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

Jim for some reason I can't seem to get registered there could you pass this along?


Roy, the car Grant built ran in 1969 with Al, I know we won one event out of the 4 that were on the schedule. Dirt car points counted toward the USAC Indy car championship in 1969 and 1970. Bignotti contracted me to stay in Indy in the winter and do a redo of the car from the ground up at the 15th st. shop. I modified some tubes, put power steering in it and a new oil tank and plumbing, cages were not required and added nitro to the race package.

The car won all five events in 70 and added 1000 points to Al's first Indy car championship title in USAC. I can not remember how many races we won in 71 under the Johnny Lightning sponsorship.

Bignotti left to go to Patrick Racing In 1972, in 1972 cages were required and Joe Fukashima put a cage on the car in May of 72 to comply and the points for these cars were not part of the Indy car championship beginning in 1971. To much complaining from the non dirt Indy car owners. We won in 72 but did not run every event. I borrowed Watson's car for Duquoin and we were rained short.

In 1973 I was in my second year as chief mech. on this car and we won USAC's dirt championship hands down over team mate Mario. Mario was in a new King car with Jim Mcgee as chief and they finished second in championship.

During the winter Andretti politicked Vel and Parnelli for me to be his chief on his Indy car and dirt car as I had been also Joe Leonard's Indy car chief with the 71 and 72 Indy car National Championships. Now for 1974 I had two drivers in Indy car and one on the dirt.

Phil Casey became Al's chief on the dirt and with the original car and I worked on the new one that campaigned in 73 with Mario. The work paid off as we won the dirt championship again only with a different car and driver. Three firsts and a second and a third out of the five. The original car with Al bent the cage at Sedalia slightly and a new one was put on for the rest of the races. This car sits in the museum of Vel and Parnelli's in Torrance, Ca.

The second car, I was not working for Vel and Parnelli as I had put together the Alex Morales Indy car team, but Al wanted to run some dirt and we ran 3 events with the
74 Mario car and won one, It then was sold later and I do not know the history of
where it is. This 75 season was the first season they stripped Nitro Methane from the formula. That hurt the 255 cu. in. engine against the big torque Chevies.

This is the history of these two great cars.

This is next part is from me Roy not John, Al Unser won the Hoosier Hundred 4 years in a row in the original car, 1970, 71, 72, and 73. Even though Bignotti was "listed" as the chief mechanic while he was there until 1972 John Capels took care of the car. When I was a kid I went sown to the Waterway blvd shop of VPJ on a few weekends and washed parts for him on both cars as he stripped them down to the bare frame after every race. John also had a pretty successful car of his own that Pancho Carter and Billy Vukovich drove

 

Incidentally, Roy, there has also been a very good discussion about Jimmy on that forum.

 

I have some pictures of the original Sumar Streamliner that I took at Don Smith's open house last summer but I can't get them to come up on this site!
ZOOOM

 

This car is running the Chili Bowl this year by Cody Brewer from OK. I know it is not pre 1969, but thought some guys might like it. Lets call it a tribute to better days! This car supposedly has an Offy in it, but I hear of some rumblings that it is an Esslinger. I think it would look better with out the panels above the rear shick mount and along side the nose.

Bob Shutt

 

Great pic Bob!

 

On eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other-Vehicles-Trailers_Race-Cars-Not-Street-Legal__vintage-1964-CAE-sprint-car-antique-racer-race-project_W0QQitemZ170294441523QQddnZOtherQ20VehiclesQ20Q26Q20TrailersQQadiZ2792QQddiZ2828QQadnZRaceQ20CarsQ20Q28NotQ20StreetQ20LegalQ29QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRace_Cars_Not_Street_Legal_?hash=item170294441523&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Currently at $2550
Located on the east coast

 

Racer 5C, Roy

I posted your reply on TF, Thanks

Jim

 

The 56 was a Leffler car it was owned by my dad Jack Stillions and Jerry Shields. Bobby Black drove it the year before. The car was pretty much destroyed in a crash in Orrville Ohio My dad sold out and Jerry had it with Bob driving it to a bunch of wins.

