Holy shit those things are fast. There's a park here where they have a section for control line airplanes, which are incredibly fast as well. It'd be the perfect place to run a tether car.
I know a fellow that's into these big time. I don't know if he gets on here but we call him "Big T" and he drives an old woodie about every day.
thats cool as hell..never knew they existed..I used to do the teather aircraft and those can get going pretty dam fast too..
Yea, My uncle & dad had some of these when they were kids. Said they were a riot - until the pin worked itself loose and the car shot itself at you or one of your friends! They (as kids normally do) would try to get as close as possible to the car as they were going without getting hit. Lots of kids getting too close = death of the tethercar toy.... The more things change the more they are the same, right.
A buddy of mine races with the guys on longisland i first saw frank at flushing park flying 1/2 a speed i think i was 13 at the time im 40 now,so they have been doing it for a long time.My buddy ed and his dad irv fishman would go back and forth with frank and another neighbor of mine for the record in 1/2 a speed.lots of passion these guys have for this sport .Ed is currently working on a teather car on alky trying to catch the brits for the record,not a easy task.the sport has been around since the 50s and has a rich history,one worth looking into.If you have a local air or teather track i highly recommend take the time to watch a event,its time well spent.
I started collecting them about 20 years ago. Found quite a few in the Fresno area, but I have not bought one for at least 5 years because the price is too high and I'm spending all my money on quarter midget racing with my kids right now!
Definitely NOT off topic-cool old cars, just a bit smaller. Always thought spin-dizzies were the best things ever invented. Shame they're not that popular anymore.
my old man lost his front teeth with a tether airplane as a kid. hate to think what he would have lost with one of these, i might not be here
I had one of the Cox racers. Those were fun and everyone's mother thought they were too loud and dangerous. Casper, that is a nice collection. I've never see any of those.
I have a 1953 Popular Mechanics Encyclopedia set that has full plans and directions on how to build some of these cars from scratch
My dad took me to see these back in the late 40s I though they died off but glad to see they didn't. There was a track at the old Centrel Park in Bethelhem PA., they would start some of them with a bicycle turned upside down.
Casper,very nice collection! I have quite a few,but they are all mite cars, Rodzy, Ohlsson & Rice, Real McCoy, Cox Thimbledrome etc. The large cars have gotten too pricey for me. Mick
Some that I have seen have a kill switch or an "exhaust choke" lever exposed. When the car comes by,someone sticks a straw broom out to hit the lever.
anyone know where I can get some plans or scratch build instructions for one of these babies? I'm looking for a project for me and my boy.
Have any of you guys heard of Rail cars? A good friend of mine has one that his dad built from a piece of aluminum from a crashed Indy car from the 40's. It's much bigger than a Tether car. Don't they run at Legg Lake,twice a month?
Rail cars are the same as early tether cars but they ran on wooden tracks with bearing assemblies attached to where the tether would have been. Most cars are approx. 16" to 18" long and run a 60c.c. model airplane engine (with ignition points, not a glow plug!)
The Jalopy Journal
