History Vintage "Cageless" Midget Picture Thread

Geez Tony (Buildy) you REALLY take me back now!!!! WAY, WAY BACK!!!!

Cross Bay Blvd. in Queens (NY) and the Big Bow Wow drive up restaurant!!! .. I'm from the Mitchel's Car Hop area of Brooklyn, NY (86th St & 8 Ave) .. and many of my friends would race their Hot Rods on Cross Bay Blvd. against guys from the Bow Wow (and other places too)!!!! I'd go watch. .. Maybe saw Jerry drag race there too??

One of the Rods from my area was a tiny MG TC or TD with a well warmed over small block Chevy installed .. another was a well warmed over factory blown white '57 T Bird .. yet another was a white '49 Merc with a blown Olds!!!

Seeing the pictures of Jerry at Ontario (Calif) & now reading about it .. reminds me .. I go to San Diego at least once a year (for the last 27 years) I have a close relative there .. also have some friends out in Riverside (which is not that far) who took me on a tour of where the Riverside road course had been .. where the Ontario Speedway stood and where the current track is in Fontana. They are/were all only literally only a few short miles apart .. a very few. ... One of the biggest problems I see with a track out there (in the desert) is the BLISTERING HEAT, especially in the day time. Locals would not sit out in it to watch a race & anyone who traveled there to do it once, woudn't want to do it again. Nights, witout the desert sun, should be some what better!!!

 

WOW!!!!! .... THANKS again Buildy!!!

Seeing that car sure brings back GRRRREAT memories.

I hope that Sprinter 2 can find the time to bring that car to the Warren, NJ show next summer.

Both that car & Ken Brenn (who has a large part in the race car portion of that show) are big parts of ARDC east coast midget racing history.

 

Ken,

Jerry hung out at the Bow Wow. Not sure what cars he drove,but heard some of them were Corvettes. This was in the 50s.
He worked at one of the Chevy Dealers and "tested" a lot of Vettes too.
I think he learned tuning engines at Frank Curtis tune up shop in Lynnbrook.

Jerry had a 1950 Fordillac that he used to race as well.

My Aunt Linda said Jerry showed up at my grandmother`s house with a car with flames on the sides and open pipes for Linda and Jerry`s first date-LOL
He made a real impression on my Grandmother.

 

Tony ..

Just quickly before I go to bed.

Yes, the Fabulous '50's. .. I'm still hung up on Doo Wop music!!!

The shop of THE Frank Curtis?????

Fordillac makes me think of none other than Bill Frick !!!!

Flames and open Lake Pipes ... WAY TO GO!!!!

Hmmmmmm!!! Jerry Karl & the Bow Wow .. it sure IS a small world!!!!

 

Yup,

The Frank Curtis had a tune up shop in Lynnbrook.
We used to drive by it everytime we went to my grandmother`s house in Hewlitt.
Said something about Electronic Diagnostic Tune-up specialists painted on the building IIRC.

Yup on Frick and the Fordillacs,too.

Too bad we don`t have a time machine to go back to that time!

 

Hi Ken,
I will see Midge on xmas and ask him, but I remember him telling me about 2 Kurtis he drove, one being the Sostilio, black #54 that traveled through many owners before he bought it. The other was a kurtis that Dutch found in NY owned by a sea captain. Sound familiar?
Also, the Toth car is here in CT owned by former driver Lou Timilot. He will begin the resto soon.

 

28dryer you posted this

An Internet acquaintance in London, Ontario, Canada is working on this restoration.

Anyone recognize the car or have any info?

The car had no engine or engine plate to give any clues.

The nose obviously is not the correct one for the car.
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I think this may have been the Bob Lesko Offy that ran in ARDC and probably NEMA in the 50's/early 60's. Drivers I saw in the car included Jim Hurtubise at Hatfield in 1962, Jimmy Packard and Bob Harkey.

Hope this helps!

 

Hey wynns #1 ..

PLEASE be sure to tell Midge that I said HELLO!!!

That black duece that Midge owned & drove was absolutely beautiful & "looked" brand new!!!

It's been a loooooong time, but that sea captain's story 1/2 rings a bell.

The Toth Bros. Offy .. Buildy (Tony) just posted a picture of it at Hershey (PA) with Bobby Albert up!! .... My main memory of that car was with the ARDC, when Jimmy Maguire was driving it (after he lost his arm in a USAC sprint car wreck) and of how I admired his courage, re getting behind the wheel again. .. If it wasn't for that wreck, Maguire might well have gotten to Indy, before Mario Andretti did.

Now a question or two pops into my mind about that car ..
1. - Was it ever Fergusen (?spelling?) powered ....
2. - Did Brenn ever own it?

Lou Timilot .. the traffic helicopter pilot!!!

A bunch of open cockpit folks used to hold Sunday mass or Sunday school (a weekly bench racing session actually) on Sunday morings at Pete Petraitis's, Pete's Auto Parts in Huntington Station, NY where Lou Timilot was often "affectionately" referred to as ..... Spin A Lot Timilot!!!

