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

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Joshua Shaw, Jan 17, 2008.

  1. indyrjc
    Joined: Nov 8, 2008
    Posts: 985

    indyrjc
    Member
    from Indiana

    You can see that Gerhardt was a thinker, though. Supposedly this wing was adjustable from the cockpit although it's hard to see just how from this photo. At any rate the wing came off after a few days of practice and several drivers took a crack at the Gerhardt Kurtis with Jack Turner being the last one and he couldn't find any speed either. :)
     
  2. indyrjc
    Joined: Nov 8, 2008
    Posts: 985

    indyrjc
    Member
    from Indiana

    A lot of teams were planning on running Goodyears in 1964. And both tire companies claimed that tire changes would not be required as both Firestone and Goodyear had tires that would go the full 500 miles with no problems. Reportedly, Goodyear was the first to give tires to the teams for free so that got them a lot of attention. However, after about a week of practice at Indy some Goodyears were starting to show some tread separation and Goodyear management put out some kind of release stating that they intended to do more testing before running their tires in the 500. Depending upon whom you listen to there are also reports that Firestone, in addition to giving their tires away for free, were also writing checks to former Goodyear teams to keep them in the fold. At any rate every car in the 1964 500 ended up running on Firestones and the winning Foyt car went the distance without a tire change just as advertised.

    1964 was the start of "tire wars" in Championship racing and they continued until the middle 1970s when Firestone could no longer afford to play. During this period both Firestone and Goodyear bought chassis, wheels, paid huge bonuses to mechanics and drivers, and paid for engines to their respective contract teams; all in the hope of beating the other company and being able to advertise the fact. And in the first couple of years many teams would go run tests on one brand of tire or another in hopes of tweeking the other company into coming back to them with a better offer. I suspect that's what was going on with Granatelli and his Novis being shod with Goodyears in the photo. I've also seen photos of Jim Clark's 1965 Indy winning Lotus 38 running on Goodyears in practice although when it was time to choose it was back to the Firestones. :)
     
  3. Jim Nise
    Joined: Oct 31, 2008
    Posts: 1,210

    Jim Nise
    Member

    I think Mickey Thompson's cars were on AllStates in 1964, Clark was on Dunlops.
     
  4. indyrjc
    Joined: Nov 8, 2008
    Posts: 985

    indyrjc
    Member
    from Indiana

    Yup. And the Thompson tires were actually manufactured by the Armstrong Rubber Company and Sears Allstate put their label on them. And while Dunlops turned out to be a problem for the Lotuses in 1964 at the 500 they had performed flawlessly the year before when Clark sat on the pole and won going away at Milwaukee on tires that Dunlop had developed for the American ovals.
     
  5. Thanks Indybigjohn...where did this photo first appear, was it in the Speed Sport News or Illustrated Speedway News or some other racing publication?
     
  6. s55mercury66
    Joined: Jul 6, 2009
    Posts: 4,335

    s55mercury66
    Member
    from SW Wyoming

    A couple of Mechanical Rabbits, and a couple of roadsters. The first two are Greg Weld, and pic #3 is Lee Bratton. The roadsters are Joe Martincic, and Lenny Waldo. Or perhaps my ID's are incorrect? Also my apologies if these have been posted before, and I just noticed a couple are a couple years past our 1969 cutoff.
     

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    Last edited: Dec 9, 2012
  7. sideways27
    Joined: Jan 4, 2009
    Posts: 285

    sideways27
    Member

    Thank you for the correction regarding the photo. The person I refered to grew up in Huntington Park Ca. where Kelley lived. He was 84 years old when he told me who it was and I know his sight was not very good at the time. He also grew up with Wally and Kenny Parks who were life long friends. He worked for Bell Helmets with another life long friend Roy Richter. He was a sales manager for Roy and went to many racing events including Indy for over 50 years through out his life. He was a racing historian and is well known as such as he wrote books and articals in many mag's. He also attended races at the old Ascot track as a kid. He has passed on shortly after showing him this picture. There was a name on the bottom of the picture that is printed Kelly Petillo. He may have read that and said it was Kelly. Sorry for the mistake.

    Bob
     
  8. indybigjohn
    Joined: May 22, 2008
    Posts: 1,713

    indybigjohn
    Member Emeritus

    Old age, I have no idea where it first appeared. I got Speed Age while I was in the service and stationed in Japan from 1957 until 1960, and I don't remember seeing it there. I found it somewhere on line.
     
  9. Bill Chadbourne
    Joined: Nov 28, 2011
    Posts: 71

    Bill Chadbourne
    Member
    from Sonora Ca.







    Hi: Here is the 3rd. Mechanical Rabbit built buy Don Brown and Joe Saldana, it is Joe Saldana at Knoxville Raceway with his mechanic Charlie Martin in 1969. Bill
     

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  10. indianaracer
    Joined: Dec 9, 2012
    Posts: 2

    indianaracer
    Member

    1965 hilborn 2 1/16 fuel injection. trying to find history on it, sprint- indy car?
    I have owned this for 20 years, just contacted hilborn to find age, they were kind enough to provide me with original order form, just wondering if anyone knows if any one or thing on invoice is sill around, or could be connected to any engine,car, chassis, or builders ect. sold to Auto Power Corp in san deigo feb 3 1965 I bought it in indiana in 1992 just wondering what it has been on in between please help me figure out this piece of history. thanks
     

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  11. Butch Evans
    Joined: Nov 9, 2008
    Posts: 115

    Butch Evans
    Member

    Mickey's cars were not supercharged and they finally locked down the rear steer trying to make it driveable.
     
