Features VINTAGE SPRINT CAR PIC THREAD, 1965 and older only please.

Weird..maybe some sort of visual directional device ? Kind of like the yaw string on old airplanes. First go at a rear eng. car.

 

Brian, are you going to go to the KARS event in Wichita this weekend? I wanted to go, but I'm not going to be able to make it. If you do go, please take plenty of pics.

 

Maybe a gun sight for the 50 cal. hidden in the nose.

 

Only a WILD guess here, but if the car was supposed to have orriginally been powered by an early turbine, it could have been there for an air pressure / temperature probe (or even a directional air sample maybe). I would expect if that's what it is the ball is there to keep from impailing yourself on it accidentally (and would normally have been removed when the car was running).

Best S.W.A.G. I've got.

 

I would have to go with a driving aid, at speed that short nose could be real twitchie to drive.
That ball would help strech the guide line out aways, especially in the cornors.
The first go-carts we ran with motorcycle engines were like that, kind of like driving an outhouse on casters.

 

Roadsters to the south, supers to the north, and I'm too broke from buying race car parts!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah, I hear ya, no mon no fun.

 

A little post 69, but I came across a old VW book from my V dub days. I haven't seen too many posts from Roy C. lately but I thought he might get a kick out these scans of his uncle, Red, if he happens to check this thread. I can dig his race car toter.

 

Somewhere I've got some 8mm film of Zink's turbine...Oh well, it'll turn up. This photo may have been posted already, but I thought it was neat because of the history of the white car on the inside. That's Roy Robbins in "Fido." Fido was a former championship car which Harry Hyde went to Phoenix and purchased, brought back to Louisville, and cut down to sprint size then put a cage on it and changed the tail. It was driven by Andy Hampton at the Jeffersonville (IN) Sportsdrome when they were running supermodifieds and it was virtually unbeatable. This was in the late 50s. He loaned it to Roy in 1961, and Roy took it around the country, and won the first Knoxville Nationals in it. Last I heard of it was about eight or ten years ago when Joe Baird told me he had found it and purchased it. His plan was to restore it to the way it was when Tony B. drove it at Indianapolis.

 

But.. If you wanna make a trip to michigan saturday its supers ,3 classes of midgets and auto value super sprints on berlin's 1/2 mile pavement.. Ill be there about 11 am and were camping with lots of beer ... 20 bucks for the show and last year we said it was the best show we saw all year... Id like to make winchester sunday but it aint gonna happen.
Dave

 

We will be at Jungle Park on Saturday with the Watson roadster and we will be at Winchester on Sunday with all three of the cars in the picture.

 

FYI ---NO ANTI FREEZE--- at Winchester if you want track time.

 

I'm guessing this:

With the downward slope of the nose, the driver probably couldn't see the absolute front of the car. With the distance being so much shorter, it would be "something" to get used to without the ball, trying to tuck in behind somebody.

Yea, I'll go with that.

 

Here are some update pics of my project. Front end done, seat mounted, rear end almost done, need to mount jacobs ladder.

 

Looks great, you're making good progress. Earlier you asked about ideas on mounting a roll hoop. FWIW- I saw this the other day, welded but could be bolted as well.

 

Here's is a link to last years photos Of the Bill Hall Vintage Weekend at 81 Speedway.
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=3171700

Bob Jones Photos at http://www.bobjonesphotos.com

Some more great shots from the past at Bob's site http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=2020002

 

Wonder how the show is going at winchester? Berlin was great and if i hadnt drank too many and went to bed early i coulda shot the shit with Johnny Benson
My kid was trolling the camp ground for beers and ran into him.. He blew the motor in his super so he didnt race . last year he crashed... Oh ya they only had a couple old supers there because it seemed they had sumpin going on in indiana
Dave

 

Here is a short Video I took at the Jungle Park Reunion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc4KzEaQWyY

The "Black Deuce" was the feature car this year.
All it needed was Bobby Grim, and a stand full of fans!

