Features VINTAGE SPRINT CAR PIC THREAD, 1965 and older only please.

Thanks Jim. Great pics on that thread. One of them shows how the frame rails were spread to squeeze the V8 in!

 

Can anyone identify these cars? Thanks.

 

The #46 was called "the red rooster" built by Herb Porter and Rocky Phillip and was one of the earliest sbc powered champ cars. Do a search on this forum as it has been discussed several times over the years.

 

Thanks Rootie. The search revealed 16 responses!
I think Porter & Phillip were "Racing Associates", is that right? Did they build roadsters as well?

 

Yes they did. BTW- The other day, in the roadster thread, a picture of a red and black roadster out of Pa. that raced dirt was posted and is this car after it was sold off.

 

Yes, Dick Swartzlander ran the car as a sprint car at Williams Grove and other places. The wheel base was shortened and a chevy under the hood. The car sat on the pole at Indy in 1959, finished 3rd in 59, 5th in 1960 and 4th in 1962.

 

Was there more than one of these cars?

One of the Porter roadsters ended up with a guy in Arizona - can't think of his name at the moment, an old age thing - who ran a few champ car races with it in the sixties and several years later converted in into a steam powered Bonneville streamliner. I remember some magazine articles about the car after the conversion.

 

Skip Hedrich, who worked for Porter at R/A, is his name, don't know about a steam powered car but in recent years he has run the American Eagle streamliner at B'ville.

 

To clarify things, I misspoke. The 86 in the picture was a knockoff built by Phillips. The original that I documented earlier was built by Luigi Lesovski which had the finishes mentioned above.

That car was what Swartlander drove. It was black and red, driven by Don Davis to 4th place at Indy.

Ebb Rose the driver in the picture of the pink and black 86 was the owner of both at that time.

 

Yes, the paint on Swartzlander's car 8s the same paint that was on it in 1962 when Don Davis drove it at Indy. It was the pole sitter in 1959, painted Racing Associates pink and driven by Johnny Thomson.

 

Thanks guys for the great history! Complicated but really interesting. just like everything else in real life.

 

Low resolution copy of this great cutaway by David Kimble. Maybe someone can come up with something better.
Thanks

 

No they are not Gary Stanton frames, they're Tognotti-Ferkel frames. In fact one or possibly both of the
Jack Maggs cars pictured were Ozzy copies of the Sacramento manufactured originals.
That's the one & only Garry Rush pictured along with McCubbin.[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure Garry Rush's car was the copy, and Mc Cubbins was the Original. Rush's car had been sold and that was an original Ferkel. It was the No 1 car at the time. The good old days.

 

And the late Ferkel-Tognotti cars, if not all, have the motor out a couple inches farther than a Trostle chassis, which they were almost a carbon copy of. 40 inches vs 38 is the number that is stuck in my brain.

 

Didn't Trostle build the first production run of Tognottis or was it Gambler ?

 

Tognotti was selling Trostle chassis, and had purchased 6 of them to sell, so yes, Bob did build the first few. Tognotti took one and went to California Cycle Works and had them copy it. Rick Ferkel, sponsored by Kear's, who had a deal to sell Tognottis, got to give some input that was put to use, one item being the motor plate location. Rick divulged that detail in an Open Wheel article, from 1980 or 81 if memory serves correctly. I have heard that CK Spurlock was also selling Trostle chassis, and the first Gamblers were also Trostle copies. Corrections welcome.

 

Need some help with this sprint that is being restored. It was raced in the north east. We are to the point now of trying to ID the names of the owner, driver, mechanic on the side of the cowl. Can anyone help with this?

 

I think the owner is Dick Morris of Arlington/VA, and the driver probably Danny Daniels of Batavia/NY. Sorry, no idea about the mechanic. Based on the number, the year is probably 1960, and the track looks like Shangri-La in Owego/NY. This car usually ran the URC circuit, from 1957 to '63 or thereabouts. Has probably a prior history, but I have no clues as to what it could have been.

