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

Hello All,

Interested to find out if anyone knows the History of this car. I took the photo at Latimore Valley in 2007. I didn`t write anything down. I`m pretty sure the owner told me the car is a Lesovsky.

Any info would be most welcomed!

 

Looking great Black Vette! I agree, plumbing usually means your in the home stretch.

Thanks to everyone for there replies and PM's about my fuel lines. Now to do the big order.

 

Just use your photo shop and put some grass around it.

 

Got to get Joe to roll it off the trailer first.

 

I posted over on the midget thread but thought I would ask the question here also. Does anyone have any contact information for Bill Montgomery who wrote the two books on Kurtis Kraft midgets ?
I have both his books, but I have an old Kurtis midget chassis that I've owned for about 25yrs. and I finally my decide to do something with it.
I need more information on de-coding the stampings on the frame and information on crossmember stampings as well. Thanks

 

Bill Montgomery
1299 Wisteria drive
Freemont, Ca 94539

 

The #6 Riverside Tire car, known as the Peters Offy was the first car i drove, running with the URC Fairs Circuit. Horn drove this car several times, and Joey Chitwood quite often. When i drove this car it was the first racing i had ever done, so it was a real hand full.
Jim Ruth

 

Jim- You mean you started out right from the get-go in Sprint cars? I knew you were a psycho, but I didn't know you were that crazy! . How've you been? I haven't seen you since you were racing URC in the early 80's! Glad you're still involved in the sport!

 

It has been a long time coming but we lit the #22 Bowles Car off today. Attached is a video of it. This was the first time we tried to start it. Put the car back to the original colors. Turned out pretty well. Few little things to finish up but it is pretty much done. Next stop a dirt track somewhere...

Now will focus on getting the Hisso together and stick that in.

If you are curious, there are a bunch of other shots of the car prior to the resto and when it raced in the 30's and 40's in this thread. Well documented car.

Cheers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozjs1TAIEAg&feature=feedu

 

Darn right I am!

Would love to see more photos before after and etc.

 

More please!
http://winfield.50megs.com/Adams/Doc.htm

 

Holy Smokes Jim your telling me your first time in any race car was in a sprinter? WOW you a brave dude. Denny Z

 

That car was owned and restored by Ray Swann. ray is a member of the WRA, Ray I am pretty sure bought it from Al Hendrix, Ray had pictures of it with Boles Seal Fast sponsor on the hood i think from late 40s early 50s

 

Does Doc still own the car?

 

Sorry for the short clip, but my wife so surprised when it took off she stopped filming. That video was the first time we cranked it over and added a gas. Not bad after a 50 year sleep. I will post more today. We set it up to race. 12.5 to 1 so it really cracks.

Mr. Bowles does not own the car but all of the historic pictures came from his son. He has seen the car though before the resto and he remembered pretty well.

I have been documeting the entire process from start to finish so hopefully CY will let me have a little space in SOSS. This was only supose to take a few months and it has been two years...

The plan is to get it out and run it a bit around the midwest next summer.

Thanks.

 

Bob; I dont remember you ever backing off easily either. Other than having seven back surguries and a heart attack, and stroke, im doin ok. I hope you nare all doin good.

 

Denny;
I bought that first car at Trenton the same day Don Gillette lost his life. I had always loved Sprinters, and the Big Cars. Wish i could have run the Champ Cars at Langhorne, but we never had that kind of money. And im not so sure i was good enough anyweay.
I think you showed a ton of bravery running especially at Indy.

 

Spike,from what I`ve heard, the Dirt Champ cars were like Caddys compared to a sprint car.

Now Langhorne,that place was always scary!

I respect ALL you guys who strapped in and went out there,esp those in the cageless days.

 

Thanks Buildy; You are right about Langhorne, one scary joint! Growing up and going to the yearly Champ race, my hero was always the great Jimmy Bryan! Im sorry that i was in the infield and only a few hundred feet from where Jimmies Watson Offy stopped in June of 1960. We all knew the outcome, and there were about 40,000 sets of tears flowing! A really rough one!

 

Spike,

My cousin and I were parked up near the cyclone fence by Puke Hollow. We were sitting on the roof of his car.
12 seconds after they dropped the green all hell broke loose.
I don't know what you saw but I saw the Leader Card cars right rear dig in, real hard, then it launched into a series of sickening endos. My cousin and I ran over to where the car landed. The scene was grim.

 

I was only 3 when Jimmy died.but I can remember how upset my Parents were about it.
I can also remember hearing the record Ballad of Jimmy Bryan when I was very young. My first ever race to see was at Langhorne in 1959,glad I wasn`t taken along in 1960.

 

until you ran your first lap with a full fuel load and hauled it into one on the start of the race, then they were like a school bus

 

Roy what did a full load weigh to run 100 miles? Had to be at least 4-500 lbs.

Like dumping a small block chevy on the back of the car.

 

A young fan gets to shake hands with Jimmy Bryan - check out the little guys expression!

 

Jimmy Bryan salutes the crowd as he crosses the finish line 1955.

 

The Lesovsky car(that I know of) that carried the Bowes colors was built in 1958 and was driven by Johnny Boyd and Jud Larson. It burned at Langhorne its first day out. It is the sister car to the Lindsey Hopkins/Joe Hunt machine owned by Larry Pfitzenmaier. Larry or Joe Fiore could probably tell you more.

PS-It was restored by Joe and in Ray Evernham's collection.

 

Here is a much better video of the #22 Bowles Dreyer Hal powered race car.

Turn up the sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFWOpSS2A6E

 

Here is Johnny Boyd just before the fire. Johnny told me the infection he got as a result of the burns nearly killed him.

 

Buildy, 75 gallons at about 8lbs a gallon is about 600lbs. I am putting a lower hoop on my other car to take the heavy lifting off of the tank mounts.

 

Between 7:21 PM yesterday's post and the 4:20 PM post today, looking at the you tube videos, you managed to turn the header heavy blue.

Where you been?

Hope you had as much fun as I did about four years ago when I got to drive this little bit newer Dreyer Hal.