Art & Inspiration Quarter Midgets from the 50's & 60's

Well there you go again, that is truely an interesting history. I knew it was dirt and then paved, but I never imagined it was paved to begin with. It makes total sence now because when my girls first ran pratice at Pomona, they said they could not see the straightaway ahead coming off the corner. The banking was much higher than Madera, Ca. (our home track) so I cut the cowl down on the left front side of their cars so they could see over it.. and they hauled ass from there ! Race lap times were just under six (6) seconds per lap!! Pomona was the worlds fastest track and I did not tell my kids that untill about the fifth time we raced there. They were pretty fast by then, my oldest won a few and my littlest even won a states race there, so after I told them they were on the fastest track in the world...they felt like little bad asses and we won several more races. Being a quarter midget dad was a delicate balance between ..counseler, cheer leader, psychologist, hero or zero. Soo much fun, it's something our family will never forget. ( pennies on the train tracks across from the entrance!)

 

for two or three minutes there i did'ent have any problems! nice vid/song.

 

1959 and 1960 in Atlanta, Ga

The picture with 2 cars and some of the kids that i raced with in Atlanta is Jimmy Bryan. He was racing at the 1 mile dirt track in town, Lakewood Park, and came over after practice and talked with us. He had won the Indy 500 the year before.

 

Nice shots LT23, tell us about the cars. Were you driving one?

 

subsribed

 

I always liked this saying

 

Yea that's me age 8 the 1st year on the dirt. It's a Mantz And the 2nd year at 9 on the pavement in a Kurtis 500. Held the track record that year at 8.13

 

Welcome LT23, I really enjoyed the pictures, thanks for posting them. I just made a deal and brought home this Kurtis 500 last night. I know it has been modified a bit, they raced it all the way up into the early 70's. Need to order the grill and a few other goodies from my buddy Steve in Bakersfield. I will remove all the up-dated parts and put it back to a stock, late 50's configuration. Also have a pretty nice original paint Kurtis 500 (posted pictures earlier in this thread) in the garage that I can use to compare what needs to be corrected. Kenny.

 

Do you know what kind of head is on that engine? Don't think I've seen one like it.

 

casper your going to be able to start your own racing association! how many are you up to now?

 

"Do you know what kind of head is on that engine? Don't think I've seen one like it. "

Hi Dean,
I'm not sure on the manufacture, it might be home made. The distributor and points cover look homemade also, but whoever did them was a pretty good machinest!


"casper your going to be able to start your own racing association! how many are you up to now?"

RD, nineteen cars at the present with one on the way. My poor wife puts up with this shit !! Kenny.

 

Thanks for the great thread. My cousins raced a 1/4 for several years in Northern Cal. They had a Kurtis. My dad, my brother , and I were the crew. They started out at King Norman's Wonderland in downtown Concord. We also raced at a dirt track in Martinez, Fairfield, Napa, Hayward, Redwood City,and our home track in Byron. For a year or so I had a 1/2 Midget which may have been a stretched 1/4 but there were so few of them I didn't get to race much. My brother took pictures and I know a few 8mm movies. I'll see if I can get them from his widow. Cool memories here thanks again to all of you.

 

My brothers last Pacemaker was a very special black car with Silver Engine turned 99, if you have a pic it would be Fantastic!
Danny Ruth

 

I know this is a longshot, but maybe someone can I.D. this Mantz quarter midget. It was found in New Mexico and may have come out of Colorado. It has been stretched about 16 inches and has a Briggs and Stratton engine. The cowl appears to say " John Fifiel...Indian Cycles (?)" Any help in identifying the owners, model, year, sponser or background on this would be appreciated. Thanks, Jack Logan, aka Studearch, Albuquerque, NM

 

Anyone know where to get Continental engine parts?
I have a Offyette with a frozen engine.

 

Contact Steve at Solt Engines in Bakersfield. 661-631-9515. If Steve doesn't have it, or can't find it, it's not out there.

 

Thanks I will call him when I get back from the Goodguys show in Columbus.

 

Hi I have a 1958 quarter midget for sale.freddy 716-893-0968

 

I found this today, it has a 55" wheelbase, 18x8.50x8 rear tires, and 16x6.50x8 fronts. The guy thinks it is a 1/2 midget, is it ? Anyone recognize the brand, BTW the body is fiberglass. Thanks

 

I have a few photographs I wanted to share. Hope you enjoy them. The black #37 Kurtis is my car. The rest are photos from my personal collection from Ventura, California.

 

Any of you guys planning on bringing these out to race at the White Knuckle Scramble?

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=824067

 

Thanks to gnichols, here are a couple of shots of the Bromme car that is in Speedy Bills museum. I have one of these cars and needed some pics of the torsion setup, thanks again Gary.
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Wow Gary,
That car is awesome !! The front end reminds me of a small version of a Volkswagen torsion bar. Bob Sharp used to tell me stories about the Bromme cars. Is your car the one that was sponsered by a chrome shop in Northern Ca. ?

 

I thought same thing re: VW beam. Yes, I own the Santa Rosa Plating sponsored car.
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Here's a couple shots of other Bromme cars:

 

Dean Thompson drove the first Bromme 1/4 midget before he was 5 years old. Bud Thompson had Bromme build the car and tailor it to Dean's small stature. The car was nearly 30 pounds lighter than 1/4 midgets of the day. Dean was fast right out of the box in that little car. I raced him quite a few times, and he was tough to beat. Bobby Olivero's last 1/4 midget was a Bromme car. Even as a kid I remember being impressed with those cars. The details were like fine jewelry.

 

Hey Bud, small world. I probably raced against you back in those days. My first Track was Monte Vista and when it closed we went to Chino. I remember Beverly Ann Solo too. She was a good racer. If I remember right, she was in a bad accident at a paved track and she wasn't quit the same. I used to run into her Dad once in awhile as he drove a tow truck for Blackard's in W.Covina. I was at that race at the Chino prison too. Ran against Danny McNight a lot. His dad had a lot of money so he always had the best equipment. I remember he always tried to get away with running the left inside wheel locked up. I beat him a few times anyway. Here's a few pics from the Western States Nationals in '62 at Pomona, one from Chino, and I think the trophy girl pic was Duarte.

 

I remember her. I raced against her a few times. She came from a different track so I didn't know them that well.

 

That's my green sidewinder, I've never heard them referred to as "Bromme" cars.
Does anyone have any more info on them?
We bought the car in 73, dad rebuilt it that winter and we ran until 77.
In 77 we traded it for a brand new factory fresh Goddard.
The guy we traded with said the car was going to go into a museum.
I don't recall the car having a torsion bar front end.

Cyclone, I'm going to my parents place tonight, I'm pretty sure there are some old pics of the car when dad was re-doing it.

 

That would be great, I'm not sure my car had that type or torsion as well.
Let me know what you find.

 

Bruce Bromme's 1/4 midgets had aluminum bodies, but every one I've seen had a cross spring front end. Bruce liked to build them as light as possible. The VW style cross bars don't seem like his style.