Midget 85

San Antonio Quarter Midgets pictured below in the pit area. The two midgets from left to right are Wahlborgs with the third being a Pacemaker midget. Note the right front wheels on the Wahlborgs were 6 inch wheels with the inside being a 5" wheel. The right front wheels are negative camber for better handling on the track as mentioned earlier on this thread. #85

WHAT IS 1/4 MIDGET RACING? An early article about this new sport sweeping the nation in the 50's and early 60's Little League Racing was as popular as PeeWee Football, and Little League Baseball. As far as I was concerned, there was no match after driving one of these little midgets! #85

DOUG McBRIDE- continued.. Photo reveals a good side shot of Doug's first Quarter Midget at age 5. The exhaust pipe mounted on the side of the midget was for cosmetic looks to resemble the big midgets..but no one had to know that, besides it was cool to be like the big boys! If we were going to race like the big guys, we might as well look like them ..right? #85

Doug McBride Here are a few more series photos of Doug McBride in his early days and at the young age of 4-1/2 years to 5 years old. Photos were made in San Antonio, 1957. From the stroller to Quarter Midgets! By the way Doug, I dig the 57 Ford of your dad's also! #85

SAN ANTONIO, TX DRIVER: DOUG MC BRIDE As we move forward with our forum, we now focus on Texas driver Doug McBride from San Antonio,TX. Noted on page 1 of this forum we mentioned our friendship between Doug and I from the days of Quarter Midgets and a few photos of us together in the year 1960. I recently have been in contact with several drivers and Doug agreed to loan us his photo album of those glorious days of racing. We thank Doug in advance for helping us out with this interesting history of racing in it's beginning days. Doug and I raced many races together and we all agree that he was one of the best and historical San Antonio should be proud of this legend driver. Doug is a likable person both then and now.. We start off our session on Doug with the following two photos with his very first midget and photos taken inside his garage in San Antonio. I once visited Doug at his home where these photos were taken. That was August, 1960. There are many more photos to post, so we will get started here and let Doug add what he wishes to these postings as we go along.. This is a true classic 1/4 Midget detailed to the likeness of the Big Brother Midgets of it's time. Cool Midget Doug! #85

Lon, Got any good photos inside the magazine that we can scan and post? Below is a photo of a "Moss" Midget location unknown. Note the rear Cowling is not on the car and the driver is pictured with the checkers. I don't recall 1/4 midgets being able to run any race without the rear cowling attached with the rules in place. Only in tune up or practice laps were we allowed to run without the turtle cowling. All official races required the rear to be in place at the tracks I attended and raced on. This was after manufactured midgets were being produced. Some of the older jalopy midgets in the crude days didn't have tails on them at all as you have seen on this forum.. #85

More vintage photos of Quarter Midgets of the 50's era. This is a Dascar Quarter Midget and a QMC pictured. Even the trophies have the vintage look that was cool in their days! #85

Lon, If I understand correctly, you have a spare 5" wheel? The 6" wheels were also ran on the fronts on some of the quarters as you can see in the forum photos. Mainly on the right front was a 6" and a 5" on the left front. This was for handling purposes only to set the midget up for the turns. Remember,.. Quarter Midget rules were in the beginning stages in the 50's and there was alot of experimental testing done back then.. All kinds of tricks were in the making.. #85

Lon, This is great, and job well done on your finds! By all means, keep one as we might need to clone some of these jewels! #85

