Americana Festival, Centerville, OH, July 5 -- a strange but cool 60 year old homebuilt car

Hi folks -- of all the cars at this years Americana Festival I thought this one was the most interesting. Cobbled together some 60 years ago, it is not a Crosley Hot Shot as I first thought. Some old guy, probably now dead, put this together years ago by piecing various body parts on a fabricated frame. It is powered by a Ford 60 h.p. flathead v-8. Back in those days people were truly ingenious, working with little money but excellent craft skills and creativity.

A Selective magazine Bibliography on Auto Racing in Amerca to 1941

Wilbur Shaw, 1937 Indy Winner

Working Bibliography

LAWRENCE, E. Gow jobs [youth's newest hobby: jalopy racing]. Colliers v. 108 (July 26 1941) p. 14+


Noc-out special [Indianapolis auto race]. Time v. 37 (June 9 1941) p. 61


Secret fuels for the kings of speed. Popular Mechanics v. 75 (June 1941) p. 28-31


Race car uses pump gasoline, breaks speed records. Scientific American v. 164 (May 1941) p. 294


SHAW, W. Winning races before they start. Popular Mechanics v. 75 (April 1941) p. 552-5+


TEALE, E. W. Speed is his business [Wilbur Shaw has raced 40,000 miles to success]. Popular Science v. 137 (November 1940) p. 148-52+


He races cars, from giants to midgets. Popular Science v. 137 (August 1940) p. 107-9


Shaw wins at the Indianapolis motor speedway. Time v. 35 (June 10 1940) p. 73-5


500 miles to go!. Popular Mechanics v. 73 (June 1940) p. 834-7+


MEYER, L. Secrets of a champion racer. Popular Mechanics v. 73 (May 1940) p. 680-3+


Winning races in the pits. Popular Mechanics v. 73 (February 1940) p. 177-84+


New cars for the kings of speed. Popular Mechanics v. 71 (May 1939) p. 690-2+


SWANSON, B. Secrets of big-time racing. Popular Mechanics v. 71 (April 1939) p. 508-10+


Racing the mighty midgets. Popular Mechanics v. 71 (March 1939) p. 386-8+


Speed match in Utah. Time v. 32 (September 26 1938) p. 47


Speed: on salt flats of Bonneville, Utah. Newsweek v. 12 (September 26 1938) p. 25


American drivers against the world. Popular Mechanics v. 69 (June 1938) p. 866-9+


ROBERTSON, G. H. Rough road. Popular Mechanics v. 69 (February 1938) p. 178-83+


ROBERTSON, G. H. New breed of racing cars. Popular Mechanics v. 69 (January 1938) p. 50-3+


Midget auto racing. Literary Digest v. 124 part (Digest 1) (September 4 1937) p. 28


Devil-drivers: round Roosevelt raceway. Literary Digest v. 123 (July 3 1937) p. 33-4


BOONE, A. R. Master builder of speed [Fred Offenhauser makes engines for racing cars]. Popular Science v. 131 (July 1937) p. 30-1+


It's America against the world. Popular Mechanics v. 68 (July 1937) p. 26-30+


COLLIER, J. Indiana idyl. The Nation v. 144 (June 12 1937) p. 674-5


Lady Luck: men, machines and chance rule fate in Indianapolis auto-race. Literary Digest v. 123 (May 29 1937) p. 32-3


Indianapolis death race. Newsweek v. 9 (May 29 1937) p. 20-1


Kings of speed groom their racers. Popular Mechanics v. 67 (April 1937) p. 530-3+


Mighty midgets of the speedways. Popular Mechanics v. 67 (March 1937) p. 394-7+


Revival race: Vanderbilt cup race. Time v. 28 (October 19 1936) p. 74+


Demon drivers stop, look, listen for $20,000. Newsweek v. 8 (October 17 1936) p. 26


Modern daredevil motor raceway [Vanderbilt cup contest revived]. Literary Digest v. 122 (October 3 1936) p. 37-9


Million dollar track revives road races. Scientific American v. 155 (October 1936) p. 217


