The fields at Hershey are lousy with go-karts and mini-bikes every year, but this one in particular caught my eye last fall, with its orange fiberglass body sculptured to look like the 1962 Corvair Monza SS concept car, complete with the turbine-look wheels and concave tail panel. It even had a rear-mounted engine for maximum Corvair-ness.
As the seller described it (and as we’ve discovered on vintagekarts.com), it was a Rupp Chevy Jr, which Rupp placed on its Dart Kart chassis and initially built just for auto show giveaways under the Monza Jr name. After a couple years, the name changed to Chevy Jr, and Rupp began selling them to the public, allowing many Chevrolet dealers to purchase Chevy Jrs for their own giveaway contests. Production continued through the early 1970s, and they all appeared to have been powered with Tecumseh 3-1/2 hp engines.
The seller of this particular Chevy Jr was asking $4,900 for it. I say somebody needs to make a version of the Chevy Jr just large enough to fit and propel a six-foot adult male for me to drive around the Hemmings offices.
(For more Chevy Jr photos, visit ruppbikes.com)
UPDATE: Coincidentally, Chevrolet this morning announced that it will show the Mi-Ray concept – heavily influenced by the Monza SS concept – at the Seoul Motor Show.