More of Trunk or Treat

Each year Beach Acres hosts their annual Trunk or Treat event where car owners dress up their rides and hand out candy. The park limits the number of cars on hand so that there is plenty of room for other events for the kids. There are all kinds of contests and games as well as music and, of course, food. All of the proceeds benefit the Anderson Park District.

Among those cars at this year's event was a spooky looking custom hot rod, a Porsche 928 made up to look like its Land Shark nickname, a couple Mustangs from different generations, a Bel Air, a Porsche 911, a Chevy Impala, and a Ford Falcon.

 

Trunk or Treat

Today and tomorrow I'll be posting shots from the annual Trunk or Treat event at Beach Acres. This is a fun event where owners dress up their classic cars and hand out candy to the kids who are trick or treating. I was there, not only because of my love for this hobby but also because my granddaughter was there. She was a little devil, that's for sure.

Among the cars on display was this Best in Show wining Lincoln Continental as well as two beautiful C2 Corvettes, a Mustang, a couple of 1957 Bel Airs, a Chevy Impala, a Camaro Z28, a Chevy Crestline, an El Camino, and a Pontiac GTO.

 

More Winning Indy 500 Cars

Yesterday I showed you some of the early winning cars from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum (http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/at-the-track/museum). Today I'm going to take you through the 1950s and into the early 1960s. I'll start with the 1950 winning Kurtis-Kraft machine driven by Johnnie Parsons. Originally built for dirt tracks, this 1949 Lesovsky/Kurtis built machine won the 1951 500 along with a slew of other top races.

The last ever dirt-track type car to win the 500 did so in 1952 with 22-year-old Troy Ruttman at the wheel.

The first of the "roadsters" to win the 500 was this 1952 Frank Kurtis design which was driven to victory in 1953 and 1954 by Bill Vukovich.

This Kurtis-Kraft 500D, nicknamed the "Pink Zink" won the 1955 race despite starting 14th. Bob Sweikart took his first lead on lap 58 and held the lead for the last 41.

A.J. Watson was a famed mechanic who, in 1956 built his first true car. And quite a car it was. Weighing just 1700 pounds Pat Flaherty drove it to victory in 1956.

George Sahil took a bold move in 1957 when he turned the big Offenhauser engine on its side in order to lower the center of gravity of his car. It worked. In 1957 42-year-old Sam Hanks drove it to victory and the next year Jimmy Bryan repeated as victor.

 Jim Rathmann had come in second in three different 500s, 1952, 1957 and 1959. In 1960, though, he managed to win a huge duel with Rodger Ward, one which saw the lead change hands a record 29 times. Rathmann managed to be in the lead when the checkered flag fell.

For people in my generation, A.J. Foyt is pretty much synonymous with the Indianapolis 500. In 1961 Foyt won his first of four races in this car. 

What I've shown you today, yesterday and last Friday is just a small slice of the magnificent history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. It includes just about every winning car (including the one I managed to break on the bricks after the race - but that's another story). As always, feel free to leave a message or drop me a line at Turnerbudds@yahoo.com.

51 Coolest Cars of the Last 50 Years

I always get a little frustrated at the "best of" or coolest" lists; mostly because I have a few places where I disagree. On top of that those lists are generally put together by some magazine editors who may not know what they're talking about. This list, the 51 Coolest Cars of the Last 50 Years, comes from Road and Track, some guys who have a pretty good idea about cars. Take a look and let me know what you think. Either leave a comment or drop me a line at turnerbudds@yahoo.com.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/features/g4278/51-coolest-cars-of-the-last-50-years/?src=arb_fb_d&mag=roa&dom=fb

How You Could Become a Stunt Driver

Terri Hart dropped me a line with a link to an infographic he put together on how to become a stunt driver. I thought I'd share it with you and maybe some of you might want to take up the mantle. Of course I learned how to do all of these moves back when I was living in Los Angeles.

https://www.selectcontracts.co.uk/news/how-you-could-become-a-stunt-driver.html

Indy 500 Winners

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum has just about all of the cars that won the famed 500 including this 1911 Marmon Wasp which won the very first one. Also is the National Motor Company's 1912 entry which won the second ever race.

This 1921 Duesenberg had won that year's French Grand Prix. When it returned home the driver, Jimmy Murphy, bought the car, replaced the engine and then drove it to victory in the 1922 Indy 500.

23-year-old Louis Meyer, who would eventually win three 500s, won the 1928 race driving this car created by the legendary Harry Miller.

Another Miller powered car won in 1932. Starting in 27th place driver Fred Frame overcame temperature problems to win the race. In fact he took the lead on lap 152 and was never passed.

This straight eight dual supercharged Maserati won two straight 500s in 1939 and 1940, becoming the first car (and driver - Wilbur Shaw) to win back-to-back races. The car raced through 1950 chalking up two thirds and one fourth place finish.

"Curly" Wetteroth built what he called the Noc-Out_Hose Clamp Special and entered it in the 1941 event. With the car running 12th, the team owner ordered up a change in drivers and Mauri Rose took over, driving it to victory.

In 1938 Art Sparks was commissioned to build two unique cars to race for Joel Thorne. World War II put the 500 on hold but in 1946, English born George Robson drove this one to victory. It would prove to be the team's only win.

The second car and driver to win back-to-back races came in 1947 and 1948 when Mauri Rose drove this Emil Diedt designed car powered by an Offenhauser engine to consecutive victories.

There are plenty more winning cars on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum (http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/at-the-track/museum) and more will be coming tomorrow. In the mean time, check out their web site and plan your own trip to the track. As always, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com.

What's In a Name?

Here is a link to my latest article in Cincinnati Profile magazine. http://cincinnatiprofile.com/2015/10/auto/whats-in-a-name/

The Last From Amelia

As I've mentioned the past couple of days, the 6th Annual 6th Masonic District Car, Truck and Bike Show was small. Which was a shame because the venue was beautiful. Tree lined grass where the cars could park, food, music, all of the things you would expect. There were a lot of other events on the same day of this show and perhaps that kept the numbers down. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the cars that were on display. As always, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com.

Some of the cars in today's post include a great looking Mustang, an Olds Eighty Eight Special, a Camaro Super Sport, a Pontiac GTO, and a hot Dodge Challenger.

Another First Time Event

I made a vow this year to try to get to some car shows that I had never attended before. There were a couple of reasons for that. First and foremost was to break away from the routine and try to see some new and different cars and people. That's what I've always liked about going to car shows. I've managed to do that and have attended a number of shows for the first time. The 6th Annual 6th Masonic District Car, Truck and Bike Show was another first and though small, I'm glad I went.

Some of the rides highlighted in today's blog includ a Chevy 3200 pick up, a fabulous old Chrysler with a rumble seat, and a few Mustangs.