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

Thanks. Dad and Dean Mast spent about a month in Pennsylvania on this particular trip. I remember him calling home after a couple weeks and telling Mom to come over for a weekend, the racing was great. I remember being at Selinsgrove, but it was night. Someone told Dad that on restarts the flagman there liked to throw the green while the cars were still on the backstretch. Dad was at the rear of a heat and wanted to transfer to the main without having to go through the Consi. The flagman did like Dad was told, and coming off of #2 Dad nailed it and passed everyone but the leader by #3 (he said he heard Dad coming and when he turned to see what was happening he hit Dad). They both got straightened out and finished 1st and 2nd and made the main. There was racing just about every night within driving distance back then.

 

Looks like the frame and nose got stretched when the chevy went in.

 

Rootie, check it out if you ever get to EMMR. It is unrestored as is my Ellis Bros. hemi.

 

With all the recent photos of Tampa, thought i would post these again.

Trying to get any leads on the history or type of this car, was raced in Tampa area, chassis belived to be by Charlie Altfater. These photos are all we have.

Regards Matt

 

great pics indeed!
I know that Mauro registered the car on 1952 to Pikes Peak hillclimb and to Denver 100 miler not as a Ferrari but as Pylon QX special (he probably didn't have the E.Ferrari/Chinetti's permission). Do anyone know if Pylon QX has a particular meaning and how was the relevant logo: from the pictures the word "special" seems to be painted on the bonnet side.

 

Pylon is/was a brand of windshield wiper blades though I don't know if that was Mauros sponsor back then. Could be something totally unrelated. (?)

 

At Indy 52 it was sponsored by Kennedy Tank (I assume a mfg. of industrial fluid tanks (?)

 

Here's a picture of the blown V8-60 from the Bardza streched midget taken at EMMR Museum

 

Denny, right of John McCarthy is Frank Ferrara (flagger), Charlie Miller, Joe Bowen ( he is actually listed as the driver on the car and I think he may have owned it at one time) last person unknown.......John

 

Thanks John, That's why he looked familiar, a young Frank Ferrara. Denny Z

 

Kennedy Tank is still in bussiness in Indy, and the Kennedy family recently re aquired a car they ran in I think 1947 or 1948 it is on Gasoline Alley being restord for the 100 year celebration this May

 

As Roy already stated Kennedy Tank is still in business. And they also made many of the big refueling tanks used in the 500 for probably several decades. The weird thing was that most of the 300+ gallon Indianapolis tanks (many of them built by Kennedy) stayed at the Speedway forever and after awhile were basically community property; especially for the smaller teams. After a team qualified they would go outside the 4th Turn where IMS always stored the tanks during the rest of the year and pick one out. The crews would then go about the business of cleaning out the tanks and making sure that everything was functional and painting and lettering the tanks for their own team. After the race was over the Speedway would come around with forklifts and take all of the community tanks back to the 4th Turn area where they sat in the open until the next year. I know from personal experience that some of the later roadster era refueling tanks were still being used in the 1980s in the 500. Some of these tanks had the Kennedy nameplate still on them.

 

In 1949 Bill Cantrell [who drove my Dad's Sprint car] drove the Kennedy Tank car at Indy.
Jim Graybeal

 

The mid-fiftys race results posted a few pages back brought up a name I'd like to learn more about.In our part of the country[North Dakota-Minnesota]Rip Erickson cars or copys of them provided the transition from rail-frame modifieds to full blown sprint cars.Two of the first three cars I raced were Erickson cars.From the little I've been able to learn on the internet Rip was active in oval track,drags,bonneville and just about any form of racing.

 

Your oil pump front looks like somebody copied a McGerk pump front with the pressure relief. The back part of the pump has the same shape as the McGerk.The gears look like 70 Cadalliac 472-500 cu.in. oil pump gear. That is what I use on a simaler pump I built. Another source is Weaver Oil Pumps in Carson City, Navada.

 

Hello, Thanks for the info. A lot of people have told me Lockard used McGurk pumps. This one must be custom? I can use all the help I can get. I will look into it. Thanks again, Tom

 

Kennedy made all sorts of large tanks and was (is?) a longtime Indy business.

 

Don't know much more about him, but he won the first sprint car race at the (then) new Ascot Speedway 1957. I believe the Vels #97 was originally built by him also.

 

Judging by the lump on the hood, looks like this is the supercharged version of the Barzda car.

 

The QX is effectively a type of windscreen wiper connector, so Pylon QX could be wiper brand.

Did Pylon exist on the 50s since, even I tried to look for some old advertisements, I couldn't find anything?

 

I'll never forget the OUTSTANDING ride that Ed "Dutch" Schaefer gave this car in time trials at the Trenton (NJ) mile. In my mind, by far the class of the field .. both driver and equipment. His time in this beautiful sprinter would have been fast enough to sit way up in the upcoming Indy car show there.

In the feature "Dutch" & the late Jerry Karl tangled, which resulted in a fuel fire & "Dutch" getting burned.

Out of their NJ based Raceweld shop, the late Bill and his brother Ed Mataka always put forth superb equipment, whether it was in TQ's, midgets, sprints or champ (Silver Crown) cars.

When I look back I'm happy to have known and know all the GOOD people listed above. Not only were & are they all GRRRRREAT racers and contributors to the sport, but TOP NOTCH people to boot.

I owe Ed Mataka a call. I WILL get to it this week.