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

To say nothing of the inside guardrail posts waiting to snag you. It was a dangerous sport for driver and spectator alike.
Dangerous - but thrilling.

 

A earlier shot of Lou Webb in the Woestman Spl. in So. Cal.

 

A side note on the #21 Marks car that Webb was driving; From Michael Ferner's notes:
"For the 1940 season, the team built a new car to supplement the aging former two-man car, but it was an ill-starred venture from the start. Generally qualifying slower than the old car, it retired from every one of the three National Championship races it competed in (although Harry McQuinn scored a couple of good results in Sprint Car races with it), killing its driver Lou Webb at the New York State Fair. It was repaired and entered for the 1941 Indy 500, but did not qualify and eventually perished in the flames that swept through the garage area on race day morning."

 

George Snider in Watson's cammer, Carl Williams in his own 21 and Bruce Walkup in the Dunseth#1 at Terre Haute 68.

 

What gorgeous machines! Each a different builder.

 

Johnnie Parsons, Autobrite Spl. circa 1951.

 

This was one of those times when Watson turned the Offy block around and ran with the injection on the right side and the exhaust on the left on a dirt track. There must have been a reason but I'm not sure what it would have been.

Is this photo from Sacramento?

Thanks.

 

Watson did it in 1959 at Trenton, April race, practiced the car at Indy as well. Was numbered 52, Leader card DUO.

Several indy roadsters did the reverse injection/exhaust. See Johnny Thomson's car, His former dirt car with Hurtubise in it, to name a few.

 

Yeah that is Sacramento, here's a shot from 59 Hoosier 100 with left side exhaust. No idea why they would change back and forth like that either. Though it may be more a change steering than exhaust, but I have no idea why as there all dirt tracks

 

Just a guess about the reversed intake/exhaust. Might it be that it keeps Ward's engine from swallowing other people's rocks and dirt e when running in close quarters of each other?

 

I thought it was to use the roadster engines which ported that way.

Racing Associates did it too for Herk, also Bob Estes with Don Branson.

 

I could be wrong, but I thought they just switched intake and exhaust cams instead of turning the block around

 

Definitely not, valves and porting needed to switch sides.

 

I sold AJ a couple of halibrand steering boxes years ago and the first one he bought he made a comment about it steering from the other side like he used on some of his cars. I guess I should have asked questions. He was a great guy to visit with.

 

Russ Snowberger's #19 Indy 1940. Gotta wonder what's up with the refrigerators, keeping the beer cold or......?

 

I would like to ask some questions about car construction of the era - specifically, the area of the car behind the driver's back and in front of the fuel tank.

Did seat backs have bracing and structure behind them?
Did the rear body bustle have a bulkhead between the driver and the fuel tank?
Was there structural tubing behind the seat to secure lap and/or shoulder belts?
Were the seat backs always straight or did some have a contour for support in the lumbar region?
How early did side wrap around seats become common?
Were seats easily removable?
I have seen a few cars that had the fuel filler cap under the headrest, not on the outside. What gives there? What would be the advantage to that?

I'm talking principally about cars of the late '30s to the early '50s, with the driver positioned centrally in the chassis (single seater).

There are not a lot of pictures of that area of the car to be found. Most construction details are obscured by the upholstery. Any further enlightenment would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Although I am old I missed that era but I also have worked on restoring a few car of that vintage.

Did seat backs have bracing and structure behind them? --- Usually no, the seats were "bomber" style and the area where the back wrapped around the sides was all the support they had.

Did the rear body bustle have a bulkhead between the driver and the fuel tank? --- Again to my knowledge, no. Usually the most that the tank was sealed off came when the upholstery was snap fastened to the body.

Was there structural tubing behind the seat to secure lap and/or shoulder belts?--- The lap belts usually fastened to the frame rails and it was a lot later that shoulder belts came in to play.

Were the seat backs always straight or did some have a contour for support in the lumbar region? --- The seats were straight from the base to the top--again "bomber" style

How early did side wrap around seats become common?--- I have seen some roadster seats that had more material on the sides.
Were seats easily removable? --- If you unsnapped the upholstery and undid about 4 bolts, yes.

I have seen a few cars that had the fuel filler cap under the headrest, not on the outside. What gives there? What would be the advantage to that?--- Apart from the long Champ car races (Indy etc) there was no refueling during the race so there was no need to have an exposed filler cap. Quite a few cars simply had a hole in the top of the headrest that was covered by the upholstery.

Those of you with more direct experience please chime in and make any corrections or clarifications necessary

Roo

 

Some early 50s champcar setups.

 

Thanks rooman and Rootie. Right now I do not have any tubular structure on my chassis to affix the front edge of the bustle. I think I'll add one. It will also serve to mount the shoulder harness. I am also going to use a roll bar. I'm not comfortable with no bulkhead between me and the fuel cell so I'll probably put one in. As far as the lumbar support, my back is not brand new so I'll form fit the seat back to my back and cover it in upholstery. Thanks again

 

I wondered if anyone knows anything about this roadster 3/4 midget. The builder's name is supposed to be Gimpel. Built in the mid 60's and never completed.

 

A.J. Shepard's 1961 Hoosier 100 crash.

 

And that ended AJ's career.

Missing is the picture of him hanging outside the car as he hits a tree.

Lucky to survive!

 

Didn't he also take out one of the support columns for one of the horse barns in that crash?

 

It kind of looks like it in this old film. Shepherd's crash is at the very end of the short clip.

After his racing career A.J. took up driving a city bus in Wichita, Kansas.

 

Does anyone know the finer details to tell a prewar Pop Dreyer kids racer from a Cannon Ball Baker racer ? This came home with me from Hershey

 

The only other crash like Shepherd's I can recall is Gary Betthausen at Syracuse, I think it was.

 

J. P's. Wynns KK 4000 1951.

 

Saw him flip that car at DuQuoin, Labor Day '51