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

Langhorne 1959-
Jud Larson #4 Elmer George #21
Chuck Weyant #76 Bob Veith #17 Rex Easton #78
Don Freeland #52 Van Johnson
Dempsey Wilson #81 Dick Rathman #25

 

The #34 Yellow Sprint Car did in fact come from Nampa Idaho. It IS a Kurtis Kraft, and was raced here in the Boise valley from the late 60s to the mid 70s by Al Russell, a local Yamaha dealer. The car sat in storage for a number of years, and was bought by Don Milburn of Nampa. He raced it for 2 seasons as I recall, in the "Super Six division at Meridian Speedway. He traded the car to an old guy in California who collected old race cars....I can't recall his name. According to him, it was one of only a handfull of actual sprinters built by Kurtis. The cars origional cage (as Russell bought the car) was damaged and replaced. Then Milburn was hit from behind by a flying car that bent THAT cage. Milburns step father Jerry Pinkston built a new cage for the car, but it was never raced again.

 

Well there ya go, the power of the HAMB Sprint Car thread. Sounds like it would be worth pursuing the history, could be a $ignificant piece.

 

I think the #81 finished its career here in Western Pa. as a Dick Cotterman driven #81 caged sprinter! John S.

 

The Central Excavating Spl. A lot of history with that one, Bettenhausen, Sutton, Crowe and others all drove it. Crowe wadded it up pretty good at the Hoosier Hundred one year and a couple years later Bill Horstmeyer bought it to try the USAC champ trail and was killed in it in his first race at Springfield, it was torn up pretty bad.

 

My dad's first car was a Ford powered midget that my Grandfather imported to Panama in order to start a racing series on the horse ovals in the Canal Zone just prior to WWII breaking out. Grandad drove Millers in Pennsylavania and New Jersey during the late 1920's until my grandmother made him quit driving. He continued in the sport as a car owner. He moved the family to the Zone for the Depression and ran the movie theater and radio station from around 1932 until 1947. His name was G.H. Walter (George Howard but everybody called him GH). These two shots were taken at their house on Balboa Heights in 1943 - that's my dad sitting in the car.

He used to give girls rides with them sitting on the boat tail with their legs in the cockpit and their hands on his shoulders (or around his neck). He used to tear around the Zone in this car with the commanding Generals dughter on the back. They eventually took the car away from him when he drove it through the side of a barn.

 

Here is my contribution. Charlie Hills sprint car:

 

Rootie, I don't think the car wadded up by Crowe and Horstmeyer is the same Kuzma as in that picture. This Kuzma had wins with Bettenhausen, Sutton Art Bisch and George Amick I believe. Seems to me Pete Salami up graded to a newer car in 1962, I believe it was a 4 bar car that was campaigned as the Gabriel shock car in a white/orange livery as well as the blue Central ex car with Bobby Marvin. My Wallen book shows two different cars, both built by Kuzma though.

 

Yeah, I did noticed that both the Crowe and Horstmeyer cars had headrest tails on them, but just figured it was just updated bodywork and not a new car. Thanks Jim.

 

Seems to me that someone in Idaho could tell you some history on that car. I suggest you call Kenny Hamilton or his brother Jim Hamilton in Boise or Meridian Idaho. They are nice guys and they have been involved in racing there for ever. They will at least tell you who the car belonged to.
Gary

 

The yellow car was bought from the old collector in California. He did say that in Boisie it was considered a Kurtis Kraft. I am really hesitant to make a statement like that with out proof. There is supposed to be proof in Idaho. The reason we are having it sand blasted is to look in the two spots Kurtis Stamped his Midgets. We scraped the frame with knives and did not see any numbers. Yes this is a really interesting car. Steven Bonsteele has talked to Alen Kurtis in Bakersfield and I have talked to VanCraft who worked for George Shilala who took over Kurtis Sprintcars in the Mid 1950's.
Again thanks for all the imput.
The plot does thicken. D.T

 

SteveE, just wondering, I have an article from "Vintage Mtrsprt, 2001, #5" that explains the history of the Reid car ( Engle re-blt with new KK frame purch from D. Carter + pieces from old car; orig frame discarded).
Then in the 90's, the 2nd car(O'Connor) was restored USING THE ONCE DISCARDED FRAME !!!!!
The article shows both a red #4 & a red #3(now owned by Jr. Dreyer, as of 2001).
The author is L. Spencer Riggs. I certainly don't know who did what or when, just what the article said. I am assuming there are holes in the above info. Your post was direct & to the point.
mlight9.

