History Vintage "Cageless" Midget Picture Thread

Jan S, do you have any plans for the Alfa drum setup?

 

Looking for any info or photos of this midget. This car was owned by Sammy Packard and was raced in the New England area. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

Looks like it could be a Solar.

Do I not remember his cars being well turned out? Perhaps this was well past his ownership, if at all.

 

Miles Melius

 

Billy Johnson

 

Billy Wood 8X BMARA Champion

 

Dick Ritchie

 

Mel Cornett

 

Johnny Dietz 1949, Komppa V860

 

Hi, I'm new to the forum. A friend of mine has Ken Hickey's first Kurtis Kraft midget (chassis 135) which was a Ford V8-60. He wants to restore the car properly, but doesn't know which number and color the car was. All pics of Hickey's Kurtis Krafts are of the Offys. Any help or pics would be great.
Thanks,
Keith Radt

 

My father raced midgets in the Buffalo/Western New York/Niagara Frontier from 1949-1952. He was involved in midget auto racing in that area from 1946-1952. Any pics form that area during that time would be great. He drove for Vince and Ray Furschback(spelling?) , George Owens, and Ted Kessler among others. His primary cars were a cream and red #47 homebuilt V8-60, a white and blue #16 homebuilt rail V8-60, and a blue #52 homebuilt V8-60. I have a pic of my uncle driving the #47 at Buffalo Civic Stadium, and my Dad getting pushed off in the #52. I would like to find a pic of the #16 for him. He is in the book "Daredevils of the Frontier" by Keith Herbst.
Any pics or information regarding these cars, race programs, or any information would be appreciated. He has given me a tremendous love of the sport from this time period.
Thanks,
Keith Radt

 

Hickey liked the numbers 9, 19, 29 for his cars.

 

You probably have this pic but I posted it in case you don't.

Also, It seems that no one has posted about the demise, dissolution or absorption of The ARDC midget series into USAC back in March of 2018. https://ardcmidget.com/ I was very sad to learn of this. I would love to learn more about what happened. I rented a midget for two races in 2012 and I thought the racers and officials were a really great bunch of guys. They were very well organized, had good car counts and put on a great show.

 

Just bought my first midget, and old Kurtis that came from somewhere around Anderson, Ind. Must have raced until the late 60's or early 70's. Anyone recognize this car? Any info would be appreciated.

 

Sorry I can't be of much help with the identity of the car. All my old time midget buddies are now running the feature at the golden speedway.

You might see if you can find Jack Calabrese in Michigan. He might have some knowledge of the car.

For what it's worth, Deco was Dick Etchison who was a driver, mechanic, and fabricator. He originated one of the earliest wheel weight checking devices. Speedway Motors bought Deco and the weight checkers are still cataloged by them.

 

Do you have the chassis number info or is there a stamping on the car ? That would be a great start. Have fun.

 

No, still looking. Starting a gentle grit blast to check for cracks (and a number). I understand that the Kurtis Kraft midgets built in Indianapolis by Johnny Pawl were not numbered. The dash plate was missing, but I can see where it was.

 

There should be a stamping on the tubular rear crossmember . You can wire brush and use chalk. Mine was not stamped very deep, so be careful cleaning the crossmember. Do you have any of the Kurtis Kraft books ? I am traveling and won't be home till Sunday, but I would try to help more if you need. Have fun.

 

Thank you. I'm still looking for a number, but the Bill Montgomery books are great but incomplete. many famous cars are un-numbered and unaccounted for. I will continue the search for where this car came from and who the previous owners and drivers were. As you can see by the 1st photo, the rear bumperett has what looks like a 'Shark Fin' on the tail. Quite unique in my opinion.

 

Just heard from a gentleman from Mahomet, Illinois who remembers the car and the guys who ran it. He said he will try to re-connect with some of them to determine where THEY got the car. They only ran it for a year or two. Seems the color under the existing paint may be yellow and dark red w/red chassis. May be getting close. Still looking for s chassis number.

 

If I remember correctly, Jim Moughan was mentioned as being from Mahomet Il. back in the day. A quick search shows him in Springfield which is about 100mi. away. Yellow and dark red were also colors for the three generations of the Knepper racing family way down in Illinois near St. Louis. Have fun.

 

That may be the right track. I will compound the aluminum underpans to see what the panels tell me. Thanks

 

Compound didn't do anything but shine the blue paint. I sanded part of the belly pan and found white, then dark red (maroon), then yellow paint. Also found two heel-shaped wood foot rests bolted to the inside of the pan where the drivers heels would rest. I think I'll make a call to the K and K Garage in Belleville, IL. Maybe Mr. Knepper knows something about this car.

 

Looks like Rex Records @ West Haven (CT) Speedway on pg. 158

 

Might be West Haven (backstraight) or maybe Rhinebeck NY

 

Don't know if anyone cares anymore, but these photos were taken at New London/Waterford Speedbowl in CT. The stated timeline is correct.

 

Still looking for the original owners of this Kurtis. Red lacquer chassis paint 99% stripped, body panels were originally yellow and dark red. This car is old, signs of major repairs on rails and no visible numbers. I know this thread is almost dead, but someone out there must know something. Last run as a chevy II in the early 80's. Knepper said it's not their car. It may pre-date him though. Although it was converted to tube shocks and a roll bar mount, it has early knuckle shock mounts still on the front of the chassis

 

Chassis cleaned up nice, hope you can dig up the cars history. Bob

 

Thanks for replying. I'm glad someone out there is alive. What happened to all the posters?