History Auto racing 1894-1942

What a sound! Beautiful, Classy, and Civilized. There is so little order in the world today it seems strange that it should be found in auto racing. Thank you for that video and those words of experience and wisdom. All things built for a special purpose need special people to use them to their potential. Cars, boats, planes, motorcycles, guns, tools.............

 

THAT BMW IS A ONE-OFF RACER THAT WAS LOST 30 YEARS TOOK ME 7 YEARS TO FIND IT....IT WAS IN CONN..I WAS IN CALIF....ALL PRE INTERNET.

VERY VERY LONG CRAZY STORY THAT OPENED THE WORLD TO ME.

MY HOPE I EVERYONE THAT SEES THE VIDEO WILL FOLLOW THEIR DREAMS............. AND HISTORY. SIMPLY THAT.

 

Outstanding! Thank you for sharing the video.

Following your dreams is what it is all about.

 

I agree Bluto, feel free to carry on with your experiences with old race cars. At times I am envious but the other side of me says not so much. I driven a bit and have been a passenger on some pretty scary rides in old racers. When Lagonda Joe finished the late 30s Lagonda race car for Jay Leno (and I was living in North San Diego not far from Joe's house), he swung by to give me a thrill in the just finished car. I lived on West Lilac (just down the street from the recent tragic Lilac fire of a few weeks ago where 42 horses died) and West Lilac is a crazy winding road. Joe was strapped in his bucket seat but I had to hang on for dear life in the passenger bucket. Joe drove that car hard (he won one of the Vintage races at Laguna Seca with the car shortly after my wild ride). I actually told myself on a couple of curves that the end was near. Fun but admittedly down right scary. Somewhere I have a picture of the car in my driveway that I took before the ride.

I have had a few other scary rides and the wife constantly reminds me to not do it again. Sometimes though you just have to experience the "fun". Good stuff with the BMW and the Stude.

 

JIM

PLEASE REMEMBER MY WIFE IS THE FASTEST RACING DRIVER FROM POLAND! EVER!!

IT DID FREAK A TON OF PEOPLE OUT WHEN SHE CLIMBED INTO OUR FRIEND'S LINER AND WENT 287MPH OUT THE BACK DOOR. THAT WAS HER FIRST TIME IN ANYTHING LIKE THAT AND WITH A TOTAL OF FIVE RUNS INCLUDING THE THREE ROOKIE RUNS...

YES I AM PRETTY PROUD OF HER ... WHEN I TOLD HER SHE'D BROKE DON GARLITS' RECORD BY OVER 50 MPH SHE SAID "DON WHO??" SHE IS A GENUINE TRIP!
SHE'S NOT SCARY! SHE IS FIERCE!!!

 

Ernest Eldridge
Brickyard 1926

 

Jimski, fierce is right. Quite impressive to say the least. The thing is I don't mind driving myself as much as being a passenger. I don't know how the riding mechanics did it back then. I had to shovel some snow this morning but then found the pic of the Lagonda in my driveway just before the fun ride I spoke of.

 

KURTIS
I HAVE AN INDY BRICK SITTING ON MY FIREPLACE...

JIM
I HONESTLY THINK PEOPLE THAT GET A CHEAP THRILL BY MAKING A PASSENGER NERVOUS ARE ASSHOLES! HONEST.

 

I agree that there have been a couple of times I have questioned the driver's madness at the time but with Joe I can't blame him too much. He drove it further in the turns than I would have and I kept reaching for a pedal that wasn't there. He skidded it through this one S turn that I thought for sure was too fast but he pulled it off and I am still here. I would not want to try it again though.

 

Riding mechanic in Vintage cars sure is fun, I'll never forget my first GP Bugatti ride! But the ride in a 1914 T Head MERCER 49 years after seeing my first was really noteworthy. For years we used to literally climb over the disassembled 1914 walking bean Duesenberg that finished 2nd at INDY in 1916 that Austin Clark had left at Vintage Auto. Both now owned by the same lucky guy and maintained by one of the best Brass Era restorers in the country, both rides were like stepping back in time. Bob

 

BOB

IF YOU HAD COME TO MY SHOP WHEN I OWNED MY T-HEAD I WOULD HAVE LET YOU DRIVE IT..... DID LET JAY WHY NOT YOU....
I SAW MY FIRST MERCER T-HEAD AT AGE 4 TOOK ME A LOG TIME TO OWN ONE! STAY WARM BUDDY.....

