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Vintage photos to share
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The red racer shown below won the award for the 'Best Designed' car in 1965. It took me nearly 6 months to build working almost every weekend and evening from February through July. The car had many unique features including:
  • The front of the racer hung from the front axle by rubber bands. We adjusted the "bounce" in the suspension by adding or removing the bands.
  • The rear suspension consisted of a 3/4" piece of maple to which the rear axle was fastened. It acted like a springboard allowing the rear axle to bounce a little or a lot. The amount of bounce could be adjusted by tightening down a steel plate on top of the springboard that was dappened with a piece of sponge rubber.
  • The springboard had a notch cut into it. The notch surrounded a hex nut that could be moved from side to side by turning a bolt that was placed through the nut and supported by an iron channel on either side. This allowed for "micrometer" adjusting of the alignment.
  • The drag brake was located beneath the springboard in the rear. It was simply made but worked great!
  • This car utilized a double pulley steering system that operated like a block & tackle system. That meant that I had to turn the steering wheel alot to get the axle to move just a little. The idea was to minimize the tendency for me to oversteer.

I drove the racer by bending forward at my waist. I crossed my right leg over the top of my left leg and placed my elbows on the floorboard next to my knees. In this position my hands fit on the steering wheel and were positioned with my knuckles right on my cheeks. The top front of the racer had a sight groove built into it which served two purposes:

  • the lower center portion allowed me to get lower in the car and still be able to see, and,
  • the outer top portion extended around the steering wheel and gave me something to stretch my shoulders to touch to enhance the streamined shape of the racer.

 

My 1965 'best designed' racer
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In the late 1960's the short wheel base cars began appearing in Akron and people began to take notice as they began creeping into the Top 9 finishers. Ken Cline's 'grasshopper' racer managed to garner 1st place in 1967. Ken raced in Lincoln, Nebraska but had raced previously in Midland, Texas where a car with similar design features, driven by Larry Gilmore, had managed to place 3rd at the All-American in 1966.
 
Note the similarities to Dennis Puckett's racer from Decatur, Georgia which finished 3rd in 1968 as well.  These cars were the forerunners of the winning 'layback' designs of 1969 World Champion Steve Souter of Midland, Texas and Samuel Gupton of Durham, N.C. who won the All-American finals in 1970.

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This car placed 3rd in 1966 in Akron
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The blue car shown below raced in Columbus, Ohio in the late 1960's. Behind the driver there was a box that contained about 85 pounds of steel plates to give this car a terrific boost at the bottom of the hill where the track levels out!
Note the excellent streamlining of this racer! This car was a prototype for many cars that came ahead of it.  Unfortunately it weighed in at about 40 pounds under the weight limit.  In spite of that it was a fast car!

1968 - One of the first 'stick cars' ever built.
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A view from the rear. This racer was made of plywood slats, formed over temporary bulkheads.  It featured a "4 point" suspension in the rear with the racer body fastened only to an axle tree made of oak. The rear of the racer was actually supported at just the ends of the axles [if you look closely you can see the bolts at the ends].  This car was only 10" wide at the widest part and a mere 12" high from the bottom of the car to the top of it. The car was finished with a marine paint like that used on the hulls of sailboats. I often wonder how fast it might have been if it had raced at the 250 pound limit!
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Rick Locklear - Akron 1975
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Rick Locklear [circa 1975]
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The Danna Banana won 2006's 'Innovation Award'
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causing many to doubt the value of German wheels.

MAYBE BIG WHEELS ARE THE WAY TO GO !
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WHAT DO YOU THINK ??

Here's a design from years gone by that may be
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competitive in 2007. What do you think ?

Caitlin Frank - Akron 2006
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