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

Lloyd Ruby , Indy Legend and Favorite Son of Wichita Falls, Texas.

 

Yeah, My Laptop is to heavy to lift now cause of all the pics in it...

Isn't that how it works..

 

...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Race...ryZ34209QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Spri...yZ107065QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

That might be the best shot of Reading between one and two I've ever seen . . . and I stood there for many years.

Thanks for sharing that one Al !!!

 

We ran our midget at Soldier Field for Andy Granatelli and my father-inlaw built to minny STP Spl. for Andy to take around for publicty.

 

To the gentleman wanting to get in touch with VANCRAFT about Kurtis parts and plans, here is the current phone number. I know it is correct because I call him regularly. Just ask Joshua.....

VanCraft phone number :
317-319-6692
He has Kurtis information to help you out.

HG

 

Also to set the record correct, the guy who is the 'original' Van Craft is not on this board.
The person we know as Van Craft is Meryl Van Steenwyke who has worked for Carrol Shelby and Foyt and about every one else on the open wheel world. I don't know who Vancraft63 is. He may be a business associate?
HG

 

That was me looking for Van. I got in touch with him and have seen his work which is astounding!

The guy I'm dealing with is real close to another builder of note and since they have helped each other out so much over the years, they'll probably go with a version already available there.

 

Anybody seen this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8LCZCsTPDU

 

I too have heard that Vancraft63 is an "Impostor"... What's the story V63?

Alter Ego?
Work there?
The 63rd version of the real Vancraft?
Live in a motor home out behind his shop?
or maybe YOU ARE THE ORIGINAL...,... and Vancraft on Gasoline alley is the "IMPOSTOR!"



(Just trying to keep the facts striaght)

Let us know...

 

You guys were right about Van though. If it were possible, Frank Kurtis himself would be at that shop every day! Everything has been kept together, the original jig table, wheel molds, and the work ethic too.

All of this and more, and here is the great part-------He is in business, so it is still possible to get a Kurtis. Too often we see pieces of a business venture split up and sent various ways before anything is done to preserve it.

 

We one the first Midget Championship (UARA) with Ron Hottles SESCO.The first SESCO went to Hot Rod Mag. the second one went to Mel Kenyon Max Reichenbach got the thrid one.

 

Progress shots...


The Bowles Ranger





The Radtkee/Miller Bonnieville Special










...and I aquired these Steel front runners from a good friend today.






JD

 

Hi. I just wanted to correct some misinformation about this photo. This is NOT the Trevis car. This is actually a Don Edmunds that we built. I would know. My Dad is Bill Zipay Senior and the driver is my brother. Thanks.

 

Hey, just wanted to correct some misinformation here. This picture is NOT a Trevis craft. This car is a Don Edmunds. My dad is Bill Zipay and him and my brother built this car. Thanks.

 

Just a heads up, Anybody looking for a vintage trailer for their midget? I just posted one for sale in the classifieds. Thanks!

 

racer8, Hi, 'If you would please, could you tell us more about your experiences with Ron Hoettels and the SESCO? I've said it plenty of times before on other sites that a book needs to be written about Hoettels. He was an amazing guy. 'Starting with his genius idea of how to get USAC to bend the rules in the midgets for the SESCO-Chevy. Others had already bolted the V8 cylinder head on a Chevy II and they REALLY ran good. But, they were illegal in USAC.....Until Ron Hoettels came along and read the "fine" print that the cylinder head has to be manufactured with and an original mate to the block. Also, do you have any idea when that article was in Hot Rod Magazine? I know Kenyon and Howard Linne were running SESCO's as far back as 1969 (maybe longer?) so I'll search for it back in the '68 or '69 time frame. Let us know, thanks.

 

Hoettles built his first SESCO in 67, but it took about a year and a half to really take off. He credits Kenyon dominating the DuQuoin fall race in 69 as the turnning point, couldn't build em fast enough after that.

 

Those were great little motors, and I guess you could say they changed the game for awhile until the vw hit. The early motors had a unique whine from the front drive which seemed to get cured with better alignment. The next attempt was the 2 x 4...meant to battle the vw. It was a very trick modular motor that was derived from the v-4...which was a chevy with the front lopped off instead of cut in half like the original sesco. They layed them flat and used a counter balance shaft that hurt the acceleration on some tracks. I dont know all the history, Roy and some of the historians can fill in the blanks. It didnt have the impact of the original.