 

Technically I did drive a T Head MERCER from my Hershey spot to Fred's thanks to your help. The Fastest Woman in Poland is also a great mechanic, I'll never forget the parking lot fix on my van. Still have the autographed header tank in my garage. As hard as we can try we'll never forget that Hershey trip, JB Weld & water. Bob

 

And nurse. She can multi-task.

 

Wonder if the pottery kiln and dinner ever got nixed up? Bob

 

BOB

THIS IS THE TURKEY KILN..........

 

I think that car is currently owned by Augie Grasis!

 

Besides me in my car "Overcooking" the turn on hard cold tires (mowing some of Indy's grass), the Studebaker Indy Car that Bluto had been driving years ago appears a few cars back from my act!

 

Boy, that sure looks like fun.
Those cars sound great too.
Thanks

 

THANKS FOR POSTING THAT.
I GOTTA TELL YOU THE GUY DRIVING THE STUDEBAKER WASN'T REALLY EARNING HIS MONEY..

THE CAR WILL GO THRU STUFF LIKE THAT A LOT NICER THAN YOU SEE THERE.. CAR IS SO TORQUE THAT YOU CAN PARK IT A LOT SOONER AND PUNCH THE BUTTON A LOT EARLIER...
YOU GOTTA REMEMBER CORNER ENTRY AND EXIT SPEED ARE CONTAPOSITIVE AND THAT CAR WOULD DIG OUT REALLY HARD IF YOU JUST ASK IT TO. AND I KNOW THEY FITTED MUCH BETTER BRAKES.

YOU TOO JOHN!

 

JOHN

REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU... A LAGUNA THE KIDS IN THE SCHOOL VANS LOADED WITH "RACERS" GO FASTER THAN THE CAN AM CARS....

BACK IT IN AND PUNCH IT OUT.... YOU GOTTA RUN THE ENGINE UP WAY BEFORE THE APEX TO GET OUT HARD..... I WAS NEVR FAST ONLY BRAVE OR STUPID OR ANY COMBINATION OF BOTH.. LIKE CROSSWIND LANDING JUST TRY TO LOOK COOL....

 

Jim, Well don't I look cool and smooth sliding across the grass?.....LOL!

 

Bluto

Do you remember a time in the late 1990's in Paso Robles when a 1913 Isotta & a 1914 Mercer & I think a 1914 Mercedes were racing down a little two lane & a couple of people ran out of talent? Yeah, that was the back of my 1910 Stevens Duryea that was used to stop the Isotta.

 

YOU GOTTA LEARN TO NOT DO A "HEAD DROP" WHEN THINGS GET COMPLICATED... OTHER THAN THAT A FULL FACE HELMET HIDES THE PANIC

I'M JUST VERY HAPPY YOU DIDN'T HIT ANYTHING.

 

PETE

YES I SAW IT ALL WHERE I SAT :

IF YOU HADN'T BEEN PARKED THERE YOU'D BEEN OK

DO YOU REMEMBER I NEVER GOT CLOSE TO PUTTING YOU OR ANYONE ELSE IN HARMS WAY?? JUST TOSSED MY MERCER SIDEWAYS OFF INTO THE DIRT THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM YOU AND YOUR CAR FULL.
GETTING YOUR CAR WET WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER THAN HAVING SOME NO TALENT IDIOT RUNNING INTO YOU GUYS A WRECKING YOU CAR..... DO YOU REMEMBER? I WAS FULLY PREPAIRED TO WRECK MY CAR AS A RESULTS OF OTHERS LACK OF SKILL AND TO HURT NO ONE ELSE OR THEIR CAR PETE? I DIDN'T HIT YOU. I DIDN'T HIT THE GUY THAT STOPPED TO LOOK AT YOU AND I WASN'T ANYWHERE IN/ON THE ROAD IN WAY WHEN BILL HIT YOU. THERE WAS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR BILL TO GET AROUND YOU I WASN'T IN THE ROAD. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS REMEBER THAT.

I WAS THE ONE THAT TOOK OFF TO THE LEFT INTO THE DIRT. I WASN'T BACK ON THE ROAD TILL AFTER YOU GOT HIT.

YES I REMEMBER.

 

Bluto, What engine was in that Studebaker that delivered all that torque? Was it based on a production engine. I've read that the Studebaker Indy cars ran engines built from production line engines. Big sixes, big eights?