 

Received an email from the owner of the #8 today. He asked if I would post his comments in the hope that it might jog the memory of other readers. So, here is the copy:


As @vtwhead has said, we are restoring the Dick Morris Chevy # 8 and would like to get the names of the, we suspect, owner – driver- and mechanic correct as painted on the side of the body. More importantly, we would like to make contact with Mr. Morris or his Family or anyone else who could shed some light on this early owner. There was a Richard Morris, listed as being from Arlington,VA, who placed 13th in 1952, and 11th in 1953 in the Owner Point Standings with the N.A.R.A. A Dick Morris placed 33rd as an Owner with N.A.R.A. in 1954. Can we assume this was the same man?

The car is rather distinctive in that it is right hand steer, meaning the draglink is on the right hand side of the car. The car has been further confused with the Ellis Brothers #8
that raced about the same time and was also black or dark blue and sometimes also piloted by Danny Daniels of Batavia, NY who seems to have been a favorite driver of Mr. Morris as well.

Under the U.R.C., Dick Morris placed 9th in the Car Owner Standings in 1957, 9th again in 1958, 8th in 1959 and 7th in 1960.

The photo of #8 that begins this thread was loaned to us by the man who took it, Lou Ensworth of Allegany, NY, on June 2nd, 1963 at Shangri-La Speedway in Owego, NY.
I assume that Mr. Morris is standing and that Mr. Daniels is the Driver. As for the names painted on the side of the car, under magnification it appears that they might all begin with “M”, one might be a “Jr” and the third is totally unknown. Was it a family operation?

If you are lucky enough to have a copy of “Tow Money” Vol. 1, there is an interesting story and photo of Bill Holland driving the Dick Morris Buick, a power plant he presumably
tried before settling on the Chevrolet. see page 105. It is 1958 at Flemington NJ and the car is, again, a #8 but with left hand steering. A wholly different car? Who knows.....

In the same book on page 99 Mr. Morris is pictured with a group of other well known URC personnel. He seems to be wearing a bandage on his forehead and a very nice embroidered shirt with the “Morris” logo. The gentleman obviously took his machinery and persona seriously.

Now it seems to me that an owner who did as well as Mr. Morris, over such a stretch of time, hasn’t just evaporated from memory. We have fragmentary evidence that he once listed Falls Church VA as home earlier in his career, but more often is associated with Arlington, VA as home.

Is there not someone who could help lead us to the Morris or Daniels families? Yes, I know, I was only 11 years old when that picture was taken, but there is a good chance I was at that race and since the car has survived relatively intact I would sure like to honor those three names on the side of this pretty U.R.C. Sprinter.

Thanks for your help,
Jim Mead

 

Not sure if I'm doing this right, as this is the first time for me.
Received an e-mail in response to my post #25111 of January, and am replying here on the HAMB, according to my understanding of the rules:
Thank you "unassembled" for your informative response, which should put me on the right track. For a start, I will be trying to get in touch with Bob Connell as you have suggested. Much appreciate your help.

 

Hello everyone, Needing some assistance on the open wheel car Fritz Wilson drove to second place at Pikes Peak in 1965. Color and Number most helpful. A picture would be a treasure. Thanks in advance for any help at all.

 

Fritz Wilson didn't compete in the open-wheel class in 1965, and finished only fifth in the stock car class, driving a 1964 Ford. Wrong year?

 

I just saw a video that Speedway did. They're building a complete 410 sprint car using only in-house parts. The vid also includes some shots of older sprinters in their museum and interviews with their race and research team. And after it goes on tour it gets a fresh engine and is given away. Interesting...

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/the-...olbox070919&utm_medium=email&utm_content=hero

 

OK, Thanks. Really having a hard time finding any info at all on uncle Fritz's run up Pikes Peak. Cousin Scott (Fritz'z son) says he raced a 65 Plymouth Belllevedere he got from Richard Petty. You don't have any otherideas on the Ford do you?

 

Sorry, I'm no use on cars with a roof!

 

When the driver is sitting in the seat in a real racecar, he(or she…) is able to see all four wheels(or at least the tires...) Hey, I finally found the right site for this!!!!

 

Been a while since I’ve posted. Almost to the end of my 65 Watson sprint car build. Car is done, ready to fire off soon. Down to paint and lettering. Can’t wait to meet dirt here in a month or so.

 

Looks tremendous Black!

 

I have some books on Pikes Peak and some old results. I will try to find them in the basement and see what I can find.