 

Am I the only one on here who saw Hottles riding lawnmower he built out of half of a corvair engine?

 

Yeah, he didn't get too far with the 2x4, but then he was up against Autocraft, Pauter, Scat and the like, and they pretty much had the field covered back then. His next attempt was the v8 Suzuki deal, which was 2 GS 1000 MC top ends on a common crankcase. I believe Kenyon took over that deal for a while and then it ended up with the Canadys. I recall seeing the tooling, patterns and parts up for sale, not too long ago, on e-bay or Racing Junk or somewhere on the net.

 

Not vintage, but there's a trailer that would probably work for a midget on the classifieds at www.corbinspeedway.com.

 

Rootie, I forgot all about his involvement with the suzuki. (sesco) I only saw it run once when Kenny Irwin was running around the midwest. It seemed like a great idea, but they must have had some major issues for it to be benched before it was fully developed. Know anything about it ?

 

Actually, Kenyon and others had some success with them. However this was in the early-mid 80s just about the time the Fontanas and such were being developed. This is just speculation on my part, but I think under the rules of that time, the inline motors just out horsepowered them. I Don't really remember the motor rules at the time, but I believe the ohc multivalve motors were at a bit of disadvantage. Roy C. can probably enlighten us more as he was active in the midget scene at the time.

 

'Man! Thanks a lot to all you guys that weighed in on Ron Hoettels and the SESCO engine. Such an interesting topic and guy. I remember the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ascot Park back in 1977 when Howard Linne (and his friend the car owner that had put up the money for this particular car; I think his name was Cuttle) brought a brand new Edmunds chassis car with the SESCO 2X4 directly from Edmunds shop in Anaheim to the race track. Gary Patterson hopped in, set fast time, started on the pole and led the whole race to the win. That night, Johnny Rutherford was making a rare appearance at a midget race and drove the Doug Caruthers First National City Traveler's Checks VW midget and put the car in the trophy dash. The 2X4 also won the Hut Hundred one year (I think 1978?) with Billy Vukovich driving for California car owner Mason Cook. The chassis was, believe it or not, a Steve Stapp midget chassis. Jim Dieter, thanks for the mention of the "balance shaft" in the 2X4. You're right; that's probably why that engine was only successful on a big race track where you don't lose all your momentum in the turns. I do remember Patterson commenting on how SMOOTH running that engine was! 'Another funny story was the SESCO-Ford with the Boss 302 head. 'They' said that the valves were so big for the cid, that the engine would hardly even run on anything smaller than a half mile. 'True to form: Pancho Carter won a big midget race on the Pocono 3/4 mile paved track in the Bennett Ford-SESCO back in the early-mid '70's. 'Can anyone verify that: the front drive (dry sump, etc.) was the pump from an Oldsmobile automatic transmission? Of course the fuel pump was the famous Procon "soda machine" pump that fed the Eggers&Vetting injectors. Thanks again you guys.

 

Gary Patterson ran for Denny Kullick, he was from here by me at the time. I was there for that one, wasting time after Tommy Hunt (son of Joe Hunt as in magneto)missed the show in our badger midget(roadster)...No fault of his since Parsons bent the valves in our chevy when he had it in the air at Bakersfield...and we missed it until we rolled it over backwards before practice. The sound of a 3 cyl...bang bang bang woosh.... Seems like you are right about Pocono too. pretty sure it was 74 if it is the same race, it was a sesco that Pancho ran, but I dont remember much else about it. It was cold and snowing there, never forget that part. Same day Foyt won the sprint portion during that race of champions they had once.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ranlay8/090131ArgentinaPart2?authkey=WhfkezQ53Jg&feat=embedwebsite#




I know this may be a little off topic but I know some of you here might like this. This is Midget racing in Argentina in 2009. Actually I think this is not to far off topic. What I saw in these pictures almost seems closer to racing pre 1969 than the racing that goes on today. Open trailer, hardly none to little spares, and the older style of hoods reminds me of racing pre war to the mid 70's. This guy has been all over the world, check out his site as well. Saw a pic of a HAMB friendly ice racer in Wisc. on his site. Hope the links work properly.

Bob Shutt

http://www.ranlayracing.com/index.htm