History Vintage "Cageless" Midget Picture Thread

Also, Ron Lauer – former ARDC driver and former President of the ARDC, sent me this video of Midgets at Hinchliffe Stadium in 1946

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpaPIkqVS6Q&feature=related

He found it by accident, believe it or not. Pretty good quality, figuring it came from 1946.

 

Does this car I'm building need a number 14 or not?

 

It looks like, for the first time since WWII, that there will NOT be a (full) midget race any where in New York State this year (2011).

SAD!!!

 

Old Sprinter.......JUST LOVE THAT MODEL.What scale is it?Is it available in kit form or is it scratch built ? Excellent job!

 

Thank you, sir. It's 1/8 scale and 100% scratch built. I bought plans from Don Edmunds and got a ton of info and pictures on the Offy motor from one of the guys on this site. I started this model building stuff last Oct and have built two supermodifieds from the 70s, and offset sprint and a dirt sprinter from the early 80s and now the midget from the 60s.All scratch built and a great way to enjoy retirement.

 

Great job! Now all ya need is a driver!

 

Building scale model race cars may be MORE work than building a real car. I salute anyone with the skill & patience to do it.

My friend Gregg Kishline is building THREE 1/2 scale Indy roadsters; a project he inherited from the late Van of Vancraft. Gregg applies an artist's eye to these things and didn't think the fiberglass tails looked right. Off to Indy he went, camping out at the museum so he could photograph and measure the actual cars. Back at home he spent days slicing, dicing, and patching the tails and noses to better match the real cars.

The driver comment above reminds me of the time I suggested he find a skinny five year old to squeeze into the first car. He declined; "Their heads are out of scale."

Ever met a driver whose head didn't seem out of scale?

 

Gearguy, I sure would like to see your friend Gregg's roadsters, is there anyway? I have built and raced a midget in the late 70s. Drew it up on paper, hand built most everything and drove it. That was a blast. This is so much cheaper, but I can't drive the darn thing!

 

Here are a few "in process" photos. Notice the hood details; the eventual owner wanted the 1962 version of PJ's roadster and to an artist like Gregg that involves more than getting the decals right. There is a reason Donald Davidson hung out with him at the Miller Meet...

 

Incredible work. It's so labor-intensive, why not just build it in full scale? (Then it can be driven).

 

Are there any midget blueprints available out there for a fifties style Kurtis?

 

That Indy Car is over the top. I have never seen anything like that before in 1/2 scale. You're right about an artist's eye catching more than just paint and decals. Great, now I won't be able to sleep until I build a race car in half scale.LOL Zoera, I have a friend who has KK chassis plans but there isn't much to them but two parallel tube rails connected by a few lower and uppper hoops for the firewall and seat.

 

Sad news from Tulsa this morning,

Another racer, E. Jack Hitt, an old soldier who was awarded 5 Distinguished Flying Cross medals and several other awards for his service to this country as a bomber pilot in World War II, died today August 12, 2011. He was 93 years old.

He was a well known Tulsa area collector of race cars including several Offenhausers, the O'Day Sprinter (Big Car) and the midget Troy Ruttman drove plus several engines, misc. parts, etc. and several other antique race cars..

 

A number of years back Gregg Kishline & Lance Turner built scaled replicas of the 1964 Leader Card Watsons, one RE car & one roadster. I think they were 5/8 scale.

 

<TT>From Gregg Kishline:</TT>
</PRE>

<TT>2 different cars, here, the Trevis-built Watson-copy that Foyt won with, in 1961. Also the 1962 Willard Battery car, as driven by Parnelli.The gameplan for the engines is to resin-cast the pieces, paint to appear as sand-cast parts, and assemble. And part of the graphics pkg, as supplied by Freelance Graphics, Gasoline Alley in Indianapolis.The only thing between me an a full-size rolling roadster is $50K.</TT>
</PRE>
<!-- end of AOLMsgPart_0_bad45010-d487-42f1-b041-d7356eafad00 -->

 

If you can hammer those body panels out of aluminum (and weld), you wouldn't have to spend 50k on a full size replica. Sprint/Silver Crown car front and rear end parts could be used. The biggest deal is the Meyer Drake engine (if it was to be a museum piece), but you can use any one of several DOHC engines currenly available in cars from the last 15/20 years. Plenty of engine to run well over 100 MPH in a 1500 lb. car.
My thoughts are for a running REPLICA that doesn't claim to be original. I think you have the talent required.

