History Vintage "Cageless" Midget Picture Thread

If you need any model decals Slotcar Fever is great! send him a clear photo of what you need and he can reproduce them in any scale size you need and is very reasonably priced. No minimum, he will make 1 set or how ever many you need.

This is a photo of a 1/25th scale model of my Uncle's Modified I made using the decals he made for me using a photo of the car I emailed to him.

Click Here---> http://www.slotcar-fever.com/products.asp?id=15

I have no affiliation with this company.

 

Bob ..

I know that compared to many of us that you're relatively a youngster .. but if you go to many of the Vintage Race Car Shows, Old Timers Dinners in our area .. you'll run into Ken Brenn.

Just as some examples .. the annual show (in September) that he's such a big part of in Warren Township, NJ .. the National Old Timers Auto Racing Club Dinners (Brenn's the President) .. the Hinchliffe (NJ) Stadium Show, the annual Stan Lobitz shingdig in PA are just some of those he attends &/or has a big part of.

You'll run into a lot of drivers & car owners from your generation at them too.

THEY'RE FUN !!!!

 

Hi Guys,
Another Midget 'nut' from 'down under'.
I have Chevy 11 powered #4 the "Ollie Prather Spl." which raced out of Arcadia, Ca. in the sixties.
Any info on when and where it raced and who drove the car would be most welcome.
Thanks,
Mark Joblin,
Hamilton,
New Zealand.

 

Johnny Coy Sr. on the right, you can just see Marty Himes profile on the top left and I need help on the ID of the other 2 guys? maybe be Bruno Brackey? taken at some type of Islip Speedway gathering.

Rich Oakley Photo

 

I'd bet that former midget driver & car owner, sign painter and fellow poster here on the HAMB .. Spike Gillespie can also make any model decals that you need.

 

Islip Speedway NY looks like Marty Himes hot lapping the #52, not sure who is in the #31
Len Calinoff hot lapping in his #15 also at Islip Speedway NY.

Rich Oakley Photos

 

.....'Hey Mark (jobbo) ! That is truly a beautiful restoration on your car. But what makes it so special is because it's rare to see a Chevy II with an Ansen head. (Or so I presume???) The draw-back to the Ansen head was having to 'route' that number #1 cylinder header pipe around the magneto. Later on, the front-drives took care of that. The good was being an aluminum, 8-port, cross-flow design but another negative was the valves were particularly small compared to other makes. I hope you post some more pics of that beauty and a few of that rare-breed engine.

I'll go back and see what I can find regarding Ollie Prather and I've got some other publications regarding the Ansen head.

Thanks, Mark!

 

I'm surprised that they have the Caruso # 3 and not the # 2

 

December 1964 issue of US Motor Sports magazine.

Flemington, N.J 9/05/64

 

GRRRREAT STUFF!!!!

THANKS John.

 

The Marty Himes #52 is the former Frankie Cal Offy sprint car that started life as a Kurtis Kraft midget and was later stretched. Between it's time as both a midget and then a sprint car, it was driven by many top name drivers .. including (I believe) 17 drivers that competed in the Indianapolis 500.

The #31 midget is the former Jerry Willets "Sugar Blues", that at the time was most probably owned by the late Ed White.

The #15 midget that was owned by the late Len Calinoff at the time is a Joe Gertler built car. Joe's son Jody (memorbelia) posts here .. often with interesting info and pictures re his father.

 

Check the horrible looking sprint with Wimpy Erwin at Flemington. It was the Cobla special #99. It was`nt always ugly!!! It was originaly the famous Drake #99. Later owned by Lee Wallard and had a Hal engine, it had a chevy in 64. I now own the car amd will post some photo`s from the thirties, the forties, Fifties and sixties. Plus a list of drivers thru the years. It sure did get around from a state of the art in the thirties to the rat in the photo in 64.

 

John those flemington pics. are fantastic!!

 

Hello, This in my opinion (witch we know every one has one) was the greatest driver there was! I am sure if he was driving back before cages. He would have been the man to beat! But that’s just me.

 

I believe the 99 was also owned by Bob LaCour The 38 in the one picture was the car that came down on my father as he was lapping him in '63 resulting in a bad flip and a broken back

 

On this sight most will say AJ but with the number of wins and championships against the best in the country and numerous non wing and silver crown wins as well as a ROC win it's hard to vote against Steve Kinser

 

Gotta love the sharp lines on a pre-war hillegass headrest tail!

 

Thanks to Bobw for posting the pictures of my # 6 midget as displayed at the St. Paul World of Wheels last month. Thanks to the HAMB, I looked at his profile and threads and noted his main focus is in other areas but obviously has eclectic interests.

While three days of displaying the car was an OK winter diversion, the pleasure factor is no where near running a Vintage racing meet or even displaying at the annual Miller Reunion at the Milwaukee Mile where the attendees are focused on racing history.

The vast majority of the people at the World of Wheels have no concept or interest in the history of motor racing in this country. Rick Carey said it best and I paraphrase him here...

"...racing history...plays on a very small stage before a thin and specialized audience..."

And as that audience ages the corresponding earlier decades become all but forgotten giving rise the to phrase somebody coined that...

..."the problem with history is that there is no future in it."

Thank goodness for the Aussies, Kiwis and Brits who have done such a much better job with not only their racing history but ours, and in the long run, may preserve as much or more of our history than we will.

 

Just an aside to allow me to enjoy my own sense of humor and explain the number and type style on the #6.

Because it's a 6 cylinder Studebaker, the number six was a given.

In searching on my computer I discovered Haettenschweiler type font which produced an "in-line 6".

I enlarged and printed it as a pattern for the sign painter and created an understated style for this prewar car.

 

The first link starts off with: "The mighty midgets of the Auto Racing Drivers Club"

Huh?

 

The term "Mighty Midgets" goes way back. For instance this book published in 1948

 

Hello, Racerbillyc. Yes AJ is the man! Steve Kinser is A great sprint champion. Active drivers hard to beat Smokes record multiple championships in almost everything he drove. Also winning USAC midgets, sprint & crown all in the same year. Kart, Indy and so on and so on??????????

 

What it should have said was "The mighty midgets of the American Racing Drivers Club".

 

Rich came Down Under and showed us his Style. I raced with him in Brisbane at the Famous EKKA( Brisbane Exhibition/Showgrounds ) . A strong but fair Racer. I think this Photo may have been taken in NZ, Looks like the #76 V8-60 from Down there, SPEEDY

 

KK,
You're right... here are a couple of photos of the NZ car....

 

Don't know if any of these shots were posted yet but while looking for info on a future resto project at the day job I came across these shot from the big wheel......Rich

 

Would help if the pictures stuck,here they is......