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CREATIVE MOTION CONCEPTS IN FLORIDA IS LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD OLD RACE
CARS
Over the past few years, a move has been under way to preserve the heritage
of motorsports around the USA. Many clubs and organizations have been formed
to keep the history of racing alive and many old race cars, motorcycles, boats
etc. have been brought back to life.
Many individuals have taken it upon themselves to restore vintage race cars
on their own and there are now thousands of great restored cars or replicas of
racers from days past. But what if you have a rusty hulk of an old racer
laying around and no real mechanical knowledge of how to bring it back to
life? Well, that's where a company like Creative Motion Concepts comes in.
Creative Motion Concepts is located north of Tampa, FL near Dade City and is
a complete automotive restoration business. CMC gained quite a bit of
notoriety a couple of years ago when they took on the project of restoring the
famed Green Mamba jet car after it was stolen and pretty well trashed by the
thieves.
Two individuals head up Creative Motion Concepts. Ted Kempgens is a master
fabricator and craftsman with an automotive degree from Northwood and over 35
years experience in building and restoring cars. Kempgens has built many
award-winning vehicles over the years.
Tom Bambard, who just recently moved to Florida to become President of CMC,
got his degree from the University of Michigan in marketing and film
production. A former racer himself, Bambard was also involved in the stunt
driving business and brings a wealth of marketing talent to Creative Motion
Concepts.
In recent months, CMC has turned out some impressive machines including an
incredible 1946 Belly Tank Streamliner car that was (and still is) one of a
kind.
Other projects being worked on in the CMC shops are a 1966 Pontiac GTO
Supercar, a rare 1957 Ford Del Rio station wagon, a replica of Fireball
Roberts' "Battle Bird" 1957 Ford Thunderbird, a second Fireball Roberts 1957
Ford Stock Car, and a 1966 Shelby Mustang GT 350.
Some other machines just starting to get attention are a Ford Anglia Gasser
drag racing car, a 1964 Volvo 544s and a 1985 Pontiac NASCAR Winston Cup car
that CMC found unfinished in a closed NASCAR team garage, but they will finish
the job.
The most interesting car being re-constructed in the CMC shops though is a
Modified stock car, originally built in 1967 and campaigned throughout Florida
by long-time driver and car builder Bob Luscomb of Orlando, FL.
The car being restored is one of the most innovative and well constructed
cars of its day. It was designed to run as both a “modified coupe” and a
“super modified” depending on the body configuration of the car. The car
was driven first by Luscomb then later by Dick Pratt and Joe Melnick. Over the
decades, the car became outdated and it disappeared into obscurity.
However, in the Fall of 2009, Ted Kempgens noticed an old race car chassis
in back of the shop of another famous racing name, Jamie Frankland, where it
had been left sitting for some time. Kempgens was at Frankland’s picking up
a rear-end housing when he spied the old frame and asked Jamie about it. “I
think it has some Willard Smith history, but I’m not sure” Jamie told
Kempgens. Later it was confirmed that the previously mentioned Joe Melnick had
indeed driven the car for long-time Tampa-area car owner Willard Smith.
Kempgens then made a deal with Frankland and a piece of racing history had
found a new home.
After bringing the car back to the CMC shops, Randy Alvarez, a local sprint
car racing legend in his own right and a walking encyclopedia of Central
Florida racing history heard the description of the old chassis and
immediately knew that this was no ordinary “old race car”. He excitedly
started asking questions and describing details of the car from memory. He
turned out to be dead on. Following up with some research into photo archives
including floridaracinghistory.com, it was concluded that this indeed was the
car in question.
The old Modified is being restored exactly as it was in 1967. It's a
painstaking job, but the final version will be well worth the work and the
wait. "We're not just going to stuff it back in a corner either," says
Kempgens. "We plan to take it to as many shows and vintage race meets as we
can," he says.
The Luscomb car has only whet the appetite of Kempgens and Bambard. "We are
definitely looking for more old race cars to restore, particularly Modifieds
and especially cars that raced here in Florida," Kempgens says. The biggest
problem is that so few old cars and chassis exist in the State and they are
difficult to find at best. "If anyone has or knows of an old race car, no
matter what condition it's in, we'd like the opportunity to check it out and
possibly bring it back to life," he continues.
"Up in the Northeast, there seem to be old Modifieds in the back of every
salvage yard and in many folks' front or back yards. Someday I'm going to take
a truck up there, locate a few of them and bring them back down here to get
reborn," says Kempgens.
You can contact Creative Motion Concepts at (352) 588-9621 or you can find
out more about CMC and see their projects including the ongoing Luscomb
Modified restoration by visiting their website at
www.creativemotionconcepts.com.
Thanks to people like Creative Motion Concepts, the history of racing will
never be lost.
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