an engineer from Chrysler come and watch George design the cylinder heads, this was in 1947 and the first "Hemi" that Chrysler came out with was in 1951, George did not speak English and did not know the mans name. Chrysler has nothing hemi related before that. George was a very brilliant man.
I wasn't going to reply to this but here goes, I've never met either party involved in these dealings. Early on when this post started I contacted Clyde about purchasing a copy of the blueprint. I asked 3 times if it was an actual 'blue' blueprint or a white copy with no answer given & from the first email he said & I quote I have full size and 1/2 size blue prints available, the 1/2 scale prints are signed and numbered and I have about 12 left, which one are you interested in?? Clyde So to say that full size copies were never to be offered - doesn't this contradict that??? I'm also a bit dubious about the fact that Clyde isn't defending himself here, Harms Way who is obviously a friend is also doing all the defending. If I was being slandered on a public forum I'd certainly be sticking up for myself - wouldn't you??? Again thanks to Clyde for finding George, but thats all
I agree. I don't know who's correct and who's not but this seems to have turned in to a "I knew him better than you did" battle.
sounds like the pot calling the kettle black to me... clyde cant speak for himself so you need to **** your nose in?
Ill stay out of the argument here, sounds like a case of too many Chiefs - but i will say this : If it wasnt for Ron, both Flatoz and I would'nt have realised our dreams of running our blown Flatheads on the other side of the world.....SUCCESSFULLY. As far as Im concerned ROn is a stand up guy who knows and loves his Flatheads with a p***ion. A guy I'd LOVE to meet when I get over there again. But don't take my word for it, just ask Flatoz about him. Mt 2 Dineros Rat
I am really tired of this thread,... yes I was defending Clyde, and I was the second person in the world to know about George Kudasch and his involvement with the ARDUN,.. I have followed it very closely sence. Clyde is not a member of the HAMB, so I took it upon myself to answer the question that started this thread about the prints available on ebay. After that they were refered to as "cheap copies",.... there was nothing confrontational whatsoever in my first post,.... the very next post called me a liar,.... I made a tongue in cheek comment (please see the smiley face) and let it go,.... Ron came back in post #32 and called the copies that George hand signed and numbered "cheap copies" again, and offered the "true story of them". I know the entire story (and there is plenty more, but I won't post it) as I said before I respect and admire Ron's individual accomplishments and his cars stopped me dead in my tracks when I seen them. As far as the "pot calling the kettle black",... I don't see it that way,... I have been involved with the development of this story sense the beginning, (Clyde called me the same day he found out about it). I answered the first question and it was my integrity that was put under fire. As it progressed I found myself defending not only myself but also a very good friend of 40 years,.. Defending a friend,.... not unlike Ron's friends (rat bastad, poklmn, five-windo-girl and ron95GT) defended him on this thread. You can all draw your own conclusions,... like I said before I have nothing to gain either way,.... however I do take it seriously when i am called a liar and a friends integrity is called into question. I think what Ryan said is correct,... " umm... wow... you guys are p***ionate. My guess... all folks involved are pretty good folks that just haven't taken the time to see this deal from the other's perspective. It's just an old hot rod part." So there you are,..... have at it. I am done with this thread.
Since Clyde is your friend Mr. Harm's Way......Maybe you should get him to join the HAMB.....then you could let him defend himself......after all.....from what you said earlier the man has an email account. I guess what it comes down to is facts are facts. Yes, people can make their own conclusion....But either you know what the truth is or don't. Some of us do and some of us don't. I am just glad I do....
FormerFormer Chrysler engineer Pete Hagenbuch wrote: The question of who invented the hemispherical combustion chamber is rather a silly way to waste time. Chrysler didn't, and never claimed otherwise. But Zora Arkus-Duntov didn't either, and I don't believe he ever claimed to. Mr.George Kudasch R.I.P.- I think Chrysler did know - Hence A silly way to waste time!
Buddy. Check with Ardun Bill <TABLE id=contactInfo><TBODY><TR><TD cl***=iData _no_widget="true">ardunbill@cox.net </TD></TR></TBODY><TBODY><TR><TD cl***=line_sepa></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>He should have what you want as long as you want copys.
The Jalopy Journal