Tricks of the race drivers. Popular Mechanics v. 66 (October 1936) p. 522-5+


Rolling road, Roosevelt raceway at Westbury, L.I. Time v. 28 (September 28 1936) p. 34+


Deadly racing [casualty record high in Indianapolis automobile marathons]. Literary Digest v. 121 (May 30 1936) p. 37-9


King of the money drivers. Popular Mechanics v. 65 (April 1936) p. 554-6+


My husband flirts with death. American Magazine v. 120 (September 1935) p. 51+


Riding race cars for a living. Popular Mechanics v. 63 (June 1935) p. 834-6+


Rough riders of the dirt track. Popular Mechanics v. 63 (May 1935) p. 649-56+


GRAHAME, A. Racing drivers lead the way to better cars. Popular Science v. 126 (April 1935) p. 20-1+


Peck, A. P. Roaring midgets [tiny race cars are developing a new high-speed sport]. Scientific American v. 152 (March 1935) p. 139


FRAME, F. Dare-devil tricks of racers make your driving safer. Popular Science v. 125 (July 1934) p. 24-6+


BOONE, A. R. Racing midget autos. Popular Science v. 124 (May 1934) p. 26-8+


SKINNER, E. Breaking into dirt track racing. Popular Mechanics v. 61 (April 1934) p. 562-4+


SCHNURMACHER, E. C. Cameraman foretells disaster. Popular Mechanics v. 60 (December 1933) p. 836-41


Playing safe at 100 miles an hour. Popular Mechanics v. 60 (October 1933) p. 568-71+


Killers of the roaring road. Popular Mechanics v. 59 (May 1933) p. 674-7+


OLDFIELD, B. Six miles per minute seen by master driver [ed. by D. White]. Popular Mechanics v. 58 (August 1932) p. 181+


GIBNEY, M. W. Life preservers for the death cheaters. Popular Mechanics v. 58 (July 1932) p. 50-5


Bryan, E. W. Auto shop notes from the 500-mile speedway race of 1931. Industrial Education Magazine v. 33 (November 1931) p. 149-50


WAYNE, A. Speeding back to yesterday. Popular Mechanics v. 55 (January 1931) p. 10-14


Sturm, W. F. Racing cars of 1930. Scientific American v. 143 (September 1930) p. 204-6


Sturm, W. F. Developments born of the speedway. Scientific American v. 142 (January 1930) p. 18-21


New victims of the pace that kills. Literary Digest v. 100 (March 30 1929) p. 50-5


High-speed motoring. Review of Reviews v. 79 (March 1929) p. 152-4


Dodging death in a split second. Literary Digest v. 96 (March 10 1928) p. 66-7


JOPP, F. G. At the drop of the flag. Sunset (Central West edition) v. 58 (February 1927) p. 38-9


Clarke, N. R. Guinea pigs of motordom!. Scientific American v. 135 (October 1926) p. 266-7


STURM, W. F. View of automobile racing through a champion's eyes [interview with P. De Paolo]. The Saturday Evening Post v. 199 (August 28 1926) p. 10-11


Gambling with death on the speedway. Popular Mechanics v. 41 (June 1924) p. 902-5


Automobile racing champions of today and yesterday. Literary Digest v. 81 (April 19 1924) p. 62-6


CROWELL, M. Cannonball Baker, who lives a life of thrills. American Magazine v. 96 (September 1923) p. 18-19


Confessions of a race driver. The Saturday Evening Post v. 196 (August 18 1923) p. 12-13


MURPHY, J. Over the wire with the winner. Illustrated World v. 37 (July 1922) p. 669-72


Turning corners with De Palma. Illustrated World v. 34 (December 1920) p. 609


What automobile racing does to the delicate machinery called man. Scientific American v. 123 (September 18 1920) p. 281


BROOKS, J. Improving the breed. Colliers v. 66 (July 3 1920) p. 10


DELAWAY, M. Auto racers—martyrs to science. Illustrated World v. 26 (February 1917) p. 845-8


