History Hot Rodding In 1920

Since today is the first day of 2020 I thought it might be fun to look back 100 years and see what the Hot Rodding scene would've looked like in 1920, if there even was one. I did a little research on what was ,and wasn't around, in 1920. For example Bell Auto Parts didn't open until 1923 Sir Malcom Campbell didn't set his speed record in the Bluebird until 1924 so I'm thinking it may have been just Henry Ford and Louis Chevrolet racing on the sand and maybe some indy and maybe some Grand Prix racing but except for a hand full of dedicated car enthusiasts that would have been it. in fact I'm wondering if street racing had even been a thing back then.

 

I think they started racing Model T's in 1909, Ford had one win a cross country race back then. Speed equipment it tough to date since they didn't print the years on most pieces. This Laurel Motors head has a 1919 date added to it. Should be a Great thread! Bob

 

There was a bit of info on hopping up and lowering as well as special bodies in the old Ford Owner magazines even before 1920.

 

My great Grandmother was born in 1888 here in West Ky. By 1920 she was married with a son. I remember her telling me once that if you were lucky enough to own a car, you took care of it and drove it like a human. She didn't understand racing at all. She said there wasnt such a thing as car lots until the late 20s , if yours quit, you just parked it behind the barn and cobbled parts off it to keep your next one running. I bet hot rodding was a rich man's sport in 1920. Most folks were barely getting by. I would love to sit and talk with her again .

 

cheepsk8, I don't think hot rodding was a rich mans sport. Back then a rich man could buy himself a Stutz or a Mercer or something similar. It was the guy who wanted one but couldn't afford it that was modifying his secondhand Model T to look and hopefully go like one.

 

do not really understand it but, everything made in 1924, and earlier years, has moved into Public Domain. Only items not included is sound recordings. This action occurred today.

 

Jalopy, I think it has to do with length of copyrights.

 

1922 saw the first Fronty-Ford run in the INDY 500. Bob

 

I always believe as soon as the fenders came off the evolution had begun...

They call them Speedsters but I think they were driven by those that had some Hoodlum in them thar veins...

Highboys before the Highboys...and Racing was connected Bigtime...

 

Hot rodding has been around since there were 2 or 3 young guys with cars to race against each other. They just weren't called hot rods until the '40s.

 

1911 You stepped up and bought a MERCER. Bob

 

My grand father, Ira's, Ford "T" hot rod. four years later ( 1924)

 

Look up the history of Corona CA. The racetrack was built in I believe 1913. It's part of the city. The circle still exists to this day but now is simply a street. No racing after 1916.

 

Bob, and in 1923 a Model T based racecar finished 7th at Indy.

 

My Grandfather did not have a car when he married my Grandmother. That is her on his 1913 Indian that he used to race other local motorcycles and horses on. His first car was a 1917 Maxwell. Both are sadly long gone.

 

There was racing in Daytona before Malcolm Campbell. This car reportedly went 102 MPH in 1908.

 

You had to be a member of the Racing Association.

 

This ad is from 1918...

 

They had to make the turn at the end of the beach. No cheating.

 

I have a lot of old photos of the beach racing era in Daytona. This is one of my favorites. I believe they are trying to start the engine, and it takes 3 guys pulling a large rope to turn the crank! Or maybe they are trying to perform some kind of repair. This photo was titled Vanderbilt roadster 1906.

 

DeLand is the county seat for the Daytona Beach area. In addition to beach racing they raced at the fairgrounds.

 

Daytona 1919

Daytona 1920


Daytona 1921

 

Daytona starting line 1905

Daytona 1906


This one says
BOB GREEN FRONTYFORD. BOB PUTNAM SIMPLEX POP DAILY, DUSENBERG; SIG. HAUGDAHL, MILLER SPECIAL 8

 

Automobiles have been raced since their inception. It was the builders at first racing their creations because of the pride in having the fastest car but soon they realized that racing exhibited reliability, probably the major fear in laying out big bucks from those who could afford them. That's true to this day, but even more important, since most anyone can afford their favorite from the "big three" today. David Buick was one of the first manufacturers to have racing teams employed at his factory but GM, Ford, and Chrysler have had their hand in racing off and on for well over 70 years.

