The Minister of transportation has seen Rundles work with the Great Race cars and wanted to know if he could do the same for the Royal Family.Īlternators aren't the only part Rundle has modified to kick-start old cars. In 1999, Rundle got an unexpected call from the Royal Minister of Transportation for the Queen of England, asking for his services. He gives the race credit for getting his business off the ground while taking some credit himself for improving the performance of the cars.Ībout 15 of the approximately 100 cars that will park on Santa Fe Avenue Friday have received the Rundle touch.ĭuring the past couple of years, Rundle's name has spread through the movie-making business, and he has helped equip cars in such movies as "Devil in a Blue Dress" and "LA. It is nearly impossible to keep track of the race route and have to fix a broken car at the same time".Īffiliation with The Great Race, a household moniker for those interested in antique cars, has provided the marketing edge Rundle expected it might. The entrants will tell you that a reliable car makes a huge difference. In 1991, the product finally caught on with the Great Race crowd and since 1993, Rundle-equipped cars have won the race six times and his cars nearly always finish in the ten percent. But sales didn't start to roll for another couple of years, baffling Rundle, who thought, "What part do you not get?. It worked, solving the problem of premature power drain in the car, and the racer finished third his best finish ever. Using the same, persistent technique that led to the alternator invention, Rundle had a breakthrough in 1989 when a Seattle man involved in The Great Race agreed to give the newfangled invention a shot in the road run. "To me, this seems real obvious, but to most it's backwards, technology." "My alternator does that while allowing everything to stay original." "In most cases, modern technology and the changes that go with it are applied to old problems to make something old work," Rundle says. Using what he calls "backwards technology," Rundle invented the six-volt alternator as a solution to the common problem of the old-style six-volt generator-charging systems without compromising the originality of old engines, a key to antique aficionados such as the ones involved in The Great Race. At that time, Rundle made the alternator that now has Hollywood studios and even the British Royal family calling his downtown shop. In 1987, the mad search for a solution ended. The Clay Center native developed a fervor for fixing the power-shortage problem in his old truck, bugging local grease monkeys and tinkering on his own time after school. The gift has served him well in writing award-winning technical books. "I knew if I had a problem, so does everyone else," said Rundle, a burly man with a gift for describing complex mechanical functions to the layman. The owner of a 1951 model Chevrolet pickup in high school, Rundle had the same annoyance as many with antique vehicles - the six-volt generator in the truck wouldn't charge the battery when the motor was idling or moving the truck at slow speeds. He had an innovative product with a not-so-flashy name - the six-volt alternator - but potential customers were in unseen reaches of the world, not at his doorstep. It wasn't that long ago Rundle was caught in a classic business quagmire. The race began Sunday and should end June 30. The Great Race is a rally-type race where timing is essential and features more than 100 vintage, antique cars racing from Atlanta to Pasadena, Calif. And business, including and thanks in part to The History Channel Great Race that will rattle through Salina Friday, is good. The colorful downtown joint is representative of the forward-looking (or backward, depending on your perspective) work Rundle does. The front end of a canary-yellow '49 Chevrolet protruding from the face of his downtown shop gives you the first clue Randy Rundle operates with wiring a bit different from most.īut although nonconformity is sometimes frowned upon, Rundle's brand of mechanical eccentricity has helped him carve an antique-car niche as unique as his shop, Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts.
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