  12. Buildy
    Joined: Jan 29, 2008
    Posts: 1,521

    Buildy
    Member

    Anyone have some good photos of Sonny Ates? I had a request over on my page for him and I can`t locate any in my collection,although I should have a few of him.
     
  13. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    I'd like to see more pics of his wife!;):rolleyes:
     

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  14. 19Ardun46
    Joined: Apr 24, 2008
    Posts: 29

    19Ardun46
    Member

    I can remember when Joe's roadster kicked around Lincoln for many years after he stopped racing it, and it had several different owners/drivers during that time, before it disapperared, only to be found by Bill Smith, and later restored to it's former glory.

    I have been an avid student of the history of any offset roadster, but I have a special fondness for any of the "Mechanical Rabbit" series of race cars built by Don Brown and Joe Saldana.
     
  15. lostintime
    Joined: Jul 27, 2009
    Posts: 31

    lostintime
    Member
    from minnesota

    Easter, if you have an interest in buying Jerry Richert's 62 Championship Sprint Car...........I know where it is.


     
  16. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    :confused: What 1962 championship did he win? :confused:
     
  17. racer76
    Joined: Jul 16, 2012
    Posts: 24

    racer76
    Member

    Jim, i did talk to Bud Wachhotz....he does not know what happened the the 76 sprint or the 76 super dad had
     
  18. pavementends
    Joined: Mar 25, 2009
    Posts: 42

    pavementends
    Member
    from Utah

    Wouldn't it be fun to have Benny Rapp chiming in on some of the discussion here. He's got a ton of history. Anyone know if Benny is on line, maybe introduce him to the HAMB...
     
  19. fogs58
    Joined: Jan 14, 2011
    Posts: 135

    fogs58
    Member
    from ooo

    Heres another view of Bobby Marvin in the #76 sprint car. This is from a 1963 Whos Who in Racing by Hans Abbott.
     
  20. easter
    Joined: Nov 25, 2010
    Posts: 554

    easter
    Member

    I can't afford to even fill up my work truck with gas, lone enough buy a race car. Thanks, though. Do you mean #62 or 1962? The #62 car was Scratch Daniels and #63 was Jerry Richert (Wagner team mates). Before these guys, I believe the #62 was the car A.J. used to drive and the #63 was the car Johnny Rutherford drove. I'm not sure what Jerry Richert was doing in 1962. I was in the 1st grade.
     
  21. oldtom69
    Joined: Dec 6, 2009
    Posts: 583

    oldtom69
    Member
    from grandin nd

    in 1962 Richert was driving the#69 McDonald Offy in IMCA races,finished 3rd in points.62 was also the year Jerry won the Knoxville nationals driving Ted Readys car,also #69,this might be the car the late Jake Bozoney showed with the IMCA oldtimers group.The last sprint car Jerry drove[1985] was the #62 Frattalone sponsored car,I believe was also owned by Ted Ready.Please check this info before use since its from memory and I have been known forget what day it is
     
  22. carl s
    Joined: Mar 22, 2008
    Posts: 745

    carl s
    Member
    from Indio, CA

  23. Buildy
    Joined: Jan 29, 2008
    Posts: 1,521

    Buildy
    Member

    The fellow on the left does not look like Billy Arnold to me. However the track and the other driver IDs make sense to me.


    Here is the rest of the story,as Paul Harvey used to say.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Devore
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2012
  24. carl s
    Joined: Mar 22, 2008
    Posts: 745

    carl s
    Member
    from Indio, CA

    Here he is in aother photo-
    [​IMG]

     
  25. Buildy
    Joined: Jan 29, 2008
    Posts: 1,521

    Buildy
    Member

    Still doesn`t look like Arnold to me.

    That`s neither here nor there to me though,as the Devore-Batten part of the photo is what I care about.

    I wonder what is up with Lou Meyer,too. He looks really skinny,I know it is him but never saw him looking like this before.
     
  26. carl s
    Joined: Mar 22, 2008
    Posts: 745

    carl s
    Member
    from Indio, CA

    Did you notice 'Eddie' Meyer peering over the shoulders of Earl and Norm?

    Wish the original photo had a better shot of the fellow on the left.

     
  27. Buildy
    Joined: Jan 29, 2008
    Posts: 1,521

    Buildy
    Member

    Last edited: Dec 11, 2012
  28. Buildy
    Joined: Jan 29, 2008
    Posts: 1,521

    Buildy
    Member

    I`m leaning on the driver on left being Ralph Hepburn after checking other photos of him at that age. Standing with his own car,that would fit.
     
  29. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    Richert, Johnny White circa 1962.
     

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  30. Oldtom...I think you are correct with all of the suggestions but I also have memory lapses despite what my log-in name says. Also the winning 1962 Knoxville Nationals car was ( I think) originally built by Frank Kurtis and the cage was a bolt on one and again I think this is the same car that was displayed at the IMCA oldtimers meeting a few years ago. Any help or suggestions from others will be appreciated.
     

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