 

Agreed Tony .. plus the ability to retain the knowledge, wisdom & life experiences that we now have!

 

Fantastic pics & history guys,enjoy this site keep up the good work.
Heres a couple more pics I hope you enjoy from our show day.

 

Take this trip back to the Syney Showgrounds, late 1960s ! Two of most
spectacular racers of ther era. Barry Butterworth # 26 Edmunds Offy, up close with Brian Mannion F/Inj. Datsun.

Listen closely you might even hear the sounds ?

 

Side panels and tail glass work

 

Rim Ryder, looking real good. You're going together, I'm coming apart.

The cage is rusted and painted into the rear spuds, but it will be removed, as this car was a pre-cage Edmunds, single tube.

Blacki-Suede

 

what year car is that

 

According to Don Edmunds it is one of the few single tube, half-torsion rear midgets he constructed. It was built in the 1964-1965 time frame. The car was last raced in 1979, and I recently purchased it to restore. Luckily, it still has most of the parts (single puck Airheart brakes, tapered Halibrand rear, Edmunds bumpers, radius rods, nerf bars, etc) from 1965.

I posted pics of the car as purchased on this thread, page 7, post 133 and 134.

Blacki-Suede

 

the shape of the cage looks alot like mine except for yours being a bolt on

 

Don, said that my cage appears to be one of about 400 "cage kits" he manufactured and sold. He also said that he personally never installed a cage kit on a single tube chassis. I would assume his integral cages were of the same basic design. I see you have two Edmunds midgets - cool!

Blacki-Suede

 

yes i do,but the 90 edmunds is no where near the same as the 73

 

Ken, you asked if I had pics of my car. This was taken at Williams Grove in 1971. This car started out as the Morcroft Offy, owned by Gil Morcroft in Pittsburgh. Jimmy Bryan was in it. It then became the Ed Lowther no. 77. Van Johnson drove it quite a bit for him. It then became the Patterson Offy. Jerry Maier had the car in maybe '67 and '68. Mel Nelson campaigned the car in '69. I had the car from 1970 - 1973. Jerry Stewart bought the car from me and later sold it to someone in Jersey. Jim Barclay then got the car and restored to way it was when Lowther had it. Yellow with red flames No. 77. Lowther bought the restored car back in the late 80's I think it was. After Lowther's death, the car got sold again and I believe it is somewhere out in Ohio.

 

Hey Ron (HUTCHO) ..

Now that picture of the child in the #6 quarter midget is absolutely precious!!!

 

Spikeidn't a fellow named Bill"Smitty"Smith campaign this car for a while? He was a parts manager for Yenko Chevrolet in Canonsburg in the 60's and 70's and when Yenko sold out,he became a sprint car dealer and also restored an Indy roadster or two, and also repaired original ZL-1 aluminum blocks.He left us suddenly a long time ago(1989 or so)and took a lot of open wheel,sports car,and muscle car info with him. John S.

 

Do you need a roll bar? I have an extra one. All 4130.
21" centers.

 

On eBay ..

Vintage 50's Crosley Midget Race Car
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vint...ce_Cars_Not_Street_Legal_?hash=item4cec8c409b

Original Vintage 30's Richter Midget, RARE
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Orig...ce_Cars_Not_Street_Legal_?hash=item3ca855e0a7

 

Hey Spike G. ..

THANK YOIU sir!!!

What a really good looking ride!!!

A Jerry Stewart (probably a different one) from Berwick, PA ran an Orange #33 Pinto powered midget with us in the SMRC (Super Midget Racing Club) in 1974. No where near as nice looking &/or in no way resembled the car you had. That year I believe you ran Danny DePue's Offy with us once or twice. It was Dick Petermen's regular ride, if I remember right.

Now here I maybe be completely wrong. Was Ed Lowther the man that Donny Kreitz (Sr.) ran a light blue Chevy II powered midget for, with the ARDC, in the 60's? A very foggy memory tells me the car was numbered in the 70's maybe? .. Maybe #71????????

Anyone have pictures of that car .. especially with Kreitz Sr. in it?

THANKS for posting that GRRRRREAT picture Spike,

 

Ed Lowther at Latimore Valley 1985. Photo by my buddy Ted Van Pelt.



More from Ted.











Len Duncan!

 

That richter midget is pretty neat, looks like a Norden carb in the box with the Henderson motor... a little new for the car i think...anyone know when they came out?

 

Here's a photo taken at Cherry park in Avon, Ct., says Bob Minor on back, also a very rare shot of Harry Hull's wife Bee, in his sixty, before it was lettered.

 

Yes, I'm interested. I sent you a PM reply as to not muck up this thread.

Blacki-Suede

 

Hi Hughm,
The photo of Bob Minor is in the Elmer Falk Ford. I am currently restoring it and should be ready by spring.

 

Look foward to seeing it.