History Vintage "Cageless" Midget Picture Thread

Try this link.

http://texasopenwheel.com/Midgetsvideos.html

 

Okay, try this just to get to the site. Then go to the forum, then to Texas open wheel history, midgets. There are some great vintage videos here.

www.texasopenwheel.com

 

Hasn't run since the 40's.It sleeps somewhere on the West Coast.

 

Let me see if I can help with the links:

The National Auto Racing News of November 4, 1937, reported that "the
first midget race ever to run in the state of Texas" was held at
Houston Speedway on October 31, with "more than 9,000 people jammed
into 7,000 seats."

This video was a special find for me since my father competed in that race.

http://www.texasopenwheel.com//index.php?showtopic=179

There are also 6 complete issues of National Auto Racing News from 1940 posted here:

http://www.texasopenwheel.com//index.php?showforum=20

And this PBS documentary on Auto Racing in Houston

http://www.texasopenwheel.com//index.php?showtopic=446

 

I'm sure you guys recall the beautiful Ed Lowther Offy midget.Well it now resides in Sydney Aus. I had the pleasure of watching it circulate at speed at a vintage midget show and run day here in Sydney last weekend. Fantastic day with about 30 old midgets strutting their stuff on a big 1/2 mile cinder track.

 

Oregon's own Len Sutton on the left and Louie Sherman on the right. Len drove for Wes Beck, Louie for Clarence "Smitty" Smith. Picture taken 9-25-50

 

To see how the old tires were made, look at this photo. It shows new tires, probably Ascots quite clearly.

Doc

 

I plan on going!

Last year I got to push Johnny Mann in this car also got to help work on it when to bolts backed out of the flange on the crank and it would not stay in gear. Had not helped push a car driven by Johnny since he drove Dewey's bagder.

You can tell it's Johnny Mann by the gold helmet and the white hanky in his mouth.

FYI NASCAR has tire testing in Loudon on the 8th and 9th.

 

Tommy, Is that some sort of secret code or did you not proof read before you posted. (grin) Denny Z.

 

Denny, no idea as to what happened. I copied it off of this weeks column. Some weird stuff snuck in.

 

Shorty!

 

Very nice shots of an un molested Kurtis. Like to know how he cooled that 60 with the small Offy grill?

 

Maybe they didn't run "Nitro" like the famous speed equipment manufacturer was rumored to do.

 

Don't need nitro to cook a 60 if it's not getting enough air to the radiator. This is Danny Oaks in my Dad's V8-60 at Balboa Stadium in 1946. Even with the louvers in the nose the little Ford was still boiling after a 30 lap main.

 

I read about a guy in Denver who raced a V/8 60 wearing tennis shoes, he was a dare-devil, named Burt McNeese.

 

And more from Loudon 2011

 

more

 

Nice photo's Bob, we were very happy with the day. My family put on the event with the assistance of friends and members of the Vintage Speedcar Assoc. of NSW. Apparently we got a better car count than the modern midget show that evening (34 vs 27!!) but I don't like the chances of the local track using our promotional tactics, free entry, free food and and an open bar after!!
The reason for the celebration was my dad turned 80 this week. He had a ball and took 2 cars so he didn't have to share a ride, I spent most of the day chasing round between him in his 1980 Edmunds coil over, and 60's Showgrounds legends Peter Bowland and Bob Pymble in a 60's Sesco powerred single rail edmunds.
Pops had a ball and I think we also found why the coil car darts when you shut the throttle, (see photo attached )
Thanks again to all involved and hope you had as much fun as we did, I've heard the 90th birthday will be a 2 day show!!

 

lloyd r,
I never get tired of turning up at Bankstown and watching the vintage midgets strutt their stuff! Some more pics from the day.....looking forward to that 2 day show...

 

Love the sign on the last car

"Warning: Tatnall is a health hazard"

 

Yeah it is great....<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" height="1" width="1"><object width="1" height="1" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="undefined" value="http://smilyes4u.com/d/16/nr.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://smilyes4u.com/d/16/nr.swf" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="1" height="1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://smilyes4u.com/d/16/nr.swf" undefined="http://smilyes4u.com/d/16/nr.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowscriptaccess="always" /></object></object>

 

A nice Edmunds in the Indy area.

Bob

 

"Tatnell is a health hazard" comes from his Winfield cigarette sponsorship, George was a great showman an expert self promoter. The 'Winfield Wedge" was "gorgeous" George's answer to the VW invasion and the Liverpool Speedway's experiment with asphalt.
Having lost his national tittle, and struggled to adapt to asphalt in the exTattersall Casio Offy, George and brother Joe first bought the Edmunds roadster. It has already been documented in this thread that this car was outlawed before they even got back home. I was a bit young to know the full details but I think the new rules specified the cars had to seat the driver upright.
The wedge was Tatnell's response, an upright offset motor car. I think it was (Chris?) Magee who laid the car out, if you look at the photo carefully you see it was a single rail car with leaf springs both ends and offy power laid over at 45deg. This very traditional combination was given a radical "aerodynamic" body which polarised the fans and official alike.
George had great success at Liverpool with this car before it to was eventually banned and destroyed in race accident with another driver at the wheel.
I always think it a little ironic that so many "tradionalists" objected to this car, which minus the cage and bodywork could have been an early post war car,( gee we still even ended up with the wedge hoods when they began being used in the USA a few years later). George stopped arguing and purchased an Edmunds VW with which he won back his national tittle for the third time.
The car in the photograph is a recently constructed replicar, that has its own contreversy but I am glad to see such an important car recreated. The edmunds VW never really left the family and is being restored by George's son Brooke.

 

This picture shows GT in the wedge duelling with A J Foyt (January '76?), if remember correctly it ended in tears shortly after this with GT and AJ coming together and Foyt hard into the wall. Foyt his father and George Snider had to undertake an epic rebuild of the car. Foyt proceded to dominate the delayed feature in his 2nd and last appearance at Liverpool.

 

Curtis Offy. I`m thinking a track on Long island,maybe Cedarhurst.
Click on albums and then the photo thumb to see a larger version.



http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=421164254578080&set=o.154449714579619&type=1&theater


Another view-looks like Georgie Rice to me.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=411491935545312&set=o.154449714579619&type=1&theater

 

I'm in touch with the daughter of George Rice, and she's sure it is her father in the car, but did not know what track it was.

 

I have a kurtis midget that George Rice got from Frank Curtis it was one of Franks #8`s. this is the one that had the chrome carb covers. George sold it to Avery Lampier, who sold it to Harry Hull. The offy engine blew so Harry installed a twinfire 60. The car was succesful. I got this info from George Landry, Hulls driver.

 

Can you post them directly for those without facebook?

 

I have a question, over on the sprint site there is alot of talk about micro midgets. I have a friend that has a midget that he has had for 35 years and it was old when he picked it up. He told me it has a 74" wheel base with 8" tires and had an engine mounted in the rear. The 74" wheel base tells me it is a TQ but the tire size is wrong as the TQ's ran 10" tires. Could this be an old Micro Midget? I do remember them running but do not remember their tire size. He is looking for info and wants to restore it.
Thanks,
Bob