so, I have this old midget racer I am redoing, tell me what I have..

I picked this up a few years ago, but am now starting the rebuild. I have some questions about what it was/is.



Rather than repost all my photos on this thread, look at my HAMB album to see the detail shots. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=26635

Here is what I know;
It is all steel, hood sides from a 37 Chevy on the front, GM fender door pontoons make up the rear.

it was number 37, driven by Mike, and possibly sponsored by Mobil Oil

It is larger than a quarter midget, so maybe it's a Micro Midget?, TQ? Wheel base is 52"

The rear suspension is full of questions. It is one piece with the motor plate, and a center "wishbone" style mount. Only the left wheel is powered, and it has drum brakes. The front "wishbone" mount is off center to the right, and the left rear spring, has a spring within a spring. Why?

The brakes are operated by the handle outside on the left.

The front suspension appears to have universal joints as steering knuckles. The axle itself has camber built into it, which makes me think it is not home made. There is no Ackerman built into the steering. The front springs are inside "can" covers. The hairpins have adjustability on the upper arms.

On the steering column, you can see where throttle and advance levers used to be. One area of the wheel has been cut out, I assume to make it easier to get into the car. Dash has a push button switch on it. Kill switch?

Fuel tank is mounted to the rear of the seat. It did have a glass bulb fuel filter on it, but I took it off for a different project a while ago.

I do not know what would have powered this car, but the output shaft had to be long to be able to fit the engine under the body, and still reach the chain at the wheel. Any ideas of what to put into it now?

I will be taking some liberties on the rebuild - like the steering setup, and my daughter wants it purple - but I would like it to still retain it's old look and feel. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

 

Very cool car. A lot of inovative features.

What area of the country was this run? And what time frame?
Any club that guys would belong to would have guidlines for size, engine choice and maybe tire size and weight of car. Some body should recognize the type of build.

A favorite type of small engine for little cars would be the mixer motor. These were made by a lot of engine manufactuers and had an about 6:1 planetary gear box bolted to the crank case. Mixer motors came in a lot of sizes. From 3 to 8 hp, maybe even bigger, long ago.

If your making a kid's toy, a 3 1/2 hp engine is plenty. And you need an automatic centrifical clutch.
The race cars more than likely were no clutch push start. Or at most an in-out dog clutch on the output.

Nice project.

 

PM Casper (Kenny) he will know for sure.

 

Left side drive. All the engines have the gearbox on that side, so the easy way is drive the left wheel. Later 1/4 midgets used a live axle shaft and club rules were right side drive mandatory. They then had to use a dummy hub (with a bushing, instead of a keyway) on the left to free wheel the left wheel.

 

I know nothing about it but I AM going to report this thread to the moderators...........

You can do that when it's jealousy based cant you?

That is so very cool, I love the Uni joint steering. Innovation plus!!

Doc.

 

I agree with Doc....man is that cooool!

 

There was a long article in Popular Mechanics Magazine back in the mid-50's about building a 1/4 Midget along the lines of this car. I can't remember the month or year though. I had a copy of it for years. My mother threw a bunch of my old magazines out when I returned from V-N in '68...when she though I was safe back in the homeland.

 

This is what we run in the South as a Micro Midget... these were just a little larger than a 1/4 midget... Cool car. if you don't do anything with it Im interested.

 

Racinman-i'm keeping it
Gas Pumper - it is a Michigan car. I don't intend on racing it anymore, but I would like an engine that is a good fit for the car, size is not so important. Prefer a 4 stroke.

Oh, and sorry Doc....

 

That is cool as hell
I better not let my daughter see it

 

There are so many small race tracks in MI that it would be hard to find any history.
If I was you I would go to some of the active tracks and talk to the "old-timers" about the car. Photoshop it so its looks like it came off the track.

 

think.....Wisconsin......really big single.....ran alot of stuff with it....

 

Neat stuff I'm thinking it really needs a Honda Rebel 250 engine complete with the gear box.

 

Casper's reply to my PM;

Hi,
Thanks for the note. I am pretty sharp on quarter midgets, but this is a different area. I have looked at all the pictures in your album. I would say you have a very early 50's 1/2 midget. Hardly any factory built cars or kits until 55-56. These cars are like folk art. All built by mechanics and gear head dads. I'm sorry I can't offer much help, but I can tell you....it's a really neat item !!! Kenny.
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I've got a Kohler 8.5KW generator set from the mid-60s that has a 4 cylinder Kohler L600 flathead running it. Displacement is 600 CC with an updraft carb and magneto, and it is really cool. I don't know if they were ever used in any vehicle, so a trans belhousing would be a fab issue. But it's small enough, and has the looks.

Steve

 

I'm with doc on this one. Jealous as the devil and I know nothing more than what you have said in your post, well that and if the current driver were about 2" shorter she wouldn't need a roll bar.

 

One of the many companies to produce quarter and half midgets during the 1950&#8217;s was the Moss MidJET Sales Corporation, 192 E. Beach Avenue, Inglewood, CA. Moss produced eyecatching quarter midget and half midget versions for drivers from age 3 to adult. These sharp cars utilized positive rack and pinion steering, 3 H.P. Continental engines, a 1&#8221; diameter rear axle running in sealed self-aligning ball bearings, friction shocks, 50 3/8&#8221; wheelbase, 34&#8221; tread, with 6&#8221; diameter front and rear wheels and tires. Bodies were one-piece heavy fiberglass with a removable tail cone.
<TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-LEFT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-TOP: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-RIGHT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=200 align=right prevstyle="border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-left: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-top: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-right: #aaaaaa 1px dashed"><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-LEFT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-TOP: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-RIGHT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed" prevstyle="border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-left: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-top: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-right: #aaaaaa 1px dashed"></TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-LEFT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 10px; BORDER-TOP: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-RIGHT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed" prevstyle="border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-left: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; border-top: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-right: #aaaaaa 1px dashed">Moss quarter midget</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
On display at the EARHS showroom are examples of both a 1957 Moss quarter midget and a 1958 Moss half midget owned by member Paul Weisel of Orefield, PA. The quarter midget features original mag wheels with asphalt tires and was campaigned in the acramento, CA area. It was purchased in original condition from Bruce Risley of Rancho Cordova, CA in 2000.
The half midget was purchased at auction in January, 2006 and received a complete transformation in the shops of Bob Howe in Lititz, PA. The restoration was recently completed and it is a wonderful example of the 1958 version of the Moss half midget. The two cars are on display next to each other and the differences between the quarter and half midgets are striking. Cockpit size for the Moss half midgets easily accommodates most adults and the half midget features the Moss header pipe as optional equipment.
<TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-LEFT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-TOP: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-RIGHT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=200 align=right prevstyle="border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-left: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-top: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-right: #aaaaaa 1px dashed"><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-LEFT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-TOP: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-RIGHT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed" width=221 prevstyle="border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-left: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-top: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-right: #aaaaaa 1px dashed"></TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-LEFT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 10px; BORDER-TOP: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-RIGHT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed" prevstyle="border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-left: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; border-top: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-right: #aaaaaa 1px dashed">Moss half midget before resoration</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-LEFT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-TOP: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-RIGHT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed" prevstyle="border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-left: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-top: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-right: #aaaaaa 1px dashed">
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-LEFT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 10px; BORDER-TOP: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; BORDER-RIGHT: #aaaaaa 1px dashed" prevstyle="border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-left: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; border-top: #aaaaaa 1px dashed; border-right: #aaaaaa 1px dashed">Moss half midget after restoration</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

holy cow! a 600cc 4 cyl is about six times the engine I was looking for !
I don't think I want my 8 year old driving something with that much power....she is trouble enough.

This is a rear engine chassis car.

 

Lots of these cars had Cushman engines

 

cool piece you don't see midgets everyday very cool

 

A big question I have is about what engine it would have had?

The mount is under the rear body, and the chain is on the wheel. Would there have been a jack-shaft or something between the engine and the wheel?

What engine would have an output shaft long enough to make that stretch? Sorry I do not have the actual measurements while typing this, just look at the photos.

I am familiar with basic go karts, centrufical clutches, etc, but this is different.

 

The most popular 1950's quarter midget engine is the "Continental". This is the same basic motor that they still run today. I have seen a few Briggs and Strattons, McCullochs, Clintons, etc. on very early cars, but by the mid to late 50's all QMA clubs standardized the rules to allow only Continentals. They are direct drive with a 6 to 1 gear reduction box bolted to the side of the crankcase. The reason this (reduction) was done was to create more torque coming off the corners. Racers that ran other (non-Continental) engines back then went to great lengths to reduce the gear ratio for better pulling power. I have posted an example of this below. The Briggs is in a 1957 Moss quarter midget, but this will give you an idea of the space used to accomplish this. I have also posted a pic of a current engine with the gear box (orange chassis). I have seen several variations of this early procedure done to "other" motors and although the application is rarely ever the same on any 2 cars, they are all trying for the same result.
(these tracks are so small, they need more low end torque and less top end speed.) Again, there were no set rules in the very early 50's so any cool motor from that period would be acceptable. Have fun !!!

 

Is there room to fit a Rotax in there? Go,Man,Go!

 

After seeing what Casper was saying, I can see the engine mount holes, and the jackshaft mounting to the rear on the left side



I was really surprised to see roller bearings and races in the wheels, I was sure it was old lawn mower parts, but now I am thinking it isn't....



really interesting brakes too

 

A girl and her front axle....it's a beautiful thing



I've added a bunch more photos to the album. Saturday, we took it all apart and got started on it.

 

July 1951 Page 201? Thats what I found when I did a google search of all Popular Mechanics.

http://books.google.com/books?id=WN...&ved=0CC0Q6AEwADgy#v=onepage&q=midget&f=false

 

that link is pretty cool, did you scroll up and look at the power hacksaw?

my car is rear engine

 

more photos added to my album.

it's coming together, prepped and primed the chassis today, then reattached the bare front steel. Looking good!

 

Not sure what your plans are when finished. If you are going let that pretty little girl drive it, I would consider fabricating a roll bar. You could mount it into a sleeve and remove it for appearance.

 

I think I will be changing the rear to include a head pod with a bar inside.
I like your idea of a removable one too.