This is pretty far off-topic, but I just can't help myself... I was cruising through the Library of Congress Flickr stream and found the photos you see here. From the little research I've... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Human life wasn't worth as much back then, the roll bars were there so they didn't have to fix the cars. The guys would heal up for free.
This was done in Houston in the Dome stadium in the 70's. A local race track owner built a dozen or so old cars and had a complete round cage front to rear so when hit they would actually roll over and right side up again. I will look to see if I have any pictures and post if I do. The did several shows as I recall.
Holey mother of a six legged goat running backward that is insane! But strangely cool and alluring, I wanna do that sooo bad. Doc.
Malcom Bricklin (sp) imported a bunch of egg shaped subaru's and installed external roll cages so that the cars would do a 360 degree rollover in a "soccer game" with an 8' ball.
What really blows my mind is that folks were able to capture these 'action' pics using the equipment of the day... absolutely amazing.
I was thinking along the same lines as hotrodjeep or maybe just have a couple of them old bugs running the quarter mile.
If I remember right , early NSRA meets would have obstacle courses and "gymkhanas", aka slalom races, where the street rod passenger would try to push a basket ball through the course with a shop push broom while the driver tried to drive the course...? (or was that some chemical induced dream I had back in the 70's?) I bet insurance factors killed it.
I was thinking the same thing! That must have been one hell of a camera to catch the action shots. Pretty crazy, but cool... Malcolm
I think these pics were staged, then re-touched. Look at the left rear tire ion the left car, it's been doctored. And is that a plank holding up the car on the right?
You are right ! I remember doing that same thing with a broom and a soccer ball ! We also did one where we hung out the passenger window with a broom handle and had to try to catch the rings as you drove as fast as possible ! Did this in a 32 Chevy back in 1972 or 1973 at the NSRA East when it was Timonium , MD ! had a lot more fun back then at the shows ! They don't do that Kool stuff anymore !
NO marks in the dirt either ! Where are the people in the stands too ? OH well just another fake that someone dreamed up !
I was on the State Championship team for this in High School...not really but I would have played sports if they had a team like this!
At first I wanted to show you were wrong, but now I think you are correct. The pictures are of two distinct events. One looks real, the other a bunch of guys clowning around with cars. That photo isn't the only one where a car was raised up by a board and re-touched.
That's called "Rod Jousting". I remember my father doing it back in the mid '80s- I believe it was up at Cumberland, MD at the Roundup (I was only 5 or 6 years old at the time). I'm pretty sure they used a pool stick instead of a broom handle. One year he broke a driver's side motor mount and the throttle stuck wide open on his '39 Chevy- he was just able to shut the car down in time to keep it from crashing through the guardrail. I think I have some pictures at home of them running- I'll post 'em up if I can find them.
They used to have them, starting as intermission entertainment, at the California Jalopy Association races, at Culver City Stadium and Gardena Stadium, in the early fifties. I think they started as just a few of the jalopies. Later they had their own TV coverage in Southern California. I've seen no photos of them, recently; but, as I recall, they were using '35 to '37 Ford chassis' with full rollover cages. Many of them would roll all the way around; and continue after the huge (looked to be at least 6 foot) ball.
I didnt know Adobe and photoshop were around that long ago!!! Pic 6, car on the left you can see the post holding up the car as well.
Pics might be staged for posters and advertising but AUTO POLO was real.. Being CONEY ISLAND, The pics were probably used as Post Cards to send to your buddy's. Would have been a blast! ...and the cars would get "locked" together!