Thanks Larry, I have too many projects going on with the classic car shows, restorations and yep, still holding down a day job! OK, I reviewed the photo on page 3 of this thread and can confirm that it was not this car that the mystery driver drove that was purple. That is a 56' Chevy and I know the other was a 55' Chevy and I sure want to think that it was #27.. You are correct about Biggs. It was a 55 Chevy red and silver and maybe a yellow #42 that I recall. I am glad someone can correct us memory status. As to my Bronco project, unfortunately not very far. It was a 55 Chevy and had the roll cage completed and I was all fired up with starting the engine. Still living at home, going to school, and then the paper article of the fatality at Meyer Speedway ended my efforts and support from my parents. My Mom played a huge row in re directing my efforts. I was 16 or 17 then. I took the street rod challenge instead and started building a 57 Chevy Street Rod and began to pursue the girls in school and a local Rock N'Roll Band. Probably would have been better off sticking with the Bronco... The 55 Chevy was sold to one of the boys at Meyer Speedway and if I recall it became the #10 Bronco. Larry Schild had entered the Bronco's in 1967 and I was to be the other Quarter Midget Driver to join in with Larry and Bubba Nolan. By the way, David Tennyson drove Quarter Midgets also in a Blue #3. Don't recall him winning anything and can't recall how long he stayed in the quarters.. I never stopped racing however and always was involved somehow in the sport although my driving days were halted. So, I just supported everyone else I could and attended the racing scene whenevr I could. Drove a few stock cars in Minnesota when I was on a job up there but they were a far cry from the southern sport and Meyer Speedway Broncos. Below is a shot from 1968 with the 57 Street Rod I had just finished...or thought I had finished. Come to find out, you never finish one, you move on to another project or revamp the one you thought you had finished. That's sorta like racing isn't it? Just need more money! Dig the white socks, surfer haircut, Chevy jacket, and chrome reversed wheels.. Still involved with classic cars today.. #85

Jim, Thanks, maybe we can gather some info. I had been to this site to try and gather a few interesting photos and info to keep things moving on this forum and update. Looks like the site hasn't been updated in awhile. Every little bit helps.. It maybe that we have to clone some of these parts before it's all over with. Speciality wheels can be manufactured by various companies if they have a pattern. #85

This is unbelievable! A garage sale and what timing. Your making me envious now with these great vintage quarter midget finds and parts. Keep us informed. If you run across additional ones, please let me know. #85

Lon, At least we now know the Brand Name of these wheels! Thanks for contacting me with a PM. Lon has found 2 mags for the 1/4 Midget! Great find! -#85

As mentioned Lon, These are good looking wheels and were very popular in it's time frame for the older midgets. This is the mag wheel offered in the late 50's and early 60's for quarter midgets in competition use. They were not stock in any form but designed and offered for after market racing wheels. They were magnesium / aluminum and could be purchased out of California for the serious racer! We might keep checking the web or hope that someone will have a set of these wheels hidden somewhere. There has to be some out there! They are the same wheels pictired on my Midget #85 on page one of this forum ( color photo ) I would concentrate on the body prep and await for a response for the wheels. Also do a search for quarter midget wheels on "Google" and quite possibly one of the kart / quarter midget suppliers may have some around the facility since today's wheels are somewhat different than the early mag you have pictured above. Steady as she goes on the resto! -Randy #85

Larry, the year 1968 for Bubba does sound right. I took some photos at the track the same night I took of George Nash's modified #24 and caught Bubba near his Bronco along with the red 55 Chevy #45 which I thing was Biggs? I really believe it was a Blue and White 55 Chevy 2 Door Post with either a Gold or Blue 77 on the side. That was his quarter midget number also in the late 50's. All I need to do now is find those blasted photos somewhere! Thanks, Larry

JUST LIKE THE BIG GUYS! Kids were as serious about their races as the big guys and probably learned many tricks by observing as well. Who knows, one of these guys maybe grew up to be a "Big Guy" on the roundy rounds! Here's a shot from 1956 during the infancy of 1/4 Midget racing and the boys on the track were no different than the big boys when it came down to winning. Crude Quarter midgets minus the safety standards of today and yep..some got a little crazy. Here's one that got upside down in the heat of the action. Dig the school jacket on the leader in this photo and the bravery of these little guys dueling for the checkers with no holding back..and..what about that roll bar? State of the art in the early 50's! Further observing..I don't even see a seat belt on the leader! A "Monkey Cage" was at the local zoo in the 50's, not on race cars..

Jim, You're tha man! #85

Lon, There are a few sites that relate to classic quarter midgets but have not been updated in several years. I am searching for info myself and when I find reliable sources, will be happy to post or link to this site. I have captured some of the info and added to this post to keep the thread moving and hopefully keep the information current. We might be able to share some parts if it comes down to it so, hang tight and let me see what we can come up with. The Wahlborg I have has been modified to some degree and is not stock in a lot of areas. I can appreciate to some degree what someone before me was trying to do with the little midget and appears they wanted to make a Mini-Quarter size sprinter or modified look out of it with the modifications that were attempted on it. The cowling has been modified around the steering wheel to give it a more agressive flair. Non the less, I am glad I found it even though it was not in the original form. Many midgets that were purchased were immediatley upgraded with mag wheels, and other after market performance parts anyway for competitive reasons. They came stock but, it wasn't long before the competitive edge for performance was needed and sought after as you read through this forum and look at the history! I will have to decide just how far I can go since the body has been altered some although most of the remainder of the car is original. Again, many of the original parts are missing also. Finding original bumpers and such will really be a trick. Maybe we can get yours all back original and mine updated some with newer parts. Hmm, I'll really have think on that one some and make a decision... Stay tuned.. #85

