11 replies to this topic

[mike 51]

the "other" board has pics of the new midgets...they look very nice.

[droogie]

Good to know. A couple of those will probably be the only new kits that I buy this year.

[iBorg]

I went looking and found these on the other forum. I'm looking forward to these. May even drive down the price of the Etzel's resin kits. Nahhhh.

Mike

 DSCN0159z.jpg   176.31K   306 downloads

Attached Files

•  DSCN0147z.jpg   155.3K   288 downloads

Edited by iBorg, 03 July 2010 - 05:54 PM.

[LDO]

Woohoo! Offy-powered '29 Ford pickup!

[Eric Stone]

Woohoo! Offy-powered '29 Ford pickup!

I had a similar thought, only with a roadster.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

I rarely buy small kits these days......but I will buy these! Chances are I'll eye ball 'em and never build them, but I'm really fond of the old roundy rounds.
If I live long enough I'd like to build one in 1/8th, Hmmmmmmmmm......a TDR Offy and I think the Madd Fabricator has a mold for a body stashed away somewhere.

[Eshaver]

I'll buy one just to get another Ford Flathead . Ed Shaver

[Art Anderson]

I went looking and found these on the other forum. I'm looking forward to these. May even drive down the price of the Etzel's resin kits. Nahhhh.

Mike

 DSCN0159z.jpg   176.31K   306 downloads

With over 600 Kurtis Midgets built (as complete cars, and in kit form--Kurtis-Kraft did make up all the chassis parts in kit form, in case you wanted to weld up your own) from late 1945 into the late 1950's, just about every Indianapolis driver from about 1950 until well into the early 70's drove one at some point in his career, and that includes at least two F1 World Champions (Jack Brabham and Mario Andretti -- legend has it that Phil Hill also drove one early in his racing career as well). Those cars dominated just about every Midget racing circuit in the US as well, coast-to-coast and border to border. The cars were bought, sold and traded for all those years, so a single car might have run under a dozen or more names, in that many color schemes & graphics.

It's little known now, but even Nascar, in their early years, had a Midget openwheel class, which supplemented their larger open wheel series (pretty much older Indy cars using factory stock engines), back in the early to mid 1950's.

A bit of searching into racing activities in your area (wherever you live) likely will turn up at least something about midget racing back in the day--in the racing-starved world postwar, midgets could be seen racing 5-nights a week in a lot of places, plus Saturday and Sunday events as well. From about 1947, until about 1961 or so, the runup to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race was "The Night Before The 500" midget racing event at "16th Street Speedway", which was right across 16th Street from the South Short Chute of IMS, in Speedway Indiana. It was not uncommon for drivers running each year's 500 to show up the night before, race Midgets, then grab a couple hours of sleep, run the 500 Mile race.

Midgets ran all over the Midwest, the East Coast, New England, even in the Far West, Southwest, the Rocky Mountain states, anywhere where there was a 1/4 mile race track. They even ran 1/8 milers indoors! Places like the Chicago Stadium (the show arena at the old Chicago Stockyards, where the Blackhawks used to play hockey!), State Fair Coliseums in places like Indianapolis, Columbus OH, Springfield IL, and in civic venues in Ft Wayne IN, St Louis MO, Des Moines, all in the winter (1/8 mile ovals and LOW rear end ratios). They ran on dirt, asphalt, even revivals in miniature of the legendary 1920's era wooden, or "board tracks". Back in those days, nearly every county seat town in the Midwest had at least a half mile dirt track, holdovers from the days when harness-racing (horses pulling lightweight 2-wheel sulkies) was big, every local horse breeder looking to raise the next Dan Patch (legendary Pacer from Oxford IN, all-time harness racing recordholder).

So, these kits really have potential, especially for racing fans wanting something beyond Nascar or drag racing. I can't wait!

Art

[Art Anderson]

I'll buy one just to get another Ford Flathead . Ed Shaver

Be advised that the flathead in that kit is the V8-60, a 144cid miniature of the larger 221cid V8-85, but it would be pretty cool nonetheless.

Art

[drball]

With over 600 Kurtis Midgets built (as complete cars, and in kit form--Kurtis-Kraft did make up all the chassis parts in kit form, in case you wanted to weld up your own) from late 1945 into the late 1950's, just about every Indianapolis driver from about 1950 until well into the early 70's drove one at some point in his career, and that includes at least two F1 World Champions (Jack Brabham and Mario Andretti -- legend has it that Phil Hill also drove one early in his racing career as well). Those cars dominated just about every Midget racing circuit in the US as well, coast-to-coast and border to border. The cars were bought, sold and traded for all those years, so a single car might have run under a dozen or more names, in that many color schemes & graphics.

It's little known now, but even Nascar, in their early years, had a Midget openwheel class, which supplemented their larger open wheel series (pretty much older Indy cars using factory stock engines), back in the early to mid 1950's.

A bit of searching into racing activities in your area (wherever you live) likely will turn up at least something about midget racing back in the day--in the racing-starved world postwar, midgets could be seen racing 5-nights a week in a lot of places, plus Saturday and Sunday events as well. From about 1947, until about 1961 or so, the runup to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race was "The Night Before The 500" midget racing event at "16th Street Speedway", which was right across 16th Street from the South Short Chute of IMS, in Speedway Indiana. It was not uncommon for drivers running each year's 500 to show up the night before, race Midgets, then grab a couple hours of sleep, run the 500 Mile race.

Midgets ran all over the Midwest, the East Coast, New England, even in the Far West, Southwest, the Rocky Mountain states, anywhere where there was a 1/4 mile race track. They even ran 1/8 milers indoors! Places like the Chicago Stadium (the show arena at the old Chicago Stockyards, where the Blackhawks used to play hockey!), State Fair Coliseums in places like Indianapolis, Columbus OH, Springfield IL, and in civic venues in Ft Wayne IN, St Louis MO, Des Moines, all in the winter (1/8 mile ovals and LOW rear end ratios). They ran on dirt, asphalt, even revivals in miniature of the legendary 1920's era wooden, or "board tracks". Back in those days, nearly every county seat town in the Midwest had at least a half mile dirt track, holdovers from the days when harness-racing (horses pulling lightweight 2-wheel sulkies) was big, every local horse breeder looking to raise the next Dan Patch (legendary Pacer from Oxford IN, all-time harness racing recordholder).

So, these kits really have potential, especially for racing fans wanting something beyond Nascar or drag racing. I can't wait!

Art

The place you referred to as the Chicago Stadium actually was the International Amphitheater at 43rd and Halsted. The hawks played at Stadium on the west side.

[Art Anderson]

The place you referred to as the Chicago Stadium actually was the International Amphitheater at 43rd and Halsted. The hawks played at Stadium on the west side.

You are right! My bad! The Ampitheater of course. Now, in case you wanna know who promoted the Midgets at Soldier Field: None other than Mr. Grancor himself (who also made a ton of speed equipment for the V8-60--Anthony (Andy) Granitelli!

Art

[Art Anderson]

Yeah, the regular-sized flattie would not have fit in one of those little cars. I'm really looking forward to have the V8-60 available in scale for the first time!

While the V-85 would fit, it would have needed bulges in the side panels to clear the wider block and heads. But, it's moot of course, as the limit for production-based engines (stock blocks) was 144cid. The Offy midget engine started out at 91.5cid in the late 30's, grew to 110cid by about 1950, later was allowed 120cid in the mid-late 60's.

Art