Midget 85

Scooter, Welcome to Texas and to Lone Star Speedzone!

Jim, You didn't cave in his quarter panels did ya?

Here's .......JIM!

Stephen Craft Quarter Midget Here is a vintage and also rare Quarter Midget. Very authenic to the Big Brother Midgets in it's time Speedway Midget pictured below

Another Texas Car in California Recently spoke with Jay in California and he has just purchased a Squalo "Grand Prix" Quarter Midget that was originally raced in Texas by a girl. Jay intends to restore the midget and was interested in the history of this car. There were two girls that raced Grand Prix midgets in the Houston area. Pam Miller and Gayle Nolan. The midget is number 6 presently and maybe we can find the history on this car if anyone might know of any young girls that would have driven this car in Texas. Photos below

Well, Guess who's Bronco this is that raced at Meyer Speedway. Here you go Jim, Hope this brings back a few memories for you! I cleaned up the photo the best I could .. Noticed you forgot to mow the grass in those days..not a yard man I can see

Bruce, Go back to the beginning of this thread on page 1 and read forward. There are clippings of those papers you are talking about that have previously been posted. -Randy

Keep your fingers crossed Doug.. Send me a PM later this fall and let's meet again. Probably about time to assemble another reunion..?

Thanks Nick, If anyone has a passion for anything in life.. then nothing is impossible. As always, thanks for your support!

Nick, Thought this midget would never be seen again. Absolutely unbelievable!

Unbelievable Find To Denny, Doug, Bruce, and all our past Quarter Midget Drivers from the Houston area. I am almost positively sure I have located Sandra Honea's Moss Midget which is now in California! I was almost in shock. Look at this midget and according to the present owner he bought it several years ago and we see all the familiar markings of Sandra's car. The number, sponsor, paint scheme history all matches! The Roll Bar appears to be missing, however or removed for storage purposes. Note the scoop on the tail section. That scoop was put on by her dad. It is a rear vent from a 1955 Caddy!! Take a good look and see if you agree It is sad that Sandra can't see this photo and how thrilled she would be to see this! Even the pin striping is there as she talked about at the beginning of this thread. The front wheels have been changed however. The original wheels were like the wheels on the rear including the knock off hubs This car is over 50 years old! What a miracle. I will try and stay in touch with the owner of this car for more updates

Doug, That's awesome and yes it's all about having time to pursue these goals when life is suppose to be easier. I spoke with Doug in Port Lavaca, Tx and as you can see he has restored some rather fine midgets and great candidates for the start. My original idea was to start a 50's museum to begin with and with all the stuff I have we could set a movie prop and make a heck of a film. I was going to include the Quarters as part of that time frame along with 50's gas pumps coke machines and other items. Either way, it's sorta like the classic cars I'm involved with now to create an interest in preserving Classic Americana. Those were by far the best days this country has ever seen! I would say we need to meet up again this Fall and further discuss the subject. It's certainly worth an effort. Look what happened to all the old modifieds from Meyer Speedway that everyone wishes they could find. All cut up for the most part and turned into Toyotas! In summary, you have my support Doug! Stay in touch, my life is very busy these days.

Hey Bruce, Matter of fact it is posted further back on the thread but, always good to see it again. I understand that Channel 2 Television still has all the old Sunday races on microfilm in their vaults from the 50's. It would be nice to see them again. I remember when Larry, Denny, Sandra and myself were on Kitirik on Channel 13 back in August 1960. That was fun. -Randy

Pacemaker Retired ( alternate photos ) Note the handsome suspension components above

As I have mentioned before Doug, Your input, photos and memorabilia have done more to enhance this thread than anyone else. I am just happy to be a part of all this and to add whatever I can to this thread that Nick has given me to moderate. It's amazing how much feedback we have received locally and all over the country on the subject of Vintage Quarter Midgets. Yes, it was a simpler time and also the roots of motorized midget racing for the the youthful drivers. It was one giant leap from the "Soap Box Derby" racing! I will always remember the 50's and 60's for what it stood for, all the friends I met and raced with, the smell of fuel and the vibration of the little engines in the seat of my pants. We are blessed to be tagged as some of the original founding drivers of this little sport that gained so much popularity for both kids and adults alike in the early days. How I miss those days! Although this time in life has passed us all, the memories, travels, and the thrill of racing will never go away.. I know I speak for many former Quarter Midget drivers and big league racers out there that were also a part of this new sport in it's infancy and those that went on and graduated to the big times and those that reached championship status in Open Wheel, NASCAR, and other motor sports. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. We have just begun! From one former champion to another Doug, remember the rides! Regards, -Randy Midget 85 Moderator- LSSZ

Well Nick.. You are possibly quite right about the love and memories of the Quarter Midgets and what the heck I'm sure any racer out there that has been in any type racing knows that the love will never go away.. Quarter midgets, stockers, sprinters, modifieds young or old can say racing will definitely get in your blood! I think the main reason Quarter Midget racing was so much fun was due to the fact that it was at an early age in life. And youth was fun itself. Quarter midget racing just made it that much better. Being a young racer gave you the desire and inspiration to look up to your heros that were driving the big cars and the desire was set in focus. Quarter Midget Racing was new in the 50's thanks to Walt Disney. I'm just glad I was there to capture those days that are pleasant memories still today. Now.. as to the big fat payrolls, you know I couldn't spend it fast enough Thanks, Nick for the wonderful comments and it's an honor to be a part of Lone Star Speedzone!

