Total nonsense. Maybe you shouldn't live in the rust belt. I have owned more 40's and 50's and 60's cars than any of you whiners. If you want a car to last, keep it in a garage and service it regularly and take pride in its appearance, and don't live where they salt the roads. Common sense.
Found some more good stuff in high school yearbooks again, so here we go. Camelback HS in Phoenix: More to come...
More from Arizona: Scottsdale High. Looks like a bit of a wait at the pumps: Wonder where this roadster is now?
Rootie, what do you think the brackets over the front wheels of the Velie were for? Notice the lowered spindles in the front too.
1953 CADILLAC LEMANS MOTORAMA CONCEPT AUTOMOBILE CUSTOMIZED BY BARRIS KUSTOMS Automobile show at Pan-Pacific Auditorium, 1952
From Torrington CT anybody recognize it? Bob Welborn with the Plymouth he drove on the NASCAR Cup circuit for car owner J. O. Goode
My best guess would be some kind of brake setup (think bicycle) but it's really not clear enough to see how that would work.
You are right..But what's wrong is folks DON'T take care of them. My wife has had 4 cars in 55 years of driving; the minimum years was 10 and all were sold for top dollar used. All garaged, serviced way ahead of time by me, and only one in an accident. Her 2015 is getting ready to turn 10K miles and had 5 oil changes because of all city stop and go. 100% of the guys here are car folks and I'll bet ALL of their daily drivers are way above average. Today we are trying to salvage the ones that were not but stuck away somewhere to find.
The Velie cycle car was powered by a motorcycle engine, that photograph, was of Ray Ritters in the Velie #2 at Boland speedway in Tacoma Washington in 1914. You all will have to do a deeper research to find out exactly what purpose the steel hoops were for, interesting that they are tied together, with a center bar also in the middle if you look at the car a bit closer., I found another shot of another cycle car racer from that time period also, at the same race track. Looking back on another cycle car earlier in this thread, its apparent that the hoops were for fenders, but to do that it requires 2 hoops per wheel. The Velie #2 only has 1 per front wheel. The mystery continues.
Looks to be a qualifying photo from 1953 with the Merz Engineering car of Bill Boyd. Boyd missed the show and never did qualify at Indianapolis. The "Commercial" sign board on the right would have been used for another entry (Commercial Motor Freight) that was also a DNQ that year with both Allen Heath and George Tichenor trying the car. Don't think I've ever seen a photo of this car. Thanks for posting.
View attachment 4429492 Wendell Smith's is still open today, been there since 1952 https://www.wendellsmithsrestaurant.net/site Right across the street from Bobbie's Dairy Dip, been there since 1951 https://blogs.wnpt.org/mediaupdate/...-memories-of-nashville-now-bobbies-dairy-dip/ If you're ever in Nashville, they are both worth a visit!
The hoops had to have a purpose. On a race car if it's not needed it's not there. Thanks for all the racing knowledge and picture you ID.
Keeps the wheels from collapsing sideways when cornering? Something for the rubber to rub against in case of flex? With those big, narrow hoops and spokes, those wheels don't exactly inspire cornering confidence. Maybe?
View attachment 4429493 Bob Welborn with the Plymouth he drove on the NASCAR Cup circuit for car owner J. O. Goode View attachment 4429494 Hey Loudbang, do you think that "Plymouth" was sold by a Studebaker dealer ? View attachment 4429495 [/QUOTE]
Re the Velie and the hoops. Best educated guess would be that it was using standard bicycle type front wheels, the spindles were not strong enough to be supported from the inner end only and required support for the outside end of the spindle. The link across the tops of the hoops adds further support and would include pivots to allow the wheels to turn. Pretty crude stuff, from the pioneering years. these type of vehicle were called cyclecars, and were often very spindly contraptions. Mart.
The Jalopy Journal