 

Winchester was GREAT! Lots of good people and a KILLER turn out. One "Expert" told the Organizers that if they tried to do it again "they'd be lucky to get 10 cars" Dad and I were figuring maybe 40 cars would show...

Well, try SIXTY!!

I thrashed all week to try to get the Walker car "race ready" but it just didn't happen. We ran in to too many unforseen problems. The Owner is a great guy and I think kinda relieved that his first time behind the wheel was not gonna be at Winchester in front of hundreds of people. I did wait to fire it for the first time untill I got to the track, that way he was there for the first engine fire. It sounded great.

I had dad come thrash with me all week and in turn he didn't get to do a check on his car, Well, when he loaded it he said it didn't sound to good and upon further inspection we figured out that the points were burnt up. Dad didn't care, he wanted to watch and see how the "chinese fire drill" was gonig to go down anyways..

In the end, It was all ran PERFECTLY! Lots of great cars making laps under power.. Only thing that would have been better would have been if they threw the green flag!


In the "thrash" I forgot to charge my camera so I only have a few pics.

The pics below were taken by "the man in charge" Gene Ingram. This was the first time I have ever met Gene and he couldn't have been nicer. And he's a hot rodder!



The Walker car turned out beautiful! Here are the "Root bros." wearing there HOME MADE and self painted Cromwell helmets.








It was great meeting a few of you and seeing others again!

J Shaw

 

A big turnout of great looking cars attended the first vintage meet to be held at the Winchester high banks in several years. Also in attendance were many of the great high bank drivers, from the past, including Charlie Masters and, my ol' Armstrong Mould team mates, Tom Bigelow and Greg Leffler.

After being promised an unspecified amount of track time, the organizers far exceeded my expectations by arranging two 20/25 minute "on track" sessions.
Our three cars came to run, so we took full advantage of the track time with the Bob Dicks team cars being driven by Bob Dicks, in the 1963 Agajanian #98 Watson roadster and Randall Cook, at the wheel of the 1962 #1 Fike Plumbing Spl. sprint car.
mac miller, hisself, was wheeling the new Carl Schulz owned, 1927 Miller #15 Boyle Valve Spl. in its final shakedown.
Whirling the high banks in a 20s style car, no roll cage, no roll bar and 4" wide tires, truely, is a sweet ride.
This was an historic occasion for us because this is the only time that these three, mac miller built, cars will ever be together at the same event.
With attending the Jungle Park event on Saturday and the Winchester event on Sunday, it was a very busy weekend.

Thanks to, track owner, Charlie Shaw and, meet organizer, Gene Ingram for, what I think was the best Winchester Oldtimers meet that I have ever attended.

 

Macs Recreation Roadsters looked cool in the second session Parading side by side.. Good photo opp!

JD

 

Mac and Josh, your cars looked great at Winchester. I was really impressed with the turn out. Hope to have my car there next year.

Mac I was going to introduce myself but you were just climbing in and putting your helmet on so I didn't want to get in your way and Josh, I didn't see you while I was there. We got there way late.

I wish I had better pictures but as usual I ended up taking all close detail shots to help with the build and few whole car pics. Here are a few.

 

As far as I'm concerned, the turnout of cars and their quality shows just how many of us there are who care about those days gone by. Thanks for the photos. Lord, how I wish I could have been there.

 

Josh,
Your cars looked great. Good to see you again. Thank's for sending andy and the Root brothers over. They were a lot of help on finding what my 1/4 midget is, also they were [the boys] realy nice. Glad you put them in your car and put the pictures on here. John you missed a great day.
Jim Graybeal

 

I first off want to say this is a great thread and I'm glad I found it. Lots of interesting people,history and projects as well as cars on here.
My question is does anyone know of a good place (besides Ebay) to post vintage cars and parts.
Just curious if I'm missing out on any sites out there that cater to the cars and parts we all have a intrest in. Thanks Tom Bliss

 

Here's a couple
http://www.racingjunk.com/ http://www.openwheelmarketplace.com/forums/index.php?

 

Hosehead.com..but it's mostly newer stuff.