I started collecting vintage quarter midgets many years ago and have owned over a couple dozen, but the collection took up a lot of space, so I sold off some cars and I'm down to only seven early cars now. That opened my eyes to modern day quarter midget racing, so when my daughters were old enough, I got them involved in racing and it truely is a great family sport!
My mother-in-law use to race against the Unsers (Indy, Pikes Peak, etc) when she was little. I'll have to scan a shot of two.
here is one I picked up a few years ago (neighbor's kid checking it out). I found it behind a body shop, and had to take it home. It is all steel, made from old car parts. suspension front and rear, hand brake, neat little car. I have better photos of it somewhere, but I connot locate them right now, but I thought you would like to see it.
Quarter midgets are amazing! I'm kinda hoping someone is planning on getting Jim back into some fast machinery again, or that he is still involved in this hobby!
Dean, I just KNEW you'd pop up on this thread! Buzz Bomb was the car's name? Neat. I surely would have lived another life ifn my old man would have taken me racing at that age! --- naturally assuming I'd have been any good at it, of course. Gary
I saw my first Quarter-midget race in about 1956 or '57 when I was 8 or 9 years old. Hot Rod Magazine ran a whole issue dedicated to the sport in 1957 or '58 - Maybe someone has that issue. I got involved in Quarter-midget racing back in the mid-'70s; had two nephews driving for me and then later, when he got old enough, my son. I tried my hand at manufacturing the cars for a while, but lack of funds forced me to finally give it up after building only 8 of my "Manta Ray" cars. The cars nowdays are quite sophisticated compared to the really early days in the '50s... they are also VERY EXPENSIVE! Great family fun, though, if you can afford to keep up...
You would have gotten a kick out him at at 15-16 yrs old when he thought he was a big-time surfer and running around trying to con the girls into believeing he was from "DOWN UNDER" by speakin' "Aussie"..."gday ! "
The thing of it is...it is not the kids hobbie....it is Dads and sometimes Moms..! Altho....I never heard a kid say he didn't want to go racin' !!!
I'm sure this picture has been posted before, but it still gets to me everytime I look at it. Wish I could have been there. Gary
One of the photos that Brandy posted shows me, my brother, father and best friend with our cars. Pic is from Hayward sometime in 1966. Mom got us started in 1965. I was 10 and my brother was 6 when he started. It sure was fun. My uncle raced full size midgets in the early 1950s.