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Old 06-16-2010, 07:10 AM   #121
Roadster62
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Default Re: Model T Racing Thread

I have to find the magazine page in the files with the ROOF Supercharger on the T. Nice headon photo withthe radiator off the car. Around 1976 I had two ROOF overhead cam heads for a model A or B block. HEAVY, no idea what they were cast from, had a shaft drive off the crank, somewhat like a 1920's Bentley. Sold them both to Doc Pruden in California. I often wonder if someone has them on a running car.
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Old 06-16-2010, 07:30 AM   #122
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Originally Posted by Roadster62 View Post
I have to find the magazine page in the files with the ROOF Supercharger on the T. Nice headon photo withthe radiator off the car. Around 1976 I had two ROOF overhead cam heads for a model A or B block. HEAVY, no idea what they were cast from, had a shaft drive off the crank, somewhat like a 1920's Bentley. Sold them both to Doc Pruden in California. I often wonder if someone has them on a running car.
That would be great.... Look forward to seeing it and anything else Roof.
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Old 06-16-2010, 07:34 AM   #123
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From the looks of it these boys got into a bit of a tight spot. Thats a nice looking Livingston radiator, but from the looks of this photo I think its has been wounded.

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Old 06-16-2010, 10:45 AM   #124
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A very interesting story with more of it to follow.

By 1936 times were tough, even on the Central Coast of California. A stock market crash on the East Coast in 1929 and a dust bowl in the Midwest had set off a slow rolling shock wave of economic downturn that would eventually be felt all the way out west. This tidal wave of depression pushed a boatload of broke and tired migrants to the West coast in search of jobs and the promise of a better life.

As the depression set in, the locals in Lompoc, California were resigned to the conditions of the times. A group of young men faced with a limited amount of work and very little money were looking for a diversion as a distraction to this depression. They found it by creating a local dust bowl of their own.

This dust bowl began with the formation of a Model-T racing club. Model T’s were not just cheap by the 1930’s, they were free for the taking. Often abandoned where they died along roadways and riverbeds, one could just tow one home or strip it down in place for the parts. These simple mass produced contraptions , were also easy to work on for the mechanically inclined.

There were plenty of mechanically inclined young men in an agricultural town. They grew up working on tractors and farm machinery. Many were garage owners or service station mechanics. They all shared one common love, building junk cars and making them go as fast as they could. In order to collectively pursue their passion they decided to form a club.

The first meeting of the prospective Model T membership took place in the basement of the Elite Bakery in the fall of 1936. As stated in their racing programs for the first track races in 1938, “The Lompoc Model T Club was organized in September 1936 as a recreation and hobby. There were only eight charter members. Today there are over thirty.” “Today” was October of 1938.

The first sanctioned race was held on November 29, 1936. It was a road race that started in the center of town and traveled a 35 mile course. A publicity release described the features of the upcoming course, “practically every kind of road condition to be encountered. Very little of the stretch is paved and there are several gates to be opened. A hard pull is ahead of the gasoline chariots on the Stewart Grade and it is the opinion of several that most of the cars will meet their Waterloo there.”


Meeting ones “Waterloo” was typically the outcome for most of the early race cars. They were built out of junk parts salvaged from long abandoned Model-T cars, which were practically free for the taking. In order to compete the cars had to be built upon a stock Model T chassis including the wood spoke rims and balloon tires. The motors also had to be basically stock, with some internal modifications as invented by these ingenious early engineers.

Mail order speed parts were unheard of in these early days. Beauty of design was definitely not a priority either. In fact in this macho world of racing they likely put more emphasis on ugliness than style. The main adornment on most cars was a decal or gas pump sign featuring the drivers fuel of choice. This early racing competition was mainly a contest between gas station and garage owners, so naturally they wanted bragging rights for the fuel they represented.

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Old 06-16-2010, 10:54 AM   #125
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The early T-racers are some of the most beautiful ugly cars you will ever see. Manned by a driver and a mechanic, these dust churning rattle traps rolled around the dirt roads of Lompoc sputtering and spewing smoke. The winner was usually the only car that actually finished the race. In actuality several cars finished the first race in 1936. Armand Cazenave and Walt Mafrina won this race and would be perpetual winners of future races. Two more road races were held in the spring and fall of 1937.

To survive a road race it was necessary to have your mechanic along for the ride. Of course, many of the drivers were able mechanics as well, but in a road race you didn’t break down in pit row. The mechanic, besides being prepared to fix the car, also had to open and close the cattle gates separating the ranches along the course. Tires were always a problem too and a quicker change could be facilitated by a team of two. This meant that the membership of the club was at least double the number of cars to be raced. Often these teams were made up of brothers.

As the racing action continued so did the local interest. More cars were built and more members joined the club. Due to the interest and general concerns about safety, dust and noise, it became evident that racing would have to move from the road to the track. The races were also attracting spectators and for them it was difficult to watch a race spread out along a sometime remote 35 mile course. When cars broke down out on the road course it was a long walk home too.

