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Amusement Park Cars


alsancle

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My next car is either going to be a Model J or an amusement park car depending on finances.  For some reason I have always had a fascination with them, probably from my early go-kart days.   A restored one (I think the one in the picture) of these brought 25k a few years ago. I believe I saw one pulling in to the Hershey car show on Saturday one year.    This is an IHLE made in Germany.  Another large maker was Arrow which made the cars for Disney Land.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252103082383

 

 

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I agree ... would be neat to have an old amusement park car.  Talk about bringing back some childhood memories while being able to enjoy 'em in a whole new way!

 

 

Cort :) www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve | 1979 Caprice Classic (awaiting new owner)
"We go through life so sure of where we're headed" __ Brad Paisley __ 'Find Yourself'
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This thing is cool.

 

 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221949926814

 

This quarter-scale roadster was built by a craftsman in the late 1930's. The story goes, he went off to war and never made it back. He built the car to match his full-size 1933 Plymouth Roadster. An incredible piece ready for a museum or impressive private collection. Take a look at the incredible detail in the construction of this neat little vehicle. The construction style is tell tale of when it was built. It has a wood frame and the metalwork is all custom. This is absolutely a one of kind miniature car.

The little car features a working gas-powered air-cooled Maytag washing machine motor, centrifugal clutch, Ford Model A transmission. The rear end is missing, and is mocked up to make it roll. The motor is not seized and moves freely.

It was a mascot vehicle for the 1941 Minor League Pocatello Idaho Cardinals Baseball Team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited by alsancle (see edit history)
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Here is a vintage bumper car pic from "Pintrest" questioning if it is in fact, a real bear. Based on muzzle and visible tether, and the fact they are intelligent animals I am thinking so.

Much more fun on a Saturday night than video games but those cars must have taken a beating...

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Edited by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)
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Now this is a cool one.  Looks like a 190SL.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Amusement-Park-Ride-Car-/181977598958?

 

Own a piece of history from Youngstown Ohio this is one of the cars from a ride from Idora Park in Youngstown Ohio this is a very rare piece you do not find items like this from that amusement park most of the big items have been sucked up by museums,local historians and collectors with ties to this area this will be for local pickup only unless you want to pay to have it crated and shipped all to be payed buy the buyer item must be picked up within 3 weeks from the time the auction ends thanks for looking

 

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Thomas Hibbard custom built it for the 1937  MGM movie Babes in Arms. Hibbard was on the BOD at the time. They wanted a small car for Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland was the co-star. The car was not finished in time for the movie, so MGM used an Austin Bantam.  The car surfaced after WWII as a pace car for the midget races at the Rose Bowl. Later it was used as a promotional vehicle for a longest running stage play in LA history called The Drunkard. It was named Rena by Hibbard because it was built on a RENAult chassis.  It is powered by a 37 Ford V8 and will blow the doors off any s/c Auburn.  There are a lot of blank spots in it 's history that would be fun to fill in. 

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If ever there was a time to build your own car this is it. Tiny cars with huge prices. Phooey. For inspiration you could look up the King Midget, a car that was built with the kind of tooling you would find in a well equipped garage.

 

For those with some artistic talent you could sculpt your own body out of styrofoam or plaster and use it as a mold. There are lots of ATVs with suitable suspension and power train. For the price of a used ATV and some sheet metal or fibreglass you could have a ball.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
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Our local Theme Park (Not Amusement Park) Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA (Next door to where the AACA Annual Meet will be) opened in 1975 and had a LeMans raceway, that i loved as a kid. my grandparents took us there once a year or so and that was my favorite ride. i got to drive a car alongside my grandfather who sat shotgun. granted it was on a track and would tentatively drive itself along hte guide rails. but i got to smash in the gas pedal slam on the brakes and envision myself racing the race.

The closed the raceway down back in 2006 to make way for a new Roller Coaster (Griffon).

I would love to get one of these old cars, and just cruise around it in, granted it is only 1/4 scale or so, they were fun and cool. i would of course remove the governor limiting it to 7mph.

 

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LeMans Raceway

IMG_6255

Over 25 million races were run on LeMans Raceway as one of the original attractions when Busch Gardens opened in 1975.  There were 49 recreated antique racing cars that traveled nearly ten million miles in 31 years before the raceway closed in 2006 to make way for the Griffon coaster.  The cars, modeled after the 1913 Stutz Bearcat, had molded fiberglass bodies and were built on steel frames in California.  Racecars followed of o three 2,000-foot tracks, accumulating a total of nearly 200,000 miles per car.  The mileage total for the entire fleet equates to nearly 400 trips around the Earth with a top speed of only 7 mph.

*Did you know that the original design had the cars going the opposite direction?  The straightaway was supposed to replicate the race to the finish.  Due to the nature of how cars had to stop at the loading area, it was safer to have the ride end on a large curve to aid in slowing the drivers down.

 

 

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37 minutes ago, BearsFan315 said:

Our local Theme Park (Not Amusement Park) Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA (Next door to where the AACA Annual Meet will be) opened in 1975 and had a LeMans raceway, that i loved as a kid. my grandparents took us there once a year or so and that was my favorite ride. i got to drive a car alongside my grandfather who sat shotgun. granted it was on a track and would tentatively drive itself along hte guide rails. but i got to smash in the gas pedal slam on the brakes and envision myself racing the race.

The closed the raceway down back in 2006 to make way for a new Roller Coaster (Griffon).

I would love to get one of these old cars, and just cruise around it in, granted it is only 1/4 scale or so, they were fun and cool. i would of course remove the governor limiting it to 7mph.

 

 

My son and I went to Busch Gardens about 2 summers ago.  It was 95 degree day and the park was empty.   We rode everything 5 times.

 

I would love one of those little Bearcat replicas.

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I always wonder what becomes of all the bumper car and amusement car bodies.

It would be fun to use one of those on a go kart.

Every time I see one for sale the owner is trying for his retirement.

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Here is the auction link for the Ihle.  Too bad about the original motor,  but the replacement looks like it has been in there for 50 years.   And is bigger.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gebr-Ihle-Schottenring-Vintage-1950-039-s-Gas-Powered-Amusement-Park-Turnpike-Car-/174851656392

 

Gebr Ihle Schottenring Vintage 1950's Gas Powered Amusement Park Turnpike Car.

 

Built in Germany in the 1950's to resemble a Mercedes 190SL, and imported to the U.S. for use at amusement parks as a turnpike ride car. 

 

Original engine is gone and replaced with what looks to be a Wisconsin engine, horsepower not known. Has electric start, and a generator for the lights I believe. Currently not running, but should run with little effort. I'm working on getting it in running condition.

 

These gas powered Ihle cars are rare, highly sought after, and do not come up for sale too often.

 

Car is sold as is, where is.

 

I reserve the right to end auction early as it's also listed locally.

 

Feel free to message me with any questions.

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Very little scholarship on this stuff..........research it and your on your own, been there and done that.

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