Friday, August 30, 2013

Tether Race Car Dashes From 1940 to 1955


Tether car racing has a rich and interesting history, which we'll delve into.  For now, I'm going to post one aspect that I find fascinating; the tether car dashes. 
I'll expand on these over the next couple of days, but for now, here's a few to whet your appetite...





A great match for the sprint car above would have been the Maring custom set made by Stewart Warner in the 1940's. They were a speedo-tach combo, and they were the over-sized gauges, possibly the inspiration for such a detailed racer!





Both of the above are a dead-ringer for the dash below them of a real live, 1947 -era sprint car special, right down to the engine-turned dash panel and black-face Stewart Warner gauges. All three look full-scale, only the bottom one actually is.




This one up above is my favorite, because I'm such a Mopar fan. The detail is astounding when you consider that their model is based off of a half-year transition dash set, the 1933 Plymouth PC.
You rarely see this cluster, and to see it reconstituted on a toy is astounding and wonderful. 
Top notch!




Yes, these are just scale versions of SW gauges. Tremendous!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

1923 I'Llustration Magazine Automobile Art

Here's some beautiful illustrations from the renowned French Art magazine, I'Llustration, 1923...








Friday, August 9, 2013

MAN-A-FRE Intake Vintage 1962 Chevrolet Corvette Install Instructions

Although it's out of my usual scope of interests, I think this article from 1962 was worth posting for you vintage performance junkies...







1950's "Backseat Drivers License"

This is an official, 1950's Backseat Drivers License, good in all 48 states....




Courtesy of Phillip's Snack Bar!