History Auto racing 1894-1942

Here's more of the story, one of the more stirring incidents in motor racing history. Even if this is not all completely true, I'm after the film rights:

"The extremely rough surface caused the spare wheel on Varzi’s car to come adrift and to fall to the road after having rubbed a small hole in the petrol tank. The last two laps had to be run without a spare, Varzi knowing that Chiron was gaining little by little and that a single puncture would destroy all his chances.

"Meanwhile, Chiron had damaged two wheels, but could replace only one. [He was driving iwth one hand--his mechanic had been vomiting all the while, and finally passed out. With no seat belts, Chiron had to hold him in the car.]

"As Varzi left the pits after changing tyres at the beginning of the last lap, he knew that he had no spare wheel (the attachment had broken), his fuel tank was leaking, and he might run out before he got round. Popping through the carburetor indicated that the supply was getting low.

"Grabbing a can of petrol from one of the many stations the firm had established round the circuit, the mechanic endeavored to pour its contents into the tank without stopping. Much of the fuel spilled over the tail, some of it dropped on the hot exhaust pipe and wicked flames began to play around the car. They reached Varzi’s neck, but he refused to stop. Crouching forward, and edging himself sideways in the seat, he gave his mechanic all possible room to fight the flames with the seat cushion."

http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/varzi_bio.htm

 

Looks intriguing kurtis!!!... one (possibly stupid) question though- would those louvers create lift?

 

Harry was talking about a Monza 1750 2 years later, why do you believe

Don't you mean 1930?

 

That's much more plausible, thanks.

 

http://images.forum-auto.com/mesimages/172915/SalmsonLRL34.jpg

Germaine Rouault and Odette Siko with a Salmson - 1934

http://www.forum-auto.com/sport-auto/theme40/sujet355035-210.htm

 

Press photo taken during the Indy 500 race and dated 1932.

This photo really gives you a good perspective of the shape. I have driven around it at about 125 MPH and on the modern pavement it was not challenging at all including the corners, but it also was not covered in oil like it used to be in the early times. The straights are 5/8 ths. of a mile long and when you come out of one of the corners and look down the straight the next corner looks to be quite long distance away . From that point you really cannot see much detail at all of the next corner.

If you ever have the time go visit as the museum is wonderful.

 

That wasn't a typo. Checkout the 1222 page Targa Florio thread at the link MrFire posted. It's mentioned in there.

 

No idea really. I'm trying to figure out why they were created at all.

Maybe they were punched in an effort to cool the oil pan. At first glance it looks like it is fitted with a full bellypan especially when looking at the car from the front but this is clearly not the case. As you can see in the photo below of the panel attatched to the frame with the louvers punched 'in' possibly in an effort to expel most of the air from under the front of the car but traditionally this was done the other way around with popped up or 'out' louvers. Another theory that's possible is the side louvers help push the air from the front towards the rear of the car.

 

A 6C P2 I don't think so or testing an obsolete P2 in 1931.

 

Kurtis,
I beg to differ with one of your points.
The P2 in original form that your great picture shows was 1987cc (8 cylinder). 1750 is typically a 6c. I can find no record of the Modificato being sleeved down to 1750. In fact, the Modificato version in your photo is punched out to 2006cc.

Other modifications from the original include:
-Obvious bodywork revisions
-Lower, streamlined 6c-ish radiator
-Steering, axles, and brakes

I also agree with the later posts; the photo of Nuvolari in the car isn't from 1931, as the only Alfas he drove in sports car races that year were 6c 1500 and 1750s, and 8c 2300s. Probably a case of the photo being mislabeled?

Regardless, it's not from the Targa in 1931. Nuvolari of course won that race in an 8c 2300.

Great photos; thanks for posting!

Cris

 

Oh! I also have to amend something I typed earlier. I have conflicting sources that alternately list Nuvolari driving a P2 and a 6c 1750 in the 1930 Targa Florio. I found a photo of him in the Angela Cherrett 6c book and it definitely appears to be a 6c 1750. Apologies, as I think I said he was on a P2 Modificato in an earlier post.

Cris

 

which reminds me of the Tipo A and these great pics of the 1931 Italian GP.

 

Campari in the twin 6C Tipo A at the height of it's short chequered career looking a bit like a cartoon version of Nuvolari in a Monza and on his way to winning the Coppa Acerbo...

 

I am sure we have seen this photo here before, I posted it because it was such a clear press photo of DePalma.....

 

Cris & ehdubya. Thanks for the corrections.

No excuses on my part but i did mix up a couple of letters and numbers in my confusion. P2 & 6C.

I had another browse through the Targa Florio thread on the French site and found a comment in relation to the Tazio photo and agree with the both of you that it is from 1930.

Thanks again and sorry for the confusion.

 

This photo is captioned 'Varzi & Nuvolari together in 1928'

 

***STOLEN 1911 E.M.F. AND TRAILER***

from Pitsburg, CA.

Follow the link for more info...
http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=542596

 

kurtis,

Thanks for the extra pics! Is there any more info or history on the car?

 

http://www.motorcities.org/uploaded_pics/cmsimages/image-20100913131144.jpg

http://www.evansville.net/user/boneyard/babs07.htm

 

1932 Catfish Special

http://www.f1-info.cz/?gallery=f1foto/foto0000/1930_1939


http://www.shorey.net/Auto/Miscellaneous Pictures/1932 catfish special indy racer.jpg

 

Atlas Chrome Special.

http://www.f1-info.cz/?gallery=f1foto/foto0000/1930_1939

and from IMCDB site




http://imcdb.org/images/104/366.jpg



http://imcdb.org/images/163/637.jpg

 

From The Kurtis-Kraft Story the wreck of The Atlas Chrome Special. Car exists today but the body isn't the same as in the original photos

 

Advertising piece for the Sloan racing Circus.....

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

Bringing this back up.

Make somebody's Christmas a happy one.

 

Neato flyer T-Head, happy festering HAMBers

 

Urgent!! Someone please pass me the current phone #s & email adresses for Marty
Himes & Harold Seamen, Or at least ask them to contact me here in FL. I can be contacted by the email address on my website below, or will give phone # in PM on request. Very important to me. Thanks in advance. I only have OLD phone #s. Tell them Jody Gertler needs to talk to them.

 

btt

 

All of us on this thread are seriously interested in racing history. Many are collectors and photo collectors and some of you scour Ebay fo more photos about racing history
.
Does anyody know who the seller and buyer were for all those 250! Original 1950 and 1951 Raceway Garage/Joe Gertler race car and sports racing car photos that sold on Ebay last week? Seller from West Harrison, NY, is all I know. a HAMB member and poster JUST told me, yesterday morning, over a WEEK after the auction closed. Said he had bid on them but did not win them. He thought "I" had sold them on Ebay as, by a very Wierd co-incidence, part of seller's Ebay name was "Jodie". (my nickname to distinguish from Joe Gertler Sr.)What are the odds? Sure would mean a LOT to me to have some of those photos (or at least, scans) for my history projects about Dad, and for my kids, etc. Most of you know I do a pretty fair amount of posting photos of many of his interesting cars. There were a couple of photos in there that I have been searching for, for 30 years! I'm just SICK about missing them..I'm afraid the winning buyer may split them up, and they wopuld get scattered in the wind.. . I tried to contact the seller but no response from him..and of course there is no contact info for the winning bidder either.