Studemax Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 (edited) American driver Elliot Shepard's Hotchkiss 12C on the embankment at La Fourche. 1906 ACF Grand Prix. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Shepard You can see the Hotchkiss on the embankment at the 9:22 mark in this great video: La Fourche looks like a tight turn. Here he is changing a tyre in the 1906 Vanderbuilt Cup. Edited June 10 by John E. Guitar (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobinVirginia Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Cool stuff! Thanks for sharing these photos and stories. They’ll be lost without the effort! Those guys were tough to do what they did then. Truly something to admire 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHa Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Those wire spoke wheels on that Hotchkiss look too spindly to hold up to the rigors of racing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 All these early racing cars are fantastic! Thank you John E G! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHa Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 23 hours ago, BobinVirginia said: Those guys were tough to do what they did then. It is environmental. When I was young, I primed tobacco. It was an extremely difficult job, but when you grow up in that environment, it's just part of everyday life. I could say people are much softer today and when I look at what these guys endured racing these early cars, I also admire them, but I also realize it was normal for their environment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 8 hours ago, AHa said: It is environmental. When I was young, I primed tobacco. It was an extremely difficult job, but when you grow up in that environment, it's just part of everyday life. I could say people are much softer today and when I look at what these guys endured racing these early cars, I also admire them, but I also realize it was normal for their environment. Very well put AHA. The way I usually say it is "History needs to be viewed in the context of its time". People back then didn't think it was strange to take fifteen minutes riding in an open car with no heat in a cold rainstorm to go a few miles. For people that had never been in a fully enclosed car, and had never seen a car with a heater in it, it was oh so much better than being on the back of a wet horse for half an hour going those same few miles in the rain. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 On 4/25/2020 at 4:44 PM, Dave Henderson said: A very poor copy of a copy of a picture taken in the yard of the Blake Brothers, Barry and Bob, of Arlington, Va. The white chain drive midget was said to be powered by a 4 cylinder Henderson motorcycle engine. Note the model T front axle and the tow bar used for flat-towing to the track. I failed to mention, that's the Bob Blake who signed on with Briggs Cunningham after working continuously night and day to reconstruct the wrecked aluminum bodied Le Monster built on a Cadillac chassis in time for the '50 Le Mans, and who, when production of the Cunningham cars came to an end was said by Cunningham to have built all the Cunningham cars. After Cunningham closed Bob went with Jaguar and, reporting to and working with top management contributed highly in prototype design and construction. I had the honor and pleasure to have known Bob Blake in the 1940's. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 This is Stutz being driven by Gil Anderson at Daytona Beach and comes from a page from the Stutz factory publication The Splendid Stutz. Not sure of exact date but believe the year is 1928, no date on the page. At this event Anderson set a record for a one mile stretch at 106.52 m.p.h. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blauvelt Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 On 6/17/2020 at 7:11 AM, AHa said: 1911 Bergdoll, Hershey 2018 Wanted to say thank you for making such an amazing visual record!! Really appreciate all your work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blauvelt Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 On 6/25/2020 at 11:00 AM, AHa said: Joan Cuneo and Knox Race Car That is the Pope-Hartford "Hummer" on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blauvelt Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 On 7/25/2020 at 3:27 PM, 1912Staver said: I have always found this model to be the most attractive Staver . It's different from the Owl's Head car. Unfortunately no known survivors. It's not a race car, but it would have used the same 35 H.P, chassis as the factory racers. Greg if there was an image that indicated the risks of an infinite stiffness moment and the risks associated with it. Look at the lack of spring travel available. All flex/load will transfer through out the rest of the car and not be absorbed by the springs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHa Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Thank you for your kind words. This was compiled during Covid and I love these early race cars. I could post a bunch more pictures but the copyright police caught me. That is a very astute observation concerning the Staver above. Most likely the springs are broken. I have seen this before, where all the springs snap in two just at the center of the axle. The whole stack is undoubtedly broken and being held in place by the U bolts on both sides of the axle. If you look closely, the spring on the other side is holding the car up while this side has collapsed. There is a rubber bumper above the spring so there is some give. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 (edited) Other photos of Staver Chicago race cars exist. Most if not all of them show front springs with considerably more front spring travel than what is shown with this particular car. Possibly a broken spring as AHa suggests, or perhaps something that was tried on this particular car for unknown reasons. The Staver chassis had a substantial amount of rear spring travel due to the full elliptical rear springs they used. The combination of long travel at the rear and short travel at the front was probably less than ideal. Lots of trial and error at this stage of automobile development. You must bear in mind these cars are simply stripped down, normal road cars. Not cars designed from scratch as race cars. What works well on a conventional touring car at 30 MPH on a rutted country road will be a big compromise at much higher speeds on a relatively smooth dirt track. Edited June 29 by 1912Staver (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHa Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 (edited) Keep in mind, these springs only have 2 or 3 inches of travel anyway and would routinely bottom out on the rough dirt roads at speed. This spring appears to have an arch from the front frame horn to the axle, so, probably broken. Edited June 29 by AHa (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroPetro Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroPetro Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroPetro Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studemax Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 12 hours ago, RetroPetro said: Who is the lucky driver? (they're fake, but I don't care) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 At first, I thought this was Jungle Pam Hardy who was a team mate of Jungle Jim Liberman from West Chester, Pa. But he was a Funny car driver. Although there is a very close resemblance, this is not Pam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 Larry Bowers and Barbara Roufs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 Larry Bowers and Barbara Roufs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studemax Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 Larry Bowers must not have driven very long. I don't remember him at all. Wish we had better views of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroPetro Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroPetro Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studemax Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 10 hours ago, RetroPetro said: I know the Belond roadster. Who knows the mini-bike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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