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'Dale' Carill Be Retailed as Kit, •lt; The controversial ‘/Dale”auto, which was once supposed to revolutionize the motor industry, is alive and well in a Hollywood museum —without an;engine. t And that’s the way it’s going to be sold, said the promoters who ,have taken over production of the three-wheeled / auto later known as the4 ‘Revette.”„ A Lincoln, Neb., manufacturer of kits for classic cars, Bill Smith, of Speedway Motors/wilj retail the kits for about $800. •.The auto was originally th promotion of Jerry Dean Michael, ah admitted transsexual who masqueraded as G. Elizabeth Carmichael to promotethe “Dale/!Bilking ChargedMichael’s 20th Century Motorcar Corp. first operated out of Encino, then moved to Dallas, Tex., where he;an other principals of the firm were chrged with conspiracy and grand theft earlierthisyear.Texas ‘ prosecutors contend Michael bilked investors in dealerships and indi-vidual buyers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.However, federal pro-secutors ruled tha a bail jumping charge which stemmed from a 1961 Los Angeles arrest for counterfeiting took precedence after Michael wasarrested in Miami, Fla., last month.Michael was convicted by a jury on that charge Wednesday. ;jActed as AgentThe body shell of the “Dale” went on display yesterday at Ihe Hollywood Motorama Museum, 700i Hollywood Blvd.. for a 30; day run. ./Dean Moon, of the Moon Equipment Co., Santa Fe Springs, manufacturer/, ofhigh-performance and racing car equipment who’has acted as local agent for the Nebraska firm, said he paid$7000 for the Dale” body mould “after it changed hands six times.”The original buyer, Moon claimed, paid the Internal Revenue Service only $300.Moon explained Smith told him to buy the car because “of its publicity value.”Plan 2 VersionsBut, he said, the “Dale” can be used as dune buggy, an enclosed motorcycle with only two wheels, a four-wheeled vehicle, a dragster racer or any one of a dozen other uses.The tires used by Michael were too wide “and created too much friction” Moon said, so he has installed narrower treads.There will be two versions, one with doors, windows and body equipment, said Moon. The other will be a “flip top” in which the top can be raised by jacks and no doors or windows will be needed.California State Corporation Commission investigators called the “Dale” nothing more than a threewheeled motorcycle with a lawnmower motor.”. . StudyMarketMoon said that is essentially correct, but the car is |t\:iupgraded very easily by using a motorcycle engine or Volkswagen motor. Michael claimed to have a contract for a “Norton, opposed two-cylinder engine” which Moon said is a mower-type motor.Moon said Smith is“look-ing at the father-son, build-it-in-the-garage, kit-type market” for this car.A kit contains essential components and parts from which a working model can E be built. fiMoon said the model on b display at the museum is I; essentially a prototype. jiBEDSPREADS VGRAND O!of on
Newspaper Details
Van Nuys Valley News
Van Nuys, California, US
Fri, May 30, 1975
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Allen C.
IN, USA 08 Oct 2016
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