The end of the article is just down the page a little.

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Old 06-16-2010, 11:56 AM   #126
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T-Head,

Thanks for the heads up on this thread-I registered and bookmarked it!
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Old 06-16-2010, 12:46 PM   #127
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T-head, as usual, great pics and history!
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Old 06-16-2010, 12:59 PM   #128
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The last part of the Lompoc Racing story by Curt Cragg.

The T-club began looking for suitable locations to build a track just outside the city limits. There was plenty of open land, but in a fertile farming valley, few people could afford to concede productive property to a race track. In the midst of a depression, the club members were not in a position to purchase property either.

The creative outcome was that the club members reached an agreement with a local farmer to use his field between crops. Once the crop was harvested, the club members would plow out an oval race track. The stipulation from the farmer was that they would re-plow the field once the racing was over.

The first T-Club oval track was cut at Beckwith Ranch, a few miles east of Lompoc on the Lompoc-Buellton Highway (now Highway 246). It was a picturesque setting with the green hillsides in the background and the track surrounding two “lakes”, which were actually vernal ponds used for irrigation.

If It had been a wet year the ponds contained some water. This was important because the only way to keep the track from becoming a dust bowl was to water it down before the races. Located in a narrow valley that drew ocean air into the inland Santa Ynez Valley, conditions could be windy, especially in June. Add to that the churning wheels of a dozen race cars and the mix was a whirling dervish of dust. Wearing only goggles in cars with no front windows or tops, the drivers were facing limited visibility and tough driving conditions, especially if they weren’t in front.

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Old 06-16-2010, 03:16 PM   #129
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T-Head,

Thanks for the heads up on this thread-I registered and bookmarked it!
Buildy.....Thanks for coming by.....I hope you can help us out here with some of your always great photos. T-H
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Old 06-16-2010, 04:54 PM   #130
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I am going to back up a little and show some photos, if the story is true of the origin of the Rajo overhead. Evidently this, the first model, the 35 was developed to give the TT truck more power. They were quite slow and you did not need a speedo as a calendar works just fine at 22 MPH.

This TT panel truck reputedly received the first Rajo as a means of trying to get more speed out of them for quicker deliveries.

The last two photos show a model 35 Rajo.

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Old 06-17-2010, 09:42 AM   #131
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More of the two T's from the '09 Ocean to Ocean race.
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Old 06-17-2010, 09:53 AM   #132
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Here is a neat photo of a young sport in his early racer in front of a great sign.

Thanks for the race photos Kurtis.

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Old 06-17-2010, 10:39 AM   #133
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One head I neglected to show with the other Rajo's is the Four Valve head. It is the style called an F-Head which is intake over exhaust. The intakes were of coarse in the head which also left plenty of room for water passages.

The exhaust was handled by the standard Ford exhaust valves and manifold. This head was cheaper to produce than an eight valve and was good for trucks, passenger cars up to about 60 MPH.

The last two photos show two different heads one of which has fabricated rocker arms. I believe this head has been reproduced in recent times.

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Old 06-17-2010, 10:55 AM   #134
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These photos show the second design Model 35 Rajo with twin intake ports and a simeased exhaust port in the middle of the head. Compare it with the first style head in the first photo.

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Old 06-17-2010, 01:39 PM   #135
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...

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Old 06-17-2010, 02:56 PM   #136
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I would love to have any of these four!
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Old 06-17-2010, 04:54 PM   #137
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A very interesting T racer photographed in front of the White House.

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Old 06-17-2010, 06:01 PM   #138
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If you guys dont mind me asking,,, What are some good book to get to learn more about these types of cars? I know and have been reading about salt flats and dry lakes stuff, but nothing about this period/ era. I do know stuff about dry lakes and salt flats racing from this period, but not dirt tracks, and board tracks.
When I was a kid(only 35 now) my grandfather would talk about board track racing in Atlantic city and Camden New jersey (I'm from that area). Just like many people at that age, I would half a*@ listen. I wish I could talk to him now. He would always say "You never seen racing until you seen board track racing"
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Old 06-17-2010, 06:24 PM   #139
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For any of you that want to know more this is a good place to start. Buy both of these books. They are excellent and will fill you in on T racing equipment. They are both available on EBAY and here is a link.

http://motors.shop.ebay.com:80/i.htm..._dmd=2&_sop=10

To learn more about PRE-WWII racing use this link to Kurtis's excellent site about every form of early racing.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=380814

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Old 06-17-2010, 09:15 PM   #140
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Thanks T-Head, just ordered "Model T Speed Secrets"

I ordered "Speed & Sport" the otherday, just waiting for it to arrive. Ive been reading Kutis's thread. Great stuff!!
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