 

Guys,

Sorry to burden you (again) on a "Does anyone know who built this" request as I did with my midget, but I bought this along with it and none of my QM friends/contacts seems to know what it is either. I have seen a bunch of quarter midgets and this is one of the coolest I have seen...86" long (nerf to nerf), 8" wheels, motor and even a leaf front suspension. It is stamped (by hand) "Johnson, Franklin, IN" on grille. Given its length, it might be a display piece and not a racer? Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, E

 

This is Carl Miller, His daughter Beverly lives with my uncle. She also knows all the other racers in the pics on page 20, i don't about any other pages as they just found this tonight. She would love to get/buy any pics of her father. Please pm me with a # so i can get you in contact with her. Also any pics of the other racers she knows. She said, Most or all of these pics from back then were taken by a fella named Eli Roth,

Please pm me your # Thanks

 

This is another one of Carl Millers cars and a pic of him. The car was named Martha "J" named after his wife.

 

Here is my Dad's midget. Its a mid '40s Dreyer that was built with a '36 Knucklehead engine. Dad restored it a few years back. It has S&S wheels which stroked it to 90cu in, two Riley carbs on alcohol(its not a Drake). He finished it up and push started it on an old blacktop with his '52 F1 pickup. Its on display at a friends hotrod shop sitting above his office.
KeV

 

To ALL the model makers out there you have my utter respect.......

 

.....'Jack London (1910-1982), former Bay Cities Racing Association driver, business manager, car owner, and northern California racing icon. And also one of the most formidable, potent car owners in midget racing history. It could also be said that, other than the great Wally Meskowski, the only other car owner to "fire" A.J. Foyt!

(1) Mike McGreevy, 1965 USAC National Midget Champion in the Jack London Kurtis-Offy #4 at the 1965 USAC Midget Turkey Night Grand Prix in Los Angeles, CA.

(2) Hank Butcher, Jack London Benson-Offy #4, 1970.

(3) Burt Foland, Jack London Benson-Offy #4, San Jose Speedway, Nov. 1st, 1970.

(4) 20-year old sensation, Tommy Astone, Jr., Jack London Benson-Offy #4, San Jose Speedway, July 1970. Tommy is brother-in-law to Bill Vukovich, son of the two-time Indy 500 winner and husband to Wally Meskowski's daughter, Joy.

 

Sad news from Darlington:

Just got this message via e-mail:

"I just heard that the Darlington Historic Racing Festival scheduled for
Sept. 24-25 has been canceled. I'd heard that the advance entries were lagging
far behind and that was probably the reason for pulling the plug.
Too bad but it's all about the money with everything these days.

Marty Little
Ft Lauderdale, Fla."

 

Finished my version of the Hardwood Door Corp. Offy today. I used a Big Donkey Resin nose/grille. I also used resin brake drums and decals from Scale Auto Details.

Ever since I got the Bill Montgomery book on Kurtis-Kraft Midgets I wanted to build this model but no one had an appropriate nose available. Also, brake drums are prominent on this car (look at the cover picture on Bill's book). Thankfully Big Donkey Resin brought out a nose and grille conversion set. I already had the artwork done for the decals but was waiting for an energetic resin caster to do their magic with a nose/grille (and Larry came through with flying colors). The seat bolster was carved from 0.3 inch thick styrene and blended to the seat with Squadron Green putty.

I have three more Offy midgets under the work bench; the Schaefer Gear Works Offy and the Bowes Seal Fast Spl. Jr. Offy that I hope to finish in the next 2-3 months. Then there is the Chem-Flo Special (with Peck-like nose) driven by AJ Foyt. By sometime next year I should have enough midget models built to stage the start of a main event at Flemington!

 

But, but, I don' think any of those cars raced at Flemington, did they? Or did they when USAC came east many, many years ago? Recall seeing the Hardwood cars at Trenton.

 

I have no idea if Ashley Wright's Industrial Hardwood Door car(s) ever came to Flemington, but I suspect that Gary Bettenhausen may know. His dad's regular ride was in them for many years.

Doc

 

Making progress and wishing it was real.

 

I'll bet you wish it was the real thing! NIce!

 

That is one beautiful midget. Nice work as always.