Information from Doug Schiller This article was written for and published in Coast2Coast Quarter Midget News Fifty years after Dean Lowe churned up the dirt of quarter midget tracks across America I was fortunate to find a very rare Kurtis-Kraft “Jellybean” quarter midget. The same model as Dean’s original race car. A local newspaper had run a small classified ad touting an early Kurtis quarter midget for sale. I called for directions and within an hour I was peering at, what I soon realized was, a 1955 “Jellybean” Kurtis. It was hidden beneath a roll of carpet and a jumble of dinette chairs. The vintage quarter midget was an almost complete Kurtis in fair shape considering its age. A few metal pieces were missing, but nothing that couldn’t be easily reproduced. It took six months of negotiating before I was able to actually purchase it from its’ owner. The “Jellybean” nickname came from the Kurtis’ front body section resembling a jellybean. After the purchase, months were to pass before I found a special gift under the Christmas tree. It was a book from my wife. The volume was Gordon Eliot White’s biography of Frank Kurtis: Kurtis-Kraft: Masterworks of Speed and Style. In it I found a small section on quarter midgets and karts that the Kurtis-Kraft Company built. Included among the pictures illustrating that section was a photo of a “Jellybean” Kurtis driven by Dean Lowe. The caption stated the picture was taken while Dean and his family were visiting the Kansas 1/4 Midget Racing Association in Wichita, KS. One look at the car in the picture and I was hooked. I felt compelled to take my recently acquired “Jellybean” and turn it into the one shown in the photo. The problem was, I didn’t have any details about the car in the picture. The photo was in black and white, thus leaving few clues as to how to accurately reproduce the car with regard to color, lettering and upholstery. It took me months before I was able to find someone to help me fill in the missing details. The person I ultimately found to help me was the driver of that 1955 Kurtis quarter midget, Dean Lowe. I had had little success using the phone book in my search for the correct Dean Lowe. I finally took a stab at using the company name painted on the side of the car body in my phone search. The lettering “L&L Screw Machine Products” and “El Monte, Calif.” were clearly displayed. In my last attempt to find someone who knew something about the car I did an Internet “Yellow Page.com” search and to my surprise up popped the number for L&L Screw Machine. I phoned L&L at once in hopes that they could direct me to Dean Lowe. The phone rang twice and a voice answered. I took a chance and asked for Dean Lowe. To my shock, the person on the phone replied, “Speaking.” In the weeks that followed, Dean and I had numerous phone conversations which helped to fill in many of the missing details of the #93 “Buzz Bomb” Kurtis-Kraft quarter midget that was in Gordon White’s book. I learned from Dean, facts that included car color, color of lettering and color of upholstery. Additional, lesser known details also emerged. Facts like the front axle and other steering components were cadmium plated, not chromed and only the outer halves of the two piece wheels were chrome plated while the inner halves were painted black. These kind of small details helped me in creating a more accurate reproduction. I eventually had the opportunity to meet Dean in person. He regaled me with stories about his father, his brother Jack, who also raced quarter midgets and, of course, Frank Kurtis. He was also kind enough to provide me with some of the “Buzz Bomb's” original pieces, including several of those wheel halves that were on that first car. Dean also offered an axle sprocket which his father had “Swiss cheesed” with holes to lighten it. My desire to accurately recreate this historically significant quarter midget took about six months of planning and work. As I do in all my restorations, I took a series of pictures from every angle both with and without the body. These always provide a good reference when it comes time for reassembly. As mentioned earlier, the body was in good shape and needed only minor fiberglass repair before painting. Most of the sheet metal was badly rusted and had to be replaced. The front and rear bumpers, as well as the side nerf bars were reproduced from scratch. thanks to that photo in Gordon White’s book. I made new torsion bars and fitted them both front and rear. I found an old three spoke 1960’s “hot rod” steering wheel and cut the spokes out of it and created a duplicate of the single spoke design found on Dean’s #93. The engine bay of this car had been damaged and altered over the years, so it required some heavy duty fabricating and welding. Once the chassis was restored and body fitted with new Dzus fasteners and screws, it was ready for the paint booth. I couldn’t have accomplished this restoration project alone. I had lots of help along the way. Among those who helped was Arlen Kurtis, Frank Kurtis’ son, who provided me with a piece of the same expanded metal his father used in the grille of that first Kurtis quarter midget. Arlen also provided me with the “Kurtis 500” logo which adorned most of Kurtis’ quarter midget race cars. The engine parts were donated by friend and fellow vintage quarter midget collector, Steve LeGras of Visalia, CA. Because I wanted the car to be as authentic as possible, I approached my long time friend Ron Blanchard of Blanchard Signs in Riverside, CA to do the lettering and gold leaf numbers. We used the original photos from Dean’s scrapbook to guide us in the correct positioning and size of lettering. His final brush strokes proved to be the finishing touches on the project. After all the lettering was completed, Ron graciously indicated he was donating his many hours of work to this project! Although the car used to create the replica of Buzz and Dean Lowe’s #93 “Buzz Bomb” was not the original, it certainly proved to be a good foundation upon which to build. My involvement in this restoration was truly a labor of love. I thoroughly enjoyed recreating this very special car and meeting some wonderful people along the way. The fact that I found its original driver and used some of the original parts from that actual car made it that much more special. The car currently resides in the Justice Brothers Racing Museum in Duarte, CA. It sits right beside Dean’s dad, Buzz Lowe’s, full size black #93 Kurtis Kraft midget. If you find yourself in Southern California, take a short trip to Duarte and drop in for a look! UPDATE! In the spring of 2009 I received an e-mail and a photo from Dean. The photo was of his brother Jack’s original Kurtis quarter midget and its current owner. It had passed through many hands including a stint in Vacaville, CA. The current owner is from the Pacific northwest. Dean, his brother Jack, and the current owner plan a reunion later this summer. Unfortunately, Dean’s original “jellybean” Kurtis is still among the missing.