 

Question: re the "Twin Ring Motegi Speedway " in Japan. I have a photo of a large symbol @ the entrance with 2 views of Vukie's # 14 Indy roadster. Does anybody know why this car would have been used in this way??? In the near future I will have an image to enter here. ML9.

 

That pic right there is golden.

 

Saw this on another site. Today, "The Master", AJ Foyt is 74 years grouchy.....
HG

 

Can't think of any connection Vukie, or anyone involved with the car, had to Japan. Especially in 53-54 when Japan was still rebuilding and Honda himself was probably still bolting surplus motors onto bicycles (I believe Honda Corp. owns Motegi)

Americana of that period, such as western movies and John Wayne, Elvis and early rock and roll, and 50s-60s automotive styling has long been very popular in Japan. It would be easy to see that Vukie and the F.I. Special could be symbolic of auto racing of that period also. JMHO

 

racer5c
Roy
Since you drove for Watson, and seem to know him for quite a while, i have a question;
How much did he talk about his other drivers? He did have quite a few.
Im actually trying to learn more about an incident involving my all-time favorite driver; one Jimmy Bryan. All through my years as a kid, then teenager, i never saw Jimmy make a major mistake. I still believe he is the greatest driver of all time, bar none!
I was at Langhorne that terrible day. In fact i happened to be standing in the infield right where his car finally stopped. Now, to me it looked like he simply cut down across a rut to take the inside away from i think it was Branson. Looked to me like he just hooked the rut and the car flew high into the air.
As is usually the case with great drivers, i heard several stories about what caused it. The most popular one around here was that his right front wheel broke. I didnt see a broken wheel, but i could have missed it in the confusion of the moment.
What, if anything have you, or anybody out there, heard about it?
Its not a nice memory, but it had to do with the end of a real racing legend!
Oh yeah, another theory was that Jimmy was not used to a four-bar car, had he run them before?
Thanks for any help from anyone with true knowledge of this.

 

I remember Bobby Black driving the a Shields/Mitchell car to a bunch of wins at Lawrenceburg in '73. I believe Bobby finished second to Butch Wilkerson in the South Central Indiana Racing Association series (Bloomington, L'burg, Haubstadt?) that year. At the awards banquet, in his acceptance speech, Bobby stated "If it wasn't for us losers, there would be no winners". Bobby was not a loser and as the PR guy at the time for L'burg I got to know Bobby and he was truely a "good guy". Good looks, good racer, and good personallity- great for PR!

 

I just finished reading the Clint Brawner book Indy 500 Mech. and he states in it that Jim had never driven a four bar car before that day. When Jim drove for Clint in the Dean Van Lines car Clint hated going to Langhorne with Jim. He said Jim "just scared me to death there" and one time he didn't take him there citing that the car was not ready when it could have been.

Bob Shutt

 

Did anyone notice? 1 year, 3956 posts,198 pages and 312,000 views ago, this thread was started. Whodda thunk!

 

that may be the best looking "new" open wheel car in the last 15 years

 

Impossible to say for sure, but the wheel looks to be intact on the axle in this pic. (?)

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

This Post is ONE year old today.



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My computer has been down for a week and a half now, I'm at Kinko's... You guys are doing great!

Joshua Shaw

 

Hooray.

Happy B day to 'Vintage Sprint Car' thread.

And thanks to all of you for all the incredible info.

 

Somebody should figure out how to make a book of this post and offer it for sale. Discount to HAMBers of course!

 

Here`s to another year of the best thread ever!

 

I agree that the flat panels are not to my taste AND that this is the best looking car to come along in years and years ...
I HOPE it wins the Chili Bowl and everyone starts copying the nose and cowl because of it!!!
Joel

 

Rootie,
You never seem to amaze us with you Avatars!!!

 

Congratuations on one year!

I'd like to know what happened to the old Wes Scott "Jimmie Davies midget". Haven't seen it in years.

RCT

 

wasn't that Less Scott's car? I think from there it went to Dave Edwards who was killed helping a lady change a tire on the way home from a race at the speedrome. not sure where it went after that I will find out though

 

During the upgrade.

 

Yes, that was Les Scott...sorry about the typo.

RCT

 

I think I was mistaken I don't think Dave Edwards had that car I think he had "Ole Blue"

I will find out

 

The Jimmy Davies midget has been beautifully restored.