 

Curtiss V-8 motorcycle
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Curtiss V-8

Manufacturer Glenn Curtiss
Assembly 1906
Class Speed record challenger
Engine Curtiss B-8: 269 cu in (4,410 cc), dual carburetor, 90° F-head V-8[1][2]
Bore / stroke 3.625 in × 3.25 in (92.1 mm × 82.6 mm)[1]
Top speed 136 mph (219 km/h)[2]
Power 40 hp (30 kW) @ 1,800 RPM[2][3]
Ignition type Battery ignition, jump-spark
Transmission Direct drive
Shaft and rear hub bevel
Frame type Steel tubing
Brakes Rear v brake[4]
Tires 26 in (660 mm)[5]
Wheelbase 64 in (1.6 m)
Dimensions L: 7 ft 10 in (2.4 m)[3]
W: 2 ft 3 in (0.7 m)[3]
H: 3 ft (0.9 m)[3]
Weight 275 lb (125 kg)[3] (wet)
Fuel capacity 2.5 US gal (9.5 l)[4]
The Curtiss V-8 motorcycle was a 269 cu in (4,410 cc) V8 engine-powered motorcycle designed and built by aviation and motorcycling pioneer Glenn Curtiss that set an unofficial land speed record of 136.36 miles per hour (219.45 km/h) on January 24, 1907.[6][7] The air-cooled F-head engine was developed for use in dirigibles.[8][9][10]

Contents

• 1Engine
• 2Legacy
• 3See also
• 4References
  • 4.1Bibliography
• 5Further reading
• 6External links

Engine[edit]
The forty horsepower engine was the two carburetor version of the Curtiss Model B-8 aircraft powerplant, one of thirteen engines listed in the May 1908 "Aerial and Cycle Motors" catalog.[1] The engine weighed 150 lb (68 kg) and was offered for US$1,200 but it did not sell, in spite of the engine's notoriety from the speed record.[1] An eight carburetor version of the Model B-8 was used in the experimental AEA Red Wing and White Wing airplanes that flew in 1908.[1]

Legacy[edit]
Curtiss remained "the fastest man in the world," the title the newspapers gave him for going faster than any vehicle, on land, sea or air, until 1911,[11] when his absolute record was broken by the 141.7 mph (228.0 km/h) Blitzen Benz automobile.[12] No motorcycle surpassed the record until 1930.[13][14] Curtiss's success at racing strengthened his reputation as a leading maker of high-performance motorcycles and engines.[15]

It has been suggested that the literary character Tom Swift was based on Curtiss.[12][16] Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle, the first of over 100 books in the Tom Swift series, was published shortly after the V-8 record setting run.

The record setting V-8 motorcycle is now in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.[17] The Air and Space museum lent it to the Guggenheim for the 1998 The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition in New York.[9][18]

The Curtiss OX-5 aero engine, a successor of the V-8 motorcycle engine, powered several United States civilian and military aircraft. More than 10,000 were manufactured

 

NO! Started 7th FINISHED 5th. Bob

 

1920 saw the founding of the Mercury Body Corporation in Lexington, KY and the patenting of their speedster body, for use on the Ford Model T.



From the corporate literature, their aim was: "...to provide features whereby a Ford car may be so modified in appearance and so improved structurally as to combine simple, comfortable, and substantial qualities with pleasing streamline effects."

From write-up on Classic Speedsters website.

 

Looks like a cutout where the exhaust makes its turn toward the muffler.

 

One of my favorite pieces, most T Speed Equipment flyers don't have a date. Could someone trace the patent number? Bob

 

1917 place unknown.