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

Eddie Buckner was a long-time IMCA owner, from Alabama I think, late forties and throughout the fifties. He ran a 220 Offy early on, later a 270. Drivers included Pete Folse, Iggy Katona, Marv Pifer, Jim McWithey, Bob Carpenter and possibly Don Branson and Bobby Unser. His cars always (?) wore #4, but this doesn't look like a fifties dirt track racer. But: there was a Ron Buckner in the seventies and early eighties, running a roadster Sprint on pavement in the Northeast and Midwest for the likes of Bobby Stelter and Chuck Ciprich. Maybe a confusion?

 

Without a cage though, it doesn't look like a '70's Super either.
No snarkiness intended

 

As a teen in the early 70s I was on a camping trip and we stopped in Lone Pine CA for a pit stop. There on a magazine rack was the latest addition of the USAC yearbook. Way better than fishing! The best picture in the book is of a single sprint car sideways in a turn, heavy clods flying in all directions, the car is on maybe 3 tires, the driver sitting upright, head up, open face helmet with a white bandana coving his face. It’s a picture that has always stuck in my mind. The caption was “Rollie Beale shows his dirt track proficiency”. Rest in Peace Rollie, and thanks for the memories.

 

Another new "mac miller" roadster coming together. It will be using the 1964 "CleanWear" paint job.

mac miller in INDY

 

Neat. Just wondering, about how much do these roadsters weigh when you are done? Gary

 

..love it.....you should start a production line...

 

1600 to 1700 lb... depending on the engine, rear axle, wheels & tires

 

I was at the sale too.. I pulled a lot of the body panels off the car for Bill Akin, Jim Mann, Bob McConnel and a couple others that were standing there. We all got a good look and agreed that it was never an actual roadster from Indy. (Like you stated.) It's a neat car, but has some odd aspects. Basically it was worth what the parts on it was worth. The 18" hals were good but not a MATCHED set.. (Different Offsets), The front 16" hals. The steering box, and the rear-end.
I was cleared by my buyer to go to $3800 just for the parts.. It went for around $4000-$4500 I think to a Phone bidder. (Your buddy)

Yes, the other cars went for good prices.. But a lot of the cars were missing KEY components to make them run. I bought the 1979 Johnny Parsons Jr. Indy car with the Turbo Drake V8 for my customer. We knew it was missing a few minor things, but they were all components we could get.

The 110 Offy powered Midget was the BUY OF THE SALE. A few key buyers and I were all chatting after I had bought the Parsons car, and we heard "SOLD" only to turn and see the Midget sell for LOW MONEY!

Let us know if you do find history on the "Roadster/modified". I'd like to know.

J Shaw

 

Not the same car but from the same era and genre.
You can see from the weekend warriors struggles to create aero bodywork why the discarded Championship Trail roadsters were a godsend to those who could afford them.

Todd Gibson in one of his early Flintstone Flyers
1964 Supermodified Invitational - West Virginia 3/8 mile paved


Some more visuals: (from jakes site)
http://www.jakessite.com/08/stats/results/1968.jpg

 

I don't see many similarities myself, but I've always kind of wondered what became of it. Seems to have been a "one and done" deal, so it must have survived intact. Pretty cool nose too.

 

Rootie, is that from 1957?

 

Yes, near as I can tell, that was the only year/race it was entered in and was a DNQ. After that it seems to have gone "poof".....

 

From what I can find, Lindsey Hopkins owned it. It has the Chiropractic shield on the nose, I think Rathman had that on his Epperly too.

 

That could be, but from what I could find it was owned by Dr. Sabourin (a chiropractor) who owned other cars in the 50s. Maybe he was a co-owner along with Hopkins. (?)

 

Could the mystery car be a remnant of the streamliner that didn't get finished for Vuky in 1955? It has odd angles which is why I bring it up.

 

Kecks streamliner got hauled off to a werehouse where it sat for 25 years.

 

any pictures without the bodywork?? I looked over some oswego pictures and couldn't find any supers that looked much like it.... something may be hiding under that bodywork that would distinguish it further??

kind of looks like a kurtis copy the way it sits.

 

cool!

 

trying to find out where my friend's dads sprint cars ended up, they were sold in Indy in 1970 or 71, her dad's name was Dusty Thacker, if anyone knows anything about these cars please let me know

 

Roy, No help in answering your question but the name Dusty Thacker rings a bell. I think his cars ran with us in URC back in 66 and 67. Stan may know. Denny Z.

 

mac,
what is the engine,trans & rear combo in tis car your building?
Paul

 

Nissan SX 2400 SOHC...
Nissan/JATCO 4 spd automatic...
10"offset 8" Ford

 

Looking good Mac, Id like to visit your shop sometime this summer to check it out.

Are you going to have any cars at the IMS vintage race?

 

Jerry Karl drove the Thacker car in URC. Tony de Senta will probably know (Jerry's nephew). Buildy on this site.

 

1968

 

The Bob Dicks #98 Agajanian Watson roadster replica and
the Carl Schulz #15 Boyle Valve Miller replica

 

Here's some detail shots of the Older of the Two cars that might help. The #35 Before the Bolt-on Single "Outter Hoop" was installed..


J shaw

 

Here are a few "body off" pics. These pix indicate to me that the car was certainly influenced by Indy roadster design but the bits and pieces show that it was built as a sprint car, not a modified Indy roadster.
The rear axle is a 2" diameter, common to late50s/early60s sprint cars.. The Indy roadsters used a 3" diameter axle.
I don't know what the steering gear is but it is not a Halibrand, which would have been used in the Indy roadster.
Also, the front spindles are not correct for an Indy roadster, which used International Harvester 9degree 3/4 ton truck spindles.

If the car had been an Indy roadster, they would, surely, have used the rear axle, steering and spindles. I doubt that the car ever raced with the 16" and 18" wheels shown in the pix, as by the time this car would have raced in the 60s, 15" wheels the common size.
The suspension is the standard cross torsion that was used by the Indy roadsters "of the day" so I believe the guy who built the car had some knowledge and influence of the Indy roadsters.

mac miller in INDY

 

Thought for a min it might be this Car: The #10 we run. We only know the history of this car back to the late 60's and it's VERY fuzzy.. but it was built in the 50's. It has mounts for Early Ford style Friction shocks. But it's a 3" round single tube chassis, and the THACKER car is a Space frame.. Oh well, we'll keep looking.

J Shaw

 

HA! Thanx Josh! The opinion of you and that group of guys convinces me!