 

SIX

HERE'S A SHORT DISCRIPTION ON THE 1933 CARS

https://www.conceptcarz.com/z22782/studebaker-indy-special-racer.aspx

SIMPLE GOGLE WILL GET YOU A LOT MORE...

 

Yes you did a masterfull job of avoiding everyone. By the way, I wasn't parked ! I was diving down the road at a comfortable pace when all hell broke loose! I'm really glad Alec wasn't to badly hurt when he got ejected from Bill's car. A year & a half & $25,000 later, my car was finally back on the road.

 

PETE

I WAS REALLY SORRY TO SEE IT ALL HAPPEN TO YOU YOUR CAR AND ALEC. I WAS THE ONE THAT PULLED HIM OUT OF THE WATER AND FINALLY DROVE HIM BACK TO THE HOTEL IN MY MERCER. JOHN WAS THE TOUR DIRECTOR AND TOOK OFF BEFORE HE CHECKED TO SEE IF EVERYONE WAS OK. I ALWAYS FIGURED YOU WERE GOING SLOW TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE GET THRU THE CREEK WITHOUT GETTING ALL YOUR GUESTS WET. BUT JOHN HAD DISC BRAKES AND HAULED HIS CAR IN LOOKING AT YOU... I WAS ALREADY ON THE BRAKES WHEN I CRESTED THE HILL. BILL WAS TRYING TO CATCH ME. TH HILL WAS VERY SANDY FROM OTHERS EXITING THE CREEK THE OTHER WAY.
ONE GOOD THING ABOUT TWO WHEEL BRAKES IS YOU CAN TURN AND BRAKE AT THE SAME TIME. I STILL HAD TO QUIT BRAKING TO TURN THE CAR HARD ENOUGH TO GET OFF THE ROAD AND POINT AWAY FROM YOU. BILL CAME OVER THE HILL BEHIND ME AND JUST DIDN'T BRAKE EARLY ENOUGH AND THEN HARD ENOUGH TO GET OUTTA SHAPE AND RAN INTO YOU REALLY HARD.. IT WASN'T AT ALL FUN TO SEE... I HAVE TRIED TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU MANY MANY TIMES
YES I WAS THERE. YES I WAS GOING FAST, NOT AS FAST AS JOHN, BUT GOING FAST. REMEMBER I DIDN'T GET IN THE WAY OF JOHN, YOU OR BILL. I THINK BILL WAS STARTLED BY WHAT HE SAW. I WENT OFF THE ROAD WITH SOME SPEED. BUT HE REALLY MADE THE WRONG MOVE ..THERE WAS ROOM TO GET BY YOU IF HE WASN'T SIDEWAYS. I TOOK THE ONLY WAY I COULD GO WITHOUT HITTING ANYONE OR ANYTHING. PUT MYSELF AND CAR IN ABSOLUTE HARMS WAY. GOING OUT INTO THE WEEDS BUT THERE WAS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR BILL TO FOLLOW ME IF HE HAD MADE THE SAME CHOICE I MADE.

I HAVE TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU I WAS SORRY..NOT BECAUSE I CAUSED BILL TO RUN INTO YOU BUT BECAUSE I DID CONSIDER YOU A FRIEND AND HONEST CAR GUY AND IT WAS HARD TO WATCH YOUR CAR GET DAMAGED TO NEAR TOTAL.

LIKE I SAID BEFORE I AM JUST GLAD NO ONE WAS HURT. AND I AM GLAD YOU WERE ABLE TO GET A CAR YOU LOVE BACK ON THE ROAD.

LESSON TO ME WAS TO "NEVER MIX IT UP WITH PEOPLE THAT CAN F'N DRIVE" I NEVER GUESSED BIG CAR TOUR MEANT EVEN BIGGER EGOS AND GUYS HARD LITTLE ABILIY OR SKILL WITH THEIR MACHINES. I NEVER WENT BACK TO THAT GROUP. INSTEAD WAS VERY HAPPY TO GO OUT BY MYSELF AND HAUL BUTT ON THE T-I FREEWAY WHEN NO ONE WAS AROUND. AND THERE WAS THE DRIVE FROM SINGAPORE TO PENANG .... ANOTHER MERCER STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME.

 

Yep, you're right about a lot of things!, & thanks.
That was my first & LAST time out with that group !!!