Good afternoon, Fur biscuit posted this picture in another thread, and it captivated me. What is it?! The best I can gather, its a custom undersprung race car... picture name is "comet2." Anyone know anything about this car? Can anyone identify its components? Estimate on timeframe this picture was taken? I want to build one, and it haunts my sleep (more specifically, the guy on the far right). Thanks!
try an early dodge about 1925 or a Maxwell they had 21"wood spokes wheel like that just sold my old coupe the wheels look the same
I'd say very early 4-banger BUICK. Note twin cylinder assemblies, separate crankcase, all evry early features. The hubcap on the front wheel could identify the wheels at least if the pic can be expanded to decipher the center emblem.
My guess is foreign, maybe Germany, about 1919 or so. V8 engine, transaxle and mechanical brakes on rear. Picture of the employees of a small company that built it as a race car. Note blacked out windows on building and the accountant type with the bow tie and shirt sleeves rolled up.
Good call on the dodge. Wikipedia calls this a 1915 dodge, wheels look pretty damn similar... six bolt, twelve spoke, six sided hub caps, etc: Those guys look german to anyone? V8? Slant 4? Do you think it had a body, and they were just showing off the chassis... or did they run it like that?
Good to see it with a thread of its own! There is a shot here on the HAMB of it running on a board track, has COMET writen on the radiator top tank. The engine is highly modified if it started out as a Buick, note the enclined valves.
If you blow up the picture you can see the rockers on the other side of the engine. That is why I said V 8.
It's a 4- intake valves on one side/exhaust on the other. My guess it that it has a cam on each side as well, much like the Stutz, Simplex, etc...
Overall, most headgear, glasses, corrugated tin look Amerikanische to me. Ghost dude is most Germanic looking...Germans usually wore hard leather has down over their ears with a spike on top, ja? And the super low build...what does that say about planned venue?? I would say not dirt track. Boards?? Grass? Surely not bricks??
1st thing came to my mind was the under slung chassis, so how about an American Underslung late 1900's http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3766/American-Underslung-Traveler.html. A friend has one(AUS) a few miles from me, it's been ten years since I've seen it. Those guys look like my buddies!!!! tt
sirhc, Where did you come across this photo? would like to see a bigger copy.... The wheels are not Dodge, not heavy enough. The hubs are massive, but the wheel size is most likely 34"or 36" inch. The engine is a V-8 and a very early one. My guess is that it is some sort of aircraft engine, most likely World War 1. It also has no transmission behind the motor and no shifters either which means: a) it has a transaxle (like from a Stutz) b) it has NO trans at all making it direct drive, giving it one speed "Fast and Scary"....due to its lack of brakes as well. ...I don't think I see any clutch assembly either..
I came across the picture here on the HAMB... I didn't have any luck finding any other information on it. 34-36" wheels?! Wow. I'd sure like to see some other pictures of it.
On the American automobiles.com website a type 22B Scout was offered in 1912-13. It has the 12 spoke wheels with 6 bolt hubs on the rear axle similar to the front and rears of the car fur buiscit shared. The frame of that car looks alot like the American Underslungs I've seen triing to figure this out. The ad shown on the above mentioned site also metions dual high tension ignition for the 4 cylinder engine. An OHV conversion with total loss or greased valve train lubrication for that era would not be out of the question. There were around 45000 total American Motor Car units built during their short exsistence so a few early tuner cars can be assumed.
Barny Oldfield drove one back in the twentys (I beleive) to a record of one mile a hour , to be the first one to go sixty miles per hour, He worked for Ford at the time ..... Also you can check out a movie called the The First Auto , that tells a lot about it.......
So it looks like we're back to square O. Has anyone contacted the AACA or other vintage racing groups?
Rich, The AACA Library may have something, but their internet Forum members think the auto industry started with the '55 Chevy in most cases.
Here are some more...this stuff was posted on the Board Track thread. Fur Biscuit suggested it might be the Burman Buick or perhaps have a Stutz connection. The Premier comet is a (probably) unrelated car, but is neat as well. The whole underslung chassis thing is cool looking...i.e. Regal and American Underslung. Check those out.
The chassis looks nice enough to be a factory underslung, I don't see any hack work or extra holes. Regal underslungs were right hand drive so I think we can cross them off the list.
Maybe? Hall auto repair co. San Francisco 1906-1908. Continental Motors Corp. Buffalo NY 1914. Comet Automobile Co. Decatur Ill. 1917-1922. All Comet's.
Maybe? Hall auto repair co. San Francisco 1906-1908. Continental Motors Corp. Buffalo NY 1914. Comet Automobile Co. Decatur Ill. 1917-1922. All Comet's. Sorry for the double post.
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