Not all were mono line. I flew 1/2a speed back in the mid 50s and it used 2 lines. In 53 I went to a contest in Al .I was taken in by the speed planes. One came loose and hit a brick wall. Looked like a grenade went off. Rules for them were strict. There was also jet speed.
Yeah, guaranteed instant death if hit in the head by one of those planes. Crazy, Were they enclosed in a 360deg. cage?
No they were flown in the open. With a 1/2 a eng mine was clocked at 73 mph. One of the jet flyers was over 175. .When one hit the ground and sheared the prop they went uncontroable rpm. Had to drive the spinner into asphalt. Nitro mix was the choice of fuel in those days. Same for the tether cars. They still run tether, just not the cars like I knew them.
And if ya really want to see some outrageous speeds,check out the giant scale RC turbines.There is one that I know of in the US that does in excess of 400 mph and one in Europe that has been clocked at over 500 MPH. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
Lets see some more tether cars. This is my Papina P-3. Although the kit was made by Al Papina in San Francisco in 1948-49, this car was run in Sweden (S.M.R.U. stands for Swedish Model Racing Union) before I acquired it. It is powered by a Herkimer OK Super 60 engine, and is ready to run. Mick
Anyone know the story on these? There is one for sale at the local Mantique Shop, and there was a recast casting for sale at the Iola Swapmeet yesterday.
Looks like it may be a recast of the upper body of a Dooling Frog made into a non-powered pusher. Mick
I wasn't sure whether to post this in the "hot rod toy" or the "vintage truck & buses" threads, but figured the tether car thread needed a boost. This is my Smith-Miller barrel truck converted to car hauler for my Cox Thimbledrome Special. The truck was tough to polish because of all the small nooks and crannies, but they both turned out pretty good. The Thimbledrome is a loose replica of the Gilmore Special that won the 1935 Indy 500. Mick
These are from when my Grandfather raced in indiana back in the 40/50's. I believe he was a track champion. My dad still has the car's. THE MAROON ONE IS AN ARROW,CIRCA 1948. THE SILVER ONE IS A MATTHEWS, CIRCA 1946. NO ENGINE.
{Cool thread }, But I've also been too poor to collect them. I do have some of the gas powered cars from the 1960's. I liked playing with those as a kid. Here's my old All American roadster, with R.F. at the wheel.
Awesome thread! Im just beginning in the tether car collecting obsession -so far have all the usual mite cars (o&r, McCoy etc) however I would now love to build a replica Dooling F - does anyone out there know of a source for a cast body in the larger size? I know TLC enterprises offer an 8inch variant however I would like the bigger size Thanks all and keep this thread going!
Thank you for this thread! My father, Ira, was very involved in the pre-tether/pre-war miniature car racing. My son, Brett, has the complete collection of his grandfather's engines, plus a one off tether car which is very similar to a Dooling Arrow. This car has a one-of-a-kind (no castings) engine which was my fathers only experiment with a rear rotary valve design. If this car is in a collection or appears for sale, please contact me here. I am including a photo of the pre-war engine he used at the Detroit Nationals. I machined this engine from original castings I found and using the blueprints from measuring an original engine. Thanks again and happy collecting!
Jim, very cool story, I have seen a couple cars powered by a Hassad engine, There is a custom built Hassad experimental tether car on e-bay right now that was in the Kirk White collection, but it does not look like a Dooling Arrow, it has the look of a much earlier proto car. Mick
Thanks for sharing that link, a very nice looking "period" look car. Ira actually built engines for rail track racers and became lifelong friends with Roy Richter (Bell Auto Parts, Cragar Wheels and racing parts) who built the chassis and body. Their partnership won the 1939, 1940 National Rail Car Nationals and my dad, with a Richter 'liner, finished 2nd in 1941, (plug wire fell of in last heat, he had won the 3 previous heats). The cable car that I am trying to trace is a "one off" that was built post war. The magnesium pan and balsa wood body were were my father's design. There was also an aluminum body of the same design (probably made by Roy) that I traded for airplane kits at a local hobby shop when I was 12, little did I know what the future held! I would also like to contact whomever might own the Richter cars to share stories. The red roadster used as my emoji on this site was my father's next project which ended his miniature car story. He actually researched the chassis design during the war from pre-war European car magazines and laid out the tubular frame in 1947. BTW, his wartime vehicle was a 100 mph Model A with a "B" engine. He was a machinist for the Navy sonar lab in San Diego, where he remained and I was born.
This is the only picture I could find of the Roy Richter cabin car and the trophy from the 1940 national rail car championships ( I think), and you probably have seen this. The photo of Roy and his cabin car and trophy is from 1941 (again I think). I've included a couple of other pics of Roy, that were labeled 1941 as well. Roy was a real craftsman and it sounds like Ira was equally talented. Mick
Sadly, my dad passed in 1980 at 65 years old and Roy could not attend the service as his heart condition was very bad. He passed away a year later. They had stayed in touch constantly and shared their accomplishments. My small tribute to Roy are the Cragar mags on our 1964 Falcon sprint, the first year they were sold. I recently purchased 'Roy Richter: Striving for Excellence' and it's chapter on Roy's rail cars included pictures of my dad and saluted him as the "engine man" who made Roy's cars so fast.
Pixotte, tell us more about your cars. Looks like you have an M&E cabin car, a Dooling Mercury and I'm not sure about the bare casting. Really nice cars. Is Tether car racing & collecting popular in France? I bought a modified, gas powered All American Hot Rod from a very nice man in France some time ago. Neat car with great workmanship. Mick
Hello Mick, Yes, it is a rare M&E SPECIAL and DOOLING front drive in work in progress and the casting is a French record car (étoile filante) made by friends. No, it's not very popular in France, just some collectors and only one track to try the cars but too far from home so I can go test it. JC
My Hornet Mite, powered by a Hornet 199 engine with one fin removed for no apparent reason. I believe this is a Dick McCoy recast using the molds and engine castings he bought from Ray Snow, the original manufacturer of the potent Hornet engines. It was painted and lettered by well known tether car restorer Tony Orlando (xaviator). This car is set up to run on a rail track. Mick
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