Thought I would post this for the New England guys who knew him.On Sunday afternoon October 20th ,Ken passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer(the 3rd time)at the age of 77. To those who knew him he was a quiet guy who didn't say a whole lot but never lacked for a fast machine. I first met him around 1959 when a friend of mine and I stopped at his house to look at his 1st T roadster that was powered by a 58 Pontiac engine with factory fuel injection.It wasn't much to look at:black primer;no interior or floor save for a driver's seat mounted on angle iron brackets but it sure did run. He had just started his career at Raytheon where he was an instrument calibrator. He had inherited his desire for speed from his dad;Ken Sr., who at the time had a bullet nose Studebaker with a Cadillac V-8 with dual quads.The first "Sleeper" I ever saw. I next ran into him when he was buiding his next roadster that was to be known as,"Iced T" because of it's refrigerator white enamel paint job.This one was powered by a Latham supercharged 339 cu.in. Chevy tied to a T-10 4 speed and 50 Olds rear end. The engine had originally resided in a 58 Corvette and sported a set of Hedmann Hedders with huge square collector boxes on them.They didn't fit the T very well;hitting the frame rails so Ken had the idea of swapping them side to side and mounting them upside down and chroming them. They looked a little(lot)weird but it worked.Bear in mind this was 1960 and building a car on the cheap(without sacrificing safety) was the way to go. I pinstriped the car in trade for a dropped front axle with 40 Ford brakes that Ken had taken off the T and replaced with a chrome 37 Ford tube axle. The car was finished in 1961 and in November 1963 was featured in Hot Rod Magazine(my 1st stripe job to be so featured). Over the years Ken built many cars;mostly T roadsters with monster mills although he did stray once and bought a VW trike from Ed Roth.Even that wasn't satisfying so he installed a Porsche 911 motor. He moved to Florida and started an aerospace business with another friend(and high school classmate) of mine and kind of slowed down on the cars while building up the business. He lost his first wife to cancer many years ago and eventually re-married.After his initial bout with cancer it was discovered that he also needed a liver transplant.He almost died before a liver was found at the last minute. He was also an avid pilot as was his partner Phil.He held several licenses and even got to fly a P-51 Mustang in a simulated dogfight(a 60th birthday present from his wife Irma. We got together a couple of times;once in Michigan when he was here on business promoting a new hard coating for gears he had developed to Eaton,and another time in Massachusetts for the Ty-Rods show. We were supposed to be guests at the All Timers gearhead gathering this year but neither one of us made it.My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and Ken wound up in the hospital again. I spoke with him just a week before he died and he seemed in good spirits but tired. I think he knew then that we would not get together again. Sorry for the long winded speech but his death has affected me more than I at first realized.I am just realizing that mortality is an all too real situation. So I hereby raise a glass to my old friend Ken;whose favorite motto is painted on the side of my Safari wagon: " NOTHING is TOO much if it is PROPERLY OVERDONE!" Rest in peace my brother. Ray Smith aka Safariknut
Sorry to hear about your friend Ray. Sounds like a real interesting guy that had a full life. I wish I had met him. Rest in Peace Ken. " NOTHING is TOO much if it is PROPERLY OVERDONE!"
So sorry to hear about your loss. He sounded like a great guy and close friend whom we all would have enjoyed knowing.
Godspeed to your friend and family,as short as his life was it was full by the story you told. I would be proud as you are to have called a man like him friend. Sorry for your loss. Gary
The Jalopy Journal
