All Things Mechanical

Anyone who knew Jim Ellis, realized that he had a passion for all things mechanical. Maybe it grew from his training as a watchmaker. He had a contract to keep the clocks on the courthouse tower running in unison. For a few years, he drove around Frankfort in a tiny Italian automobile that could be entered only from the front. And he renovated a 1941 Taylor craft airplane that still flies today. Jim worked on it in a building near his home for 12 years. He flew it for a few years and sold it to Russ Kaspar of WILO Radio in 2005.

Among his many interests in things mechanical, Jim Ellis drove this tiny Isetta car around Frankfort. Here, in 1972, it carries a sign, ‘Don’t honk! I’m pedaling as fast as I can.” With a one-cylinder engine, it traveled up to 70 miles on a gallon of gas.