History Hot Rodding In 1920

Another pic, people, place and time not known.

 

This one dated 9-30-19.

 

Sorry about the quality of the shots. The originals are not that great.
regarding the first photo, attached is another shot of the car and driver. It reads "Warren Hildebrand in his racer 1917"

 

Lastly another basic hot rod. If these images are off topic then please remove.

 

They look like early hot rods to me @JakesA

 

1920 is when Tommy Milton drove his twin Duesenberg engined hot rod 156 mph on Daytona Beach.

Here is the story:. http://theoldmotor.com/?p=14270

 

I thought 54668, the number shown on the catalog sheet was the patent number but it comes back as patented on May 15, 1866 and is for a can opener.

 

Looks like a T axle

 

Speedsters, race cars, - Yes
Hot rods - no; - in 1920 the hot rod was 12 years away from being made........
But a cool thread you’ve got going here..........thanks !

 

Cars like this could of been involved from 1914 in the Western Australian ,Lake Perkolilli racing days.
In the 20s and 30s was known to be one of the best natural race tracks in the world. And just had a meet in 2019 ,,105yrs after the first offical races
A desert lake where I’m sure Australian gow jobs would of been built for.
If interested go to
http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/lake-perkolilli.html

 

One more to add.

 

E.L. Cord, who later went on to build the Cord automobile and a large business empire, was hot rodding in the teens. He started with a $75 model T that he stripped, built a speedster body, raised the compression and improved the carburation. He drove it on the street as his daily driver, and raced it on the track. Who thinks he never found an impromptu street race or even bet $ on his car? Haha. After it's success on the track, he sold it for $675, then built, raced, and sold 20 more over the next 5 years. He found that if he could win an organized race, besides the nice purse, he could usually sell the car to a spectator on the spot for $200-300 more than usual. Pictured is EL in one of the hot rod Fords on the street, and his bride Helen after their elopement in 1914 where they drove from Los Angeles to Santa Anna. Even if the term had not yet been invented, I call this hot rodding!

 

In 1919 Es*** sent four cars across the US between New York City and San Francisco. They sent two in each direction and they did not travel together. All four cars made it. each one bet any previous auto record. Each one made it in less than 5 days and averaged over 25 mph. A 1919 Es*** ran for 50 hours at a Cleveland race track it went over 3,000 miles and averaged over 60 mph. These were 4 cylinder cars that produced 50 hp. They won the 1919 pikes Peak race.

 

Another pic, sorry the original is very small and out of focus.

 

1920 350hp Sunbeam
For a period following World War I the world of motor racing was enthralled by a breed of racing cars powered by huge aircraft engines. The 350hp
Sunbeam is one of the most famous of this group of aero-engined giants. Not only did the car compete on the race track but it also broke the Land Speed Record on no fewer than three separate occasions.
The car was the brainchild of Sunbeam’s chief engineer and racing team manager Louis Coatalen and was constructed at the company’s works in Wolverhampton during 1919 and early 1920. Power came from a modified 18 litre Sunbeam V12 Manitou engine, a type used on naval seaplanes.
Transmission was via a four speed gearbox and drive shaft. It was fitted with a narrow polished aluminium single seat body with radiator cowl and tail painted in green.

The Sunbeam’s first outings were plagued with bad luck. Its first race was scheduled to be at the 1920 Whitsun Brooklands meeting driven by Harry Hawker. However, a burst tyre caused it to crash on the Railway Straight during a practice lap. Hawker was uninjured but the car could not be raced that day. At the August meeting a stalled engine meant that the Sunbeam could not start its race.
In late 1920 the Sunbeam was taken to the Gaillon Hill Climb in France where René Thomas succeeded in taking the course record with a 108mph/173.81kph run on the 1km hill