Johnson - Conger Car
JOHNSON, CONGER PLAN TO BUILD CAR THAT IS `JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENT”
The Ottawa Record, Ottawa High School, Page 2
Ottawa, Kansas, Friday, November 16, 1956
Living up to one of their life long ambitions, Dennis Conger and Frank Johnson, Ottawa high school seniors, began from scratch to build an automobile of their own design.
Dennis and Frank started by buying an ancient 1931 Ford from the local junk yard. After stripping the body and motor from the car, they hauled it to the auto mechanics department where they are now in the process of rebuilding it.
Dennis and Frank have obtained a 1937 60-horse V-8 engine which they plan to use as the power plant. The car will be low slung and have no front or rear fenders. By cutting the top from an old body they will make it an open air roadster.
The car will be minus fenders, running boards, bumpers, and front windshield. By using a radiator shell from a 1932 Ford and adapting bright chrome headlamps from a Model A the front end view will be greatly improved.
By using materials they can find locally, Dennis and Frank hope to keep the cost down to a minimum. The most difficult part will be in finding a radiator which will fit the Ford frame but at the same time will still have two hose outlets for the motor.
When they complete it next spring, they plan to paint it a shiny red and sell it to the highest bidder. When asked why they are building the car Dennis replied, “Every car I see is just about the same, so we are going to make one just a little different.”
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FOOTNOTE:
Was this `strange' automobile ever completed? Does anyone remember seeing it? Was it ever sold to the highest bidder? It is still around? Let's hear from anyone who remembers the unusual but unique Johnson/Conger 1957 automobile.Let us hear from Frank Johnson `the rest of the story' about this amazing automobile.