The video reminds me of 40 years ago in a small town. We 10 yr old hoodlums used to terrorize every downhill alley we could find. No lawnmower in town was sacred. They were all free game to find the largest wheels we could to provide more speed. The stakes were steep. It was your racer against anyone who would dare challenge you. The winner would leave with both racers. Yes it was serious business. No one wanted to lose. Some alleys would empty out into busy roads that were monitored by a guard and referee at the bottom of the hill. Once you committed down the hill. Nothing would stop you. Some racers actually hit moving cars. The front steering was simple. You would get a 2x4 drill a hole in the middle of it and attach a long piece of round stock for the axles with U nails. A rope was attached to each wheel and we would steer these like a horse would be steered. Brakes were crude and normally would not work well. We simply nailed a piece of wood the the side of the frame near the rear wheel, leave enough to grab by hand and push against the side of the tire when stopping. Daring supermen! Oh good times! I wish i was superman all over again. Ready to take the world by storm. Wish I had some pictures of this Thanks for sharing Ryan.
We did this in winter...on a long hill, iced over from cars trying to get up...(this in the mid-1950's). One day my dad brought home a 12-man "toboggan" (his words)...it was built out of 2"X 12"s...had eight inch tall "runners", covered with stainless, formed to fit the "sharpened-to-a-point runners. Steering was as you described...pivot point, feet on the front runners, rope for turning...on this "toboggan", we all sat up...legs around the person in front of you... The hill was about four blox long...start at the very top, turn a slight curve and head for the river bridge...if you had enuff people, you could come to a screeching halt on the bare concrete of the bridge... We'd race another sled -- two people, one on top of the other laying down...a hole shot was taken by the two-man sled...but with 10-12 kids on the toboggan, we'd catch up...once we did that, the two-man would try to wreck us by turning our front runners toward the ditch...sometimes they'd succeed and we'd go nose first into six - eight foot deep ditches on either side of the road...ended up kids on top of other kids buried in the snow...it was great winter fun... R-
Shoot, I just took a neat painted print over to my girlfriend's house (to be framed) showing a street scene of soapbox racers. If I had it here, I'd scan it in to show. The scene is typical 50s idealistic happy times -- a police officer is officiating the finish line and cheering kids are lining the side. The print was obviously a NOS calendar print. There is a space at the top to staple a calendar pad. The winning soapbox is en***led "Safety" and the ***le of the print itself is "Safety Wins". Cl***ic. Once we finish framing it, I'll post a photo. While I grew up in the 70s/80s (Pittsburgh, PA), we also ran sled races. One we called "Smash-Up Derby". Sleds lined up at the top of a steep hill and while the goal was to win the race, collisions were definitely encouraged, and spectacular crashes were the norm. We also had a longer course through the woods, which required dodging lots of trees. Preferred paths iced over for even more speed. Crashing into trees was fairly common.
When I was late teens, early twenties... we did something similar but with Big Wheels. Lot's of fun and lost of stupidity!
The Jalopy Journal