Jim, It was a feature race and if I recall the hungry wolfes in the rear of the pack caught up with #92 about the last 5 to 8 laps! Good racing at Meyer Speedway for sure! I always had the urge to drop down in the pits after the race and paint the wheels white so they could be seen on the track. The dark blue wheels were hard to see against the black tires. Always digged the white wheels, they simply showed up good on the track especially at night.. Tatar was the voice of the speedway like no other. What a sence of humor and added thrill to hear Tatar on the track PA system. He just made it all the better..

Lon, Probably a very good idea! Didn't want to say it, but the 1/4 midget is a very rare piece of history and deserves to be saved and maintained. If I can assisit, please let me know.. -Randy #85

I would leave tha car alone for now if you intend for the grandkids to enjoy. As they get older, I would set the midget aside and then maybe think about restoring to it's race days or stock days of production. The car has been kept in great condition! The Continental engines are very hard to find although I have one, it is locked up and finding parts will be like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Look at the photos above at the one I found as to the Continental Engine. Do your best to keep the midget in good shape and do no modifications since it is almost all original as I have viewed by your photos! If you ever decide to sell the midget, then by all means I would like to buy it as first call! Thanks again, -Randy Midget 85

Straycat, Welcome aboard and thanks for your input! You do have a Wahlborg 1/4 Midget here and I must say it is in excellent condition compaired to the one I found. Looking at the photo, the front wheels appear to be aftermarket racing mags that were available for these midgets in the 50's early 60's from what I can make out. (need a closer photo to make sure.) The rear wheels look like those available from a local hardware or kart supplier and appear to be generic economical do it yourself Go-Kart wheels. The slicks look like 12 x 6 or 13 x 6.5 and was common in the 50's especially on asphalt tracks. The front axle is an I-Beam that was more common on the 1957-58 midgets, where some used tubular axles. The one I have has a tubular axle. The body is in great shape and is original in the classic Wahlborg design. This body style was produced from 1957 thru 1959-60 and came from the factory with a stock Continental engine originally. I see the factory Roll Bar is missing. The nerf bars are true in being correct as well as the bumpers. Apparently, the engine has been replaced at one time due to the Continentals being discontinued in production. If you can, please post a photo or two of the engine. You are lucky to find this midget in the condition it is in and I certainly suggest you preserve it as best as possible from damage or modifications. It is a piece of racing history you have here!! Please keep us posted and your input is greatly appreciated..

Larry? I think you are right. it was 1967. I know the owner once told us guys that he knew the car would run, he just needed a driver that could drive it! I recall after several weeks the car was running in the backfield on most of the races and then one night there was a new driver for #92. He actually led the race most of the night but was soon surrounded by the fast boys coming from behind toward the end of the race. He didn't win, but he did make a good showing for the #92. I don't recall seeing the car either after that night. Sorta disappeared.. Thanks for the info.

Jim, Thanks a bunch! -Randy

HAVE QUARTER MIDGETS...WILL TRAVEL! Here's another shot of Fred around 1960 in the same midget but with a new paint job and number #58. Fred's favorite driver was MJ Burton who drove the #58 Modified at Playland Park and also the #58 was an inverted #85 reflecting friendship between us and also the color Blue on our midgets.. Fred lived in Galena Park and the girls gym at Galena Park High School is in the background of this shot. Fred lived directly beside the High School.. The trailer reflects how serious Quarter Midget racing had become with the ability to carry more than one midget to the tracks. The upper car is Fred's new painted Grand Prix racer #58 on the top of the trailer. The 1/4 midget on the bottom is the "Champ 5" that was driven by Chubby Chapman from Liberty / Dayton area and owned by Jack Boslog shown earlier in this thread. Cars were loaded and ready for a trip to Alvin,TX for an event that day. Some of the trophies displayed here and won by Freddy with photos taken by his late Dad in Galena Park,TX around 1960. #85