Karlo Maalouf, Publisher

My enthusiasm for cars came from my fathers rent-a-car company in Las Vegas. I was lot lizard, picking up customers, washing and cleaning cars after the tourist had their way with a rent-a-car :) My first car was a stock 1965 VW bug. I changed it into a baja and proceeded to explore the vast desert of Las Vegas kicking up dust everywhere I could find. Once I got bored with the baja I changed it back to a purple street bug, it was “the” color in the late 80′s. My FZ750 during college was another exciting adventure into a really fast rockets. I sold it just in time before slide off my favorite mountain road to Virginia City near Reno. My first Kit was a Fiber Fab wide body Porsche Speedster. My passion for kit cars began. It was a perfect fit with my VW experience. I soon found out that I wanted to go faster. And now is the quest to find that car :)))

Cord Bauer, Editor

I grew up watching my dad restore bathtub Porsche’s (and a Myers Manx SR) in his spare time–back when they were still affordable. It seemed that the time spent working on the car was as rewarding as the finished product. I must have gotten that bug as I’m working on two project cars—a Mills Extreme Vehicles Sonic 7 with a Mazda DISI motor and an xO400 (xO = exocar) that will be powered by a Suzuki Hayabusa. Hopefully readers here will see the development and completion of these cars on the pages of this website.

Aside from my love of all things mechanical, I’ve been in the motorcycle and auto aftermarket for about twenty years, including co-founding ReadyLift Suspension Inc., creating the patented ReadyRamp bed extender system, and helping to design and build hundreds of parts for cars and bikes. I see Kit Speed as a forum to learn more, encourage others, and help share what I’ve learned along the way. I look forward to what’s next.

Bill Tracy, Author

I am an architect located in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. I enjoy seeing how things work and assembly time is generally an enjoyable time for me. Fabrication, not so much! My interest in motorsports / custom vehicles came when I was around 8 years old. Back in 1975 I went to the hydroplane races at Miami marine stadium. The roar of the v-12 engines as those boats flew past me was addictive. The sounds, the smell, the actual ability to feel the power of those machines is something special. In my early teens my father had a series of sports / exotic cars that included Jaguar, Porsche, Maserati, and Ferrari. Sneaking out with my brother in the Porsche as a 13 year old was a good time (although not recommended to my kids!). I have owned a few sports cars including an Alfa Romeo, a Ferrari, and a Ginetta. While each of them were very different, they all were very connected to the driver in terms of feedback. My current odyssey is the custom fabrication of a reverse trike motorcycle (2 wheels in the front, 1 in the rear) also sometimes referred to as a 2F1R or a tadpole style trike. The most well known of this type is the Campagna T-rex made in Canada. It is being fabricated by a talented builder in Kentucky. Join me in the discussion, refinement, and enjoyment of this build!

Tim King, Author

My Mom’s ‘need for speed’ combined with my Dad being an Air Force pilot, predestined my career path. At 8 yrs old, I was diagnosed with a red-green color vision deficiency prompting a transition from wanting to be a fighter pilot, to a racing driver. After that, I couldn’t read enough about sports cars and road racing. With an engineering degree and going to work for Ford Motor Company, I discovered life in the big city wasn’t for me. Subsequently, I entered a career with a local utility as an automotive fleet engineer. Personal projects have included transitioning from autocrossing to racing a TR-3 while going to college, and, doing the same with a Lotus Europa S2 in the ’70s. Obtaining a Private Pilot License, I purchased and flew a Spezio Sport Tuholer experimental aircraft in the ’80s while building and sorting a 427 Cobra replica. The Cobra became a Dodge Viper GTS coupe, while rebuilding another Europa without any rules limitations. A recent purchase of an Ariel Atom 3 gave me an opportunity to learn more about Nevada’s registration and emission requirements. Sharing my experience may be useful others.

Darrell Wilhelm, Author

I have been a car guy for life, and have always loved the unusual and the obscure. I got into kit cars after seeing a Meyers Manx with a hardtop, a tilt-cab Fiberfab Aztec GT, a rather authentic VW Bugatti T35 and a very nice Jaguar SS100 replica in the past couple decades, along with someone having a Blakely Bernardi within spitting distance of my house and having a friend with a restored Kellison X300GT. Lately I have gotten into Bradley GTs, neoclassics and Lotus-inspired cars. A Kokopelli Lotus 11 with full-race MGB mechanicals is a dream car of mine, as are a Hawk A.C. Ace with Datsun Z-car engine and a Royale Sabre Delahaye replica. Kit cars are a great way to have an unusual car and are quite customizable, and you have the pride of building it yourself along with standing out from others. Writing is a hobby of mine, and I’m happy and proud to join Karlo and his crew at KitSpeed.