 

FWIW- there's similar info about the Engle-Stanko restoration here:

http://www.speedtv.com/automotive/article/vintage_something_wicked_this_way_runs/P10/

 

Glad to see a picture of that car. I remember Bobby Allen driving it, and Bobby Gerhart once told me that was the fastest car he ever drove.

 

M. Light, we bought Charlie's entire inventory . Charlie and my dad were close friends and we actually owned the Crockett car for the last year it ran ( Wynns Friction Proofing #31, Bobby Black drove it a couple of times, while Charlie wrenched it.). The car was then brought home, dismantled with the Chevy motor, steering,wheels, rear end fuel tank, front and rear hubs used in the construction of another car.The frame and body was then sold to Paul Fortney then went to Anderson, Ind. Chuck Davis at one point called me to verify the car.
As far as the Engle Stanko car, what wasn't destroyed was cut up. There was nothing left at all !! If someone is portraying that as the Engle Stanko car it is not so. There never was a discarded frame. Fortunately I know what truly happened to the cars as I was involved through my father and Charlie.
We even got what was left of Charlie's offy parts, some went to Jack Clevenger and some went to Jack Layton. There was no complete Offy left.

 

I'm very thrilled to see Marv Faw's name mentioned in this forum! Marv was one heck of a fabricator! In the 60's & 70's we were all neighbors. (Hayward CA) Marv was married to Hank Hanestad sister. Marv also drove Sprints for Hank and was 1963 NARC Champ in his own car. I grew up with Darrell Hanestad & Marv's son Gary. We still keep in touch. Give me a few days and I'll find out about the Roadster/Ranger. I'll get back to you.

 

SteveE, thank you very much. Being an eyewitness, as you were, certainly clarifies things.
mlight9.

 

Opp, in a Hanestad Ranger powered rig around 68 or so (IIRC)

 

M Light , here is the photo of our car at New Bremen. Although not the best, you can clearly see the Chevy in it. It is the #31 on the pole. I had to do some searching in my photos to find this. It is Bobby Black driving, we owned the car by this time and Charlie took care of it. Not long after this ( he despised the Chevy motors, said they were for hot rods) he decided he had had enough. That's when we brought the car home. We stayed very close to Charlie and had even visited him the day before he was killed. There is no possible way this car was found with the original running gear or the original Offy motor, when all we sold was the body and chassis, the rest we kept

 

SteveE, thanks for the info & pic. You can't be any more definite then that. Had you ever heard stories of possible restorations of the Engle cars??
By the way, there is a pic on the Vintage Racer website, under the photo's of Dennis Unger, '63 Duquoin, USAC sprint cars. As you stated, the car is red & yellow.
mlight9.

 

A very significant car of the USAC "glory years" was the Colvin/Shepard K.E.Y. machine. A former Elmer George car that was wheeled by some of the best through the years, among them:
Gordon Wooley, in it's second race under new ownership, at El Centro 1963.
J.R. at IRP 1964.
Bobby Unser at T/H-64
Unser at Reading-64
Scratch Daniels at T/H-68--I think this is the same car with updates, but not sure.
Later in early 1970 Jim Malloy drove the 55 car but I lost track of it after that. Does anyone know what became of it ?

 

Is this the Kurtis Kraft that Mari H. George purchased new?

 

I'm not 100% sure of its heritage with E. George, but I believe it is this car that McCluskey drove in 61 with a Offy and then, updated, in 62 with a Chevy. (?)

 

That's right Rootie. In 1962 Mari/Elmer had 2 sprinters, a Black with white trim #21 driven by Elmer, and a white with black trim #12 driven by Cotton Farmer, both with chevies, The 21 car became the KEY car driven by Wooley, Marshman, Unser et al over the next several years.

 

Jim, do you have any idea what became of the Colvin/ K.E.Y. car?

 

Rootie;
I assume that the driver of the HOW #4 did not believe in shoulder belts. I would have thought that USAC would have had something to say about that.

 

Spike,
no rule to that effect in 1961. McCluskey got on his head at IRP in that car two days before the 500, got tossed around pretty well to, but raced in the 500.

Shoulder belts were a 1962 thing I think?????

 

Rootie, I haven't the slightest clue. Sorry
jn

 

Yeah, not even a sam brown belt pretty hard core!

 

I've never seen any reference to it ever being found or restored either. I figure it may be in the Don Smith collection, but have never seen a picture of it there. Of course I'm sure he has a bunch of stuff nobody has seen.