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

Looks amazing!! Great job!

 

Aren't you building a roadster ? Any progress to report ?

 

I was going through some of my dad's things at the shop and found this picture of "Uncle" Louie Unser and his Sealed Power Special Pikes Peak Hill Climb car.
This picture was taken outside of Colorado Springs Auto Parts where he worked for years. My dad and his good friend Thom Jamison raced Corvettes in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. He always said Louie was a crazy son of a gun behind the wheel(crazy in a good way).

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Does the vette have a bunch of negative camber or is the photo distorted?

 

The photo was curled up from being in a drawer for years, I didn't pin it down when I took the pic with my cell phone.

 

The photo is distorted also from the lens selection. This would be most noticeable at the corners of the pic - where the wheel is.

 

Has anyone found any history on this car? I will confirm with my Dad but I am certain this is my grandfathers race car. And was built in Guthrie center Iowa. My dad will have a lot more history of the car and drivers

 

The open wheel car is the Ex Glen Shultz Stutz (first win among many for this car was 1927 and was supercharged then) and has a semi independent rear axle. Originally it had transverse double leaf springs and later was modified to parallel double leaf springs and a Stutz DV32 engine for Unser. The car eventually ended up in the Bill Harrah collection and I own it now and plans are to restore it back. This is Glen Shultz in the same car in 1930.

1930

 

Curious about that semi-independent rear axle. Any pictures you can share, to show how it is arranged? Thanks.

 

This is a pix of my Grandfather the driver Gordon Stone (Stoney) somewhere in mass I believe in the late 20s early 30s he owned
Coombs Motor Co. in Watertown Ma. A Ford dealer ship with his partner Frank Carter.
Notice the model T radiator & the front differential !
I have been told that it was one of the first experimental front wheel drive race cars.


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And this pic shows so well the low profile that was made possible by front wheel drive. And surely at a fraction of the cost of a Miller FWD.
Interesting use of disc wheels at the front and wire wheels at the back.
Would love to see more pics of this car.

 

...well it's finished......too much fun on the street....

 

What an amazing accomplishment!! Great job!! Did you get lots of looks?

 

Wow, beautiful car Black vette. Whose tires are you using?

 

Neil...got a few......stopped a few people in their tracks......love driving this little car.....its got 184 bhp.....feels like a hell of a lot more

 

thank you Firestone Dirt Trackers by Coker

 

It's taking me awhile to go through this thread, but it's awesome! I'm new to the HAMB and feel free to slap me down if I'm proceeding the wrong way.
I'm hoping to get the history or some info on a sprint car I purchased some months ago. The previous owner had hopes of restoring but it never panned out. He purchased it around 15 years ago and had limited info on it. It was built by a Bill Rhoades in Paris, Illinois around 1953. It had a Ford Flathead. Supposedly raced into the 1970's but I question that - it seems too clean and no battle scars, etc..
I purchased it to put a SBC and just run it for fun but after looking it over closer, I'm thinking it may be original and I don't want to modify anything if it is. It doesn't have a drivetrain but has all hand formed aluminum panels, nose and tail, Culver City quickchange, 37 Ford front axle, Ford radius rods, even the upholstery looks original? It has #7 on it now but not sure if it is the original number. I'd love to find out the history of this car. Anyone recognize it? Can anyone steer me in the right direction?
Thank you.

 

Welcome to the HAMB, good luck tracing the history of #7, looks early '50s no cage or roll bar. Finding out the history can be a lot of fun. Wish I'd kept two cars I had, both had lots of history that I found after they were gone. Bob

 

Shadow..did you build a sprint car ?

 

His personal profile and related posts show he built a car - a very pretty one - and subsequently sold it.

 

Thanks frenchtown flyer, i,ll try and get in touch with him, i would like to build a late 30s car like that.

 

It may be that the car was raced that long, but only sparingly. Nice car.

 

Yes I built it from scratch, it was a personel challenge to build it with what I had and to fit me as I am a big guy and normally would not fit in a real car from that era. It is modled after my uncles midget race car (color,number and looks) but is a "Big" car like they ran in the 40's and not a midget. after getting the car done I really had no where to take it other then local shows so I sold it and put the money and my efforts into a pre-WWII midget restoration after finding one in a barn. the year after I sold the Big sprint car Mel stared the TROG events not far from me over in NJ. Had I known this event was coming I would have kept the car and ran it on the beach. I did a complete photo history of my build so if you want any pic's or info I will gladly email stuff to you. maybe I can help you "not" make the mistakes I made. It was a fun build and in hindsight I would have done some things different but over all pleased with the outcome as I did everything on the car, it never my garage. the only thing I am displeased with is the fact that the guy I sold it to tells everyone he built the car and had gotten plenty of ink up where he lives in NY, he even displays pictures of the build in my garage and says its his garage! PM me if you need pics or info.

 

Thanks for the kind words buddy, your champ project was one I followed a lot!

 

wow what a time piece! kinda looks like a Hilligis nose?

 

Oh thanks Shadow for coming back.
Thats disgusting about the man who bought it from you..grrr
I would like to build a"big car" like yours, or like the Bowles or the k8 specials plans... photophucket have buggered up the images though of those plans.
Here in france i havnt got access to lovely ford axles and cant afford to buy or import.
I have a simular style beam axle that i will try and widden.
I have a peogot 203 chassis from 1931 the i have taken of the rails to modify.
It will have an ot ford 4 cylinder and gearbox because thats what i got.
Yes please i would like your help with photos and some dimensions if possible of your beautiful car.
Thanks for the photos and would love some more.
Cheers,dave

 

Did you ever get any response to this?

 

Hi, Does anyone have a photo of the Warren Wickham Sunset Auto supply sprint car from about 1956 on? Or possibly number it carried and color. Should be a Buick nail head powered sprinter. Thanks for any help, Don.

 

Not the best photo, but it does show a Dodge Red Ram.