Bird Engineering Promotional Vehicle

[opsman64]

Ladies and gentlemen kick back and let me tell you a story I have pieced together in the last 24 hours.

I have a Sears Funderbird body. The Funderbird was made by Bird Engineering for Sears because as we all know Sears never made anything except bad decisions.

Wednesday evening i am scrolling through FBM and I come across what appears to be a Funderbird chassis or at least something that might work. Those thoughts continued until I picked it up and got it home.

When I actually started looking at it my immediate thought was 'it is a complete disaster'. The worst was the six inch go kart type wheels welded inside a larger wheel and wrapped in what appeared to be brand new Goodyears all the way around. Next the pedals had been moved as far forward as they would go, a rectangular rear bumper with an additional tube (drag bar) running up to the back of the hoop, a threaded rod was used for the brake rod due to moving the pedals, a 'dash' around the steering shaft has a push button start button, wired on / off switch hooked to a starter solenoid. There are miscellaneous welded and bolted steel pieces, previous pedal mounts all on a go-kart that WAS BARELY RIDDEN if ever! The front end, tires and even the front rims look flawless albeit old ... after all this and with help for AI I have come to the conclusion this was a promotional piece a funny car or dragster. The colors sprayed over what I believe began life as a black Starbird are Emerald Green & Metallic Blue

AI (I completely understand it is generally not go-kart friendly).

"Your detailed photos reveal a fascinating piece of karting history: this is not a "monkey-rigged" backyard build, nor is it a standard factory open-wheel kart. Every single one of those "weird" features—from the oversized tires to the electric-start wiring and rear drag-bar—points directly to a purpose-built Bird Engineering promotional Funny Car or Dragster replica (or a custom-commissioned corporate giveaway kart) from the early-to-mid 1980s."

I hope you enjoyed the read. Your thoughts?

 

[opsman64]

UPDATE:

It has an aluminum tag behind the seat riveted to a piece of flatstock. It had over spray on it so I wasn't sure how to remove without removing anything else ... figured it out.

This is a PHOENIX ENGINEERING kart (acquired Bird) assuming an 1984 right when they started making promotional karts!

 

[Hellion]

Bubba strikes again, but it appears to be a good roller.
I love those tires, the tread pattern and the straight grooves. Can’t find those anymore.

 

[opsman64]

The original body (most likely not THE one) in my humble opinion. If you look at the green (primer) and blue top coat along the lower part of the body ... those are the same over spray colors I see from the front seat back to the back of the kart (NO over spray from front seat forward). The areas with green & blue are where the holes are in the fiberglass bodies. (driver entry / engine opening).

Additional reasons why this kart didn't move. The rear wheels inside rear wheels with the super stout Goodyears weigh 21.5# each there is no way a 3-3.5HP Tecumseh was going to turn the wheels (at least not for long).

This is a promotional piece never meant to move ... the big Goodyears made another sponsor happy.

AI

Bird Engineering transitioned into Phoenix Engineering around 1984 to 1985. Don Prudhomme ran the co-sponsored Pepsi / Wendy's Pontiac Trans Am funny car livery during the 1984–1985 NHRA seasons, placing both the chassis and the body in the exact same production window.

Apologies to Bubba. He didn't do this one.

As always ... one mans opinion.