HENDERSON 4 Midget update

Last month I brought the 1925 Henderson 4 motorcycle powered Midget to Hershey, hoping to get some information & history on it. The lettering on the cowl was from Hunters Lodge 167 Causeway, St. in what I thought was Boston, M***.Turns out this was an auto dealership in 1928, now I need to find out what trpe of dealership. Saturday these photos showed up from a guy that saw the car at Hershey, NOT MINE, but from the same era with an ACE 4 motorcycle engine. If anyone runs across photos ow knows of any web links with pre 1933 midgets, some times called cycle cars please let me know.

 

I'm guessing you've seen these two from the Don Radburch book?

Both '33.

 

That Front wheel drive one on the bottom looks great! What is the ***le of that book? This closeup of a Model T centersection FWD is from the Ray Kuns 1934 #3, same photo is The Jack Fox book "The Mighty Midgets".

 

I never realised the bottom midget was front wheel drive!
Looking at it you can see how its a scaled down Miller FWD. Thats alot of technology for a midget in '33!
Did you notice that its fully street legal?

The book is "Dirt Track Auto Racing, 1919–1941" by Don Radbruch.



http://members.cox.net/sprintguy/dtar.htm

Its only a very small chapter as Don Radbruch see's the midgets as the downfull of the dirt track racers!

 

Pete Henderson (The guy that had the 32 roadster that raced the 1/4 horse back in the 40's) He has a henderson motorcycle powered 1924 midget & may know about the one that you have. PM me & I'll dig up his info.
Kevin

 

Hey,

Ya were talkin Cycle Cars and Midgets in the same breath......

Cycle cars started in the days before the Ford Model T became
available ta the m***es, so cheaply. A cycle car was cheap ta
build, cheap ta license'n' run. When the 'T' came along so cheap,
the cycle car era faded. They were still big in Europe into the
thirtes, though.

I'm not sure that the Midgets were a direct line desendent from the
cycle car idea.

 

You are correct, GN, Scripts-Booth, Woods etc. are what I first think of when Cycle Car in mentioned, but the pre 1933 Midgets were also called Cycle Cars by some promotors.