Sprint Cars from back in the day featured taller 8x31-inch rear tires. These dirt track mo
There was a time in racing when almost everything that hit the track was home built or sourced from a junkyard. It was a time before turnkey race cars could be bought from a company that built them exclusively. Race cars began life as pieces of tubing scattered on the shop floor. Parts and pieces were fabricated by hand. Creativity in the name of speed was king.
In the '60s, as Sprint Cars were being hand-assembled in the middle of the country, NASCAR race cars where nothing more than gutted production cars with rollcages. For both types of racing machines, production engines were many times modified with the likes of multiple carbs, hotter cams, and headers. Often, race cars were one-of-kind-creations. Many of the ideas born then have given way to innovation and progress, but some remain today.
As we enter a time of change for the oval track racing industry, Circle Track is taking a look back at innovations from the past, this article will be the first in a series of stories on technology from days gone by.
The first race car to be examined is this beautiful home-built 1963 Sprint Car owned by Kenneth Keiholz and crewed by Joshua Shaw. It carries the typical rounded body lines of the period, lines that old-timers will tell you are, "The shape an Open Wheel race car should have." The sheetmetal is held in place by about five-dozen Dzus fittings. It weighs about 300-400 pounds more than its modern brethren. History of the car and parts is a little vague because it was found completely in pieces.
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This head-on shot provides a look of the trim body and the multitude of bars and rods that
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The shape of a Sprint Car body has changed a lot from the '60s. Today, the cars are much m
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One of the neat characteristics of these cars was the custom-designed grilles. This exampl
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The details of the right front suspension are clearly shown here. Note the two solid steel
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This view of the right front shows the steering rod passing through from the left side and
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The car sports Halibrand single-pad (puck) disc brakes in the front and dual pad units on
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A close-up view of the torque arms and stops.
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That small scoop on the car's left side might appear to have some type of an aerodynamic p
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The key to steering the car is the so-called Pitman arm. It's pushed forward and backward
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Today's Sprint Cars have lengthy nerf bars reaching between the wheels. But this small tri
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The cockpit carries a fairly-modern look with the period Stewart Warner gauges in place. T
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This CAE in-out box enables the engine to be engaged and disengaged from the remainder of
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Obviously, it took brave men to drive these stylish machines. The tail carries a 30-gallon
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As was the tradition back in the day, a nickel was implanted on the top of the rear bumper
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A period Chevy 327 small-block sits comfortably in the engine compartment. It carries 2-in
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Shown here is a top view of the engine. The valve covers were period aluminum Corvette uni
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Here is the engine front drive assembly-front to rear, the original brass radiator, fuel p
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The wheels have a vintage look about them with their "real" knock-off hubs.
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With the hood installed, those injection stacks emerge through holes in the hood giving a
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An example of a homemade tool is this pattern which was fabricated for the making of the g
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On the silver outer edge of the wheels, there are a number of small holes. It appears to b
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Race cars of the period had disc brakes long before passenger cars.
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The two-piece belly pan is visible in this rear view of the car and stretches almost the c