1948 hillegass sprint car

next story was that in moving the motor forward the front mount no longer was in the right place....i moved it forward 3/4"......and for the life of me i could not make the front mout fir anymore no matter what i did........after a couple days of trying and a few bad dreams about a front motor mount......it came to me in a bad dream i believe ........i had another stock mount handy and all i had to do is turn the mount around and it all fell into place........so here`s the first look at the engine installed.....plans are to chrome the valve covers ,i`d like the first thing your eyes focus on will be the shiny valve covers they stick out so far and are really huge............. next hard job will be the exhaust pipes but got a real good welder guy here named Gene Trask and if anyone can help me ......this is the right guy......here is the next set of pics

 

Now, that there is a race car - if'n it don't scare the bejesus out of you it ain't no race car and this scares the hell out of me. Man-o-man, can you imagine stomping an injected hemi coming sideways out of the corner, left front in the air and have maybe a 90" wheelbase...a harley is 95"! That is just sick! Thank you for posting , somehow i have missed it until now.
Could you back up a bit and show us the brake setup? The mating of a wide 5 hub, to whatever that drum, the drum itself and especially the front hub assembly.
Thanks again, oj

 

i have some parts and pieces left.......tomorrow i will post some pics and explain what i used for this......................

 

And maybe a couple of words about the front axle. It doesn't show well in black paint but it looks to me like an early Ford I-beam with a reinforcing tube or bar welded the entire length on the front side. Am I seeing things?

 

good morning dale.......about the front axle..it is a stock frt axle and has some sort of a half round piece welded into that indented section of the front axle. when i first saw it i said (to myself)....maybe it`s a aero thing but i do not think they were thinking aero back then. it must be to add strength to the axle but it did bring a smile to me when i saw it.......thanks for asking jim

 

Lots of times, when an axle got bent guys would double up another axle to it, and pull the bent one straight ( with the use of a torch and c clamps), and then weld the two together. That may be a more refined way to do it. Or maybe not...Hardly ever know with an old car, could just be reinforcement.

 

this is a reply to oj`s question about the brakes on this car......i used the 39-41 ford back plates and brake shoes as the basic brakes....in the early years .the wide 5 hub/drum came in a one piece or a two piece combo ......i used the two piece ribbed drum ones and very carefully split the drum from the hub........then i got some 3/4 ton truck hubs and mated them onto the wide 5 drums....i was trying to stay date specific using this set up...the 3/4 ton hubs provide the base for all the hub set ups used on many years of racecars.....you need to be careful removing the studs but replacement studs are available from speedway motors...hope this helps..... jim

 

WOW, Very nice. Denny Z

 

Thanks for the info, Jim, i have heard of the 2pc hub/drum but never seen one. I did find the hub section on ebay once but this is the first time i have seen the finished product. How did you go about doing the front hub? Did you mate a rear axle stub to the spindle?
Maybe i should be reading an old 'how to' book from back in the 50's, is there such a thing?
Thanks, oj

 

i bought a few axle end things we called spools in our days. they were available from frankland eng. and you can find them on e-bay and at racing flea markets.......i paid about 25-50 bucks a piece for them used of course......i bet some guys on the hamb has some....this is the greatest site goin for restorin stuff....i could not do it with out this placei forgot to tell you how to use them......they have 4 bolt holes that match up to the early ford spindles and we made a tapered spacers for the outer end of the spindle for support....those spools accept the 3/4 ton hubs bearings etc.

 

'Back in the day' you could get the wide5 adapters for a wide variety of spindles. Fell out of favor quite a few years ago, but Coleman and others still have them of some sort or another but you could probably make them work on about any spindle I would think. Search for spindle snout or adapter.

http://colemanracing.com/store/shopexd.asp?id=7992

 

Think I have a couple, want me to check?

 

well sorry that i have not posted any wrap up pictures....i have been busier than hell.........getting the car ready to show and all the dam snow we have had here has made it tough.......i have the car ready to show at the new england hall of fame dinner in east windsor ct. Skip matczak (the owner of the crown 7) is being inducted into the hall......he is picking the car up tomorrow and he hasn`t seen it for a bit so i will wait til tomorrow to post some........maybe he wont look in here today....what do you think...lol maybe i`ll post a couple......dont anyone tell him......these are not the best pics as my shop is not that big but it is what it is....hope you all enjoy them.....

 

well folks it has been quite awhile since we got the car ready to show. I`m glad to say that all seemed to like the car at the Hall of Fame Dinner in CT. I`m sad to say that i didn`t get any shots of the car on display.......Luckily we were able to show the car under neath the front door canopy as the Ct. weather had tons of snow around on that day. For me the pleasure that i recieved from being able to restore the car for a real great friend on mine is hard to pass on to all of you.....The car is now on display at Skips "Seals-it" factory in Ct and if your near i bet he loved to show it to you.....He has a perfect viewing area just inside the front door in a viewing area that is the center of a beautiful hardwood floor......I`m looking forward to the day we get the car on a track .....maybe the Vintage days at Louden.......We have talked a little about bring the 6 wheel indy car that is also in Ct to Louden this year but time is going fast and there seems to be alot of things to do........Thank You all for your comments i enjoy everyone.....Jim Martel

 

someone wrote me a note abouit needing a torque tube clamp but didn`t leaqve his number...i have one lv me a number

 

Thanks for the tip on the visual for the wide 5 hubs. What are those spring perches?

 

just thought i`d bump this up to make it easier for a newbie to find it...........j/m

 

Jim, the sprinter looks great. Any plans for the super in the garage?

 

What a cool sprinter. I was into the sport as a fan in the 70's when I lived in Lincoln, Ne. Speedy Bill always had great cars and we had Eagle Raceway, still running today, and some great hi-bank action. Jan Opperman, Joe Saldana, and Doug Wolfgang were all buzzing around then. Really enjoying the history and pix of yesteryear. Best wishes on your restoration. ~sololobo~

 

Thank you for NOT chrome plating the valve covers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jim

 

glad someone noticed............lol

 

just thought i`d repost this.....since this project was done it has been on display in it`s owners lobby. is taken out for display purposes.....due to be entered in the planned hall of fame museum at NHIS when finished...

 

Very nice job. And a neat car. Gary

 

You going to run it when its finished???????????

 

i`d sure like too.........................

 

Beautiful restoration Jim. Bring it out for a few laps when you help get the 43 up to speed at Oswego's test and tune day.

Great workmanship.

 

thank you........cya in oswego.......stop over and say hi

 

just a little bump to the front.........dont want to lose this ......thanks j/m

 

just needed to bump this up for someone.......not showing up in the search...

 

Nice restoration & very cool sprint!