Hey fellas, Your friendly moderator here.. To keep our forum neat and orderly we are requesting everyone to post on the topics already started for each topic. It is easier to find and keeps the existing threads from falling in the cracks. We have several threads and topics all talking about the same thing so, just pretend you are writing another chapter to the existing book. Some of our readers will miss the multiple postings and may not see your posting if they are scattered or given another title. Example: If you have photos or comments to add to Meyer Speedway then scroll down to the subject and continue your thread. This keeps the forums running smoothly and also interesting instead of starting multiple titles. Kinda like placing your tools back in the box where you can find them. Each time someone makes a post to an established title, it will bring the thread to the top of the page and also continues the interesting topic for all to follow and insert their own comments. When a new subject is created, it will start a whole new topic and therefore the subject matter is filtered all through the forums and loses it's characteristics. Thus the subject matter becomes scattered. If you don't find an appropriate title that fits your post than by all means create a new subject. Everyone is doing great with the info and by all means keep the info coming. Have fun!

Hey Bruce, Welcome back to the forum.. Yes, I remember the steering wheel on the Kurtis Kraft that did not have the full circle steel reinforcement and it was designed for safety in case we were projected forward and hit the steering wheel and lose our teeth or possibly a chin! The Racecraft had the same design where you could actually bend the upper part of the steering wheel somewhat for the same safety purposes. No one would guess that our speeds and agressive driving would be an after thought to maybe including shoulder harnesses in addition to the lap belts. Think about it. Roll bars, and shoulder harnesses came later as well as Bell helments. However the Big Midget drivers didn't necessarily have them either in the 50's. With the quarters being designed to be the off spring of the big brothers, all considerations were to mimic the big midgets. Moving on here.. If you observe the photo of Doug's Kurtis taken in 1954 you will see it has a different steering wheel than the Kurtis "500" that you drove, and it appears that Doug either included the wheel or cloned one to match the photo illustrated # 93. Note also that the body is different than the Kurtis 500 as shown as the gold # 7 and again like the one you drove. I would say you are correct on the Gold Kurtis Kraft # 7 steering wheel as not being exactly original as we remembered it. In addition I am not sure of the black # 93 as to make or year making it different than # 7 other than it does have a different body style. Perhaps it is the earlier version of the Kurtis or different model series. I am sure Doug would have the correct answers for us on this subject. The late 50's Kurtis Krafts I remember were driven by you, Jeff Lynn, and Sonny Richardson. There were more, but those I remember well. OK smart AZZ As to the wreck I am not sure you know the difference in left and right?? On a circle track you begin turning left for the curves and the only time you would turn right would be to correct a power slide. Since you couldn't get the speeds over twenty miles an hour on the track and hogged the inner groove you never knew what a power slide was and must have watched the other guys turn right in curves to avoid spinning out. Maybe you thought you were just suppose to turn the wheels to the right for the fun of it? Remember Bruce, there are no exit signs in the curves like today's freeways to get off either. At least we are still here to debate that day and let's face it.. those were fun days neither of us will forget. Have a wonderful day all kidding aside..and thanks for the photo!

Randy, These are of Dean Lowe's Kurtis 1/4 midget. First photo - him racing in 1957 @ Kansas, Second, the same model restored as replica of original, Third, the car as it sits @ The Justice Bros. Racing Museum in CA. Keep in touch, Doug By the way, here is one more midget below restored by Doug. It is a wonderful work of art that Doug has done here restoring these wonderful midgets!

..More Restored Midgets from Doug Schiller, Port Lavaca, Tx AWESOME work Doug!! Below a Racecraft Midget Next, a "500" Kurtis Kraft Midget Below a "Tiny Mite" Midget I will have to rely on Doug to identify correctly the two midgets below although I remember the body designs, I am not sure I can accurately name them..but we know one is a DMC Doug feel free to jump in here with your input. Again wonderful work here!! I really admire the # 5 midget!

More Quarter Midget Legends It was a pleasure speaking with Doug Schiller by telