Vintage shots from days gone by!

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Long before he was U.S. president, Missourian
Harry Truman was a sort of proto-hotrodder!
When his mom offered to help him get a car
so he could visit his girlfriend, Bess, in Inde-
pendence 20 miles from the family farm, he
said he didn't want a Model-T, as that would
make him look just like the farmer he was.
Instead he borrowed $600 from his future mom-
in-law and bought a 30-horse 1911 Stafford four
made in Kansas City. The engine had an
overhead cam, roller lifters and, by one ac-
count, hemispherical combustion chambers.
Harry's tinkering soon had the Stafford capable
of 60 mph, and he ran the dog crap out of it!
Not only could it pull the steepest hill around
in high gear, Harry would have to shut the
motor down near the top for fear of going
airborne at the crest. He loved to see if he
could drive the 20 miles to Independence on
the roads of the day faster than he could get
to Bess via the train. He gradually stripped
away a good deal of sheet metal to lighten
what he called his "machine" -- what we'd
today call a hotrod! With a 4-5/8-inch stroke,
Truman eventually converted the torquey car
into a truck-like affair for use by his Missouri
National Guard unit.

 

Great period photo !!!!
Must be the "Starlite Inn" that was situated at U.S. 80-84 West,
Abilene, Texas.
The newest car I can see is a -60 Ford, guess the photo is from that year.

 

I'd sure like to know the story behind this one. One of those women looks alot like my grandmother right around the time she would have graduated from high school in 1942. And I remember being told that she worked for a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer when she was young. Looks like a late 30's Chrysler in the background...

 

Troy Ruttman at Ascot Speedway.....

 

Marvin Panch (fast qualifer) finished second in this 300-lap NASCAR race held on 8/1/54 at Oakland Speedway.

 

Carl Joiner and crew, Portland Speedway 1960.

 

Lilly Tomlin ??? (a-ONE a-ringy-dingy; a-TWO a-ringy-dingy . . . LOL)
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