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

I know I'm gettin old, but I didn't drive this car. I see my name listed as driving it but I drove Lester's Shrike car that he acquired in the mid 80's (the last car he owned before he died).
This was the car Lester had in the 60's. In the 70's he had another car- I believe it was the Watson car mentioned.

Ol Lester was quite a character!

 

Jerracer,

I have heard some stories about Lester. Never met him but do remember seeing him at Ascot. From what I had heard, he "was quite a character" as you put it.

Offy 220

 

yhea I just saw that posted on there web site.. I was hoping to see some of the vintage cars make some laps... might still come up and see what I can do....

 

Hello, I love the people on this sight.
You guys never seize to amaze me!
Thanks for all of the information you share.
Tom

 

While rumaging thru the attic I found a bunch of boxes with my old magazines,programs and some old cataloges and found this one from 1972,with price sheets,........Rich

 

Re Post #14664, anybody have pix of the re-built Watson/Branson car as of '69
or '70 ???
mlight9

 

That story about Lester in Scalzo's book "Stand On The gas" is an accurate account of Lester. When I drove His car in 1987 I dug that book out and re-read the paragraph. His quote "But it's My Car" was still being used 20 years later!
Kinda sad, Ol Lester died soon after Ascot's last season in 1990.

Mlight9- I'm going to look through my stuff to see if I can find a pic of the car you are asking about. i sort of recall it being a "Pizza Hut Spl." that he got from someone in the midwest. He ran that car with various drivers throughout the 70's. For some reason I remember it being a Ron Ward car.

 

Love this pic of A.J. This was before he got any of his several championships.

 

Maybe off subject, maybe not. Anyone have a hub puller for a Halibrand tapered midget rear end for sale? 2 1/8 threads.

Hints on pulling the hubs? Tried pulley style puller - no luck.

Blacki-Suede

 

Slobitz
Do you have any current photos of the car to post? I am sure their are people on this thread that would be interested - I for one. A lot of history, Watson, Swikert, Dizz Wilson, Gutzweiler, ???

Blacki-Suede

 

Is that the knock-off thread diameter? Seems a little big for the inner nut on the hub, but it's been a while since I've seen a non-splined axle, and I can find the specs online.
If it's the knock-off thread, you might be neglecting to undo the smaller nut that's holding the hub on. May be hiding behind a dust cap?
Just a thought. Don't mean to question your intelligence. It's just something I'd be dumb enough to miss.
If that's NOT it and you do finally get 'em off, one thing we used to do on the TQ was put a good coat of anti-sieze on the taper so it would come off again.

 

Hey thanks for the input. Yes 2 1/8 is the knock off thread. Back in the day, they made a neat hub puller that was left hand thds on on side and right hand thds on the other ( same size as the knock off thds), with a threaded center that took a bolt. Nice, compact puller. But after hearing from several knowlegable people, that puller may not be enough to remove these hubs.

Yes, I removed the hub retaining bolt, and if I ever get them off I will use anti-seize to save the next guy the grief.

Blacki-Suede

 

Hello, Ya that’s A tough one. I had A heck of A time getting mine off. Tried pullers. Rubber mallet, Heat, etc. One finally came off with puller. one took all three!
Good Luck, Tom

 

Blacki,
First two are of the car that Beeseker bougt from Gutzweiler. The black 3 is how iI got it with Brett Mowery a ARDC midget champ at a vintage show.

 

I pulled in the INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDWAY... WITH A RACE CAR TODAY. (A winning car at that!)..

I told my grade school teachers I'd do that someday... HA!


We brought 3 cars:

2 Millers and the NOVI.

I'll post pics soon!

J Shaw

 

You might try Ken Weiland in Chicago. He made a similar puller for sprint car tapered rears and I think also made one for the midget rear.

 

I must admit I havent read all 700 plus pages of this thread. But I remember being almost equally impressed with some of the bad ass push cars. Sorry if that has been touched on here but the memories are priceless.

 

I'm with ya.. I know I will never own a vintage sprinter.. But atleast I got a truck to push you guys off when you need one.. By the way It will be up and running in about 2 weeks. so if you need a shove hit me up...lol

 

Excellent!
Make certain someone takes the photos.
With no public access to this event photos are going to be few and far between.
Have fun.

 

Really nice car!

 

--Just in from IMS--- After a long tow from race headquarters in Jellystone, Yogi and crew have arrived with the Pic-A-Nic Basket Spl. and are ready to take some laps.

 

I finished my push-off truck before finishing my replica racer. Talk about "putting the cart before the horse."

 

I've had worse crews lately!

lol

appreciate your sense of humor Rootie

 

I know Yogi,Huckelberry,And Quick Draw. Who' s the other gentleman???

 

I have a 3" tapered axle puller I received from an old friend back around 1990. I ran a tapered hub set up and an in and out box until 1992. I am willing to draw up a print of its design/operation for you,if it will help. John S.

 

Ranger Smith, of course. (aka Len Sutton)

 

I'm not exactly sure what your setup is on a midget but Mac Miller and myself had a really tough time with a sprint car hub on a tapered axle that had probably been in place for many years. After some of the same things you tried we got out the torch but that didn't seem to work either; you couldn't get the heat where you needed it. We finally took off the hub carrier cover and moved it away from the carrier so that you could really get at where the two tapers met. It made all the difference in the world and it didn't take much heat either once you got it in the right place turning the axle around a little while we heated it (wipe out any excessive grease). BTW, we also put the hub retaining bolt back in and tightened it several turns (not all the way tight) so that the threaded center of the puller had something to push against instead of possibly messing up the threads in the center of the axle while still allowing room for the hub to break free.

 

Hello, Rookie boys are done at Indy. I think I herd them say fastest was 220mph. Nothing like speed to get the adrenalin running!
Love the month of may…….
Did this car make the show?
If so was it the first reared engine to do so?
Thanks, Tom

 

You're right Rootie, the boys made it to the big city. The economic situation has hit everyone, as this photo shows: Yogi, in a cost cutting attempt, is covering a blister on the right rear so as not to alarm the driver. Ole Quickdraw seems to be doing the same on the left rear. The guy in the back needs to quit breathing in so many fumes. Rumor has it that Boo Boo was back in the Alley spying on other teams.

 

COMPLETE SUCCESS!! All THREE cars we brought, The 1923 Milton winning MILLER 122, the 1926 Lockhart Winning MILLER 91, and the NOVI made it, fired and MADE LAPS without trouble.

What a blur of a 2 months. Thanks guys for being supportive, and good seeing a few of you today.

J Shaw