WAGNER, F. J. Indianapolis race. House Beautiful v. 36 (July 1914) p. sup. 14


DE PALMA, R. Motor racing men. Colliers v. 52 (January 10 1914) p. sup. 48


NESBIT, W. D. $50,000 for speed. Colliers v. 51 (June 21 1913) p. 7-8+


FOX, E. L. Auto racing strategy. Technical World v. 19 (June 1913) p. 490-6


FOX, E. L. Dementia of speed. Harper's Weekly v. 56 (October 5 1912) p. 11-12


FOX, E. L. Mercuries who race. Everybody's Magazine v. 26 (April 1912) p. 476-89


Commercial murder. The Outlook (1893) v. 99 (September 30 1911) p. 258-9


CARTER, C. F. What an automobile can do. Outing v. 57 (January 1911) p. 412-21

A Brief Encounter with a Spyker

Hi folks -- yesterday I stopped by Just Saab near my home and took a few photos of a Spyker that was on display. Sticker price over 230k, although my friend Kirby tells m that they offered one to him at a discounted price of around 175k last year. An interesting car, but I don't think I would take it over a Ferrari.
Spyker now is the parent company of Saab, and thus the dealership was using this showing as a way to generate interest and develop showroom traffic in their main product which has come back from the dead. Thank God GM no longer has its paws on the Saab brand!

Chrysler National Meet, Carillon Park, Dayton Ohio July 3

This is a very interesting badge, given my interest in the history of auto theft. Taken from a 1921 Dodge grill, it is a period piece that expresses the huge concern about auto theft at that time.
Engine bay form a 1934 Airflow
Dash from a 1934 Airflow
Dash from a 1956 Chrysler Windsor


Hi folks -- it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon when I found time to make it over to the Chrysler Meeting at Carillon Park. I was a bit surprised that only about 100 cars would come to a national meet -- does that say something about brand loyalty -- I don't know. The cars that were there, however, did not disappoint. My favorite? A beat up 1921 Dodge roadster that was for sale. Very original, and my guess is that it would be fun to drive. There was a 1934 Airflow, and I had a very good look at that car. There was even a 1984 Plymouth Reliant there -- not to many of Lee Iacocca and Hal Sperlich's babies left.

Held Hostage on the July 4th weekend due to a Broken Garage Door Spring -- the Revenge of Technology

Hi folks -- due to a broken garage door spring, my mobility is seriously compromised this weekend. Both my cars are in the garage, and on Saturday afternoon one of the two big springs on the door broke. Not even a gorilla can lift the door now. This just goes to show you how dependent we are on technology -- even the simple and primitive technology of metal springs. Our lives can be turned upside own by a technological failure.

The main problem is the garage door repair guys won't answer their phone until perhaps Tuesday. That might be enough to cancel my proposed trip to Detroit on Tuesday morning. And the Porsche is now in prison, so to speak, on a weekend that screams for pleasure driving!

What I am now left to drive is over at Grandma's house -- a 1986 Toyota Corolla.

A History of Speed Traps

Hi folks -- I am beginning to put together a list of possible term paper topics for my fall automobile and American life seminar, and one that list is "speed traps -- a history." I have been using the New York Times historical archives recently, and there appear a number of interesting entries on speed traps during the 1920s. For example, on October 22, 1921, the NYT reported in an article entitled "Accuses 20 Magistrates: Chicago Prosecutor Gets Evidence of Blackmailing Motorists in Outlying Towns," that 16 motorcycle cops were also involved. Some 1,000 witnesses were to appear before a Grand Jury, as they have charged that country officers "Take jewelry, tires, accessories and other valuables in lieu of bond or fines."

The AAA took a leading role during the 1920s in waging a war against speed traps responding to abuses as the following (NYT, Sept. 20, 1925, p.15):

"In one instance in North Carolina...court and speed trap were converted into a family institution. The father, as Justice of the Peace, holds the court, and the son as constable catches the motorists and hauls them before his father. The spoils are thus kept in the family and part of it is used to pay hired men for running the farm."

We shall see what one lucky UD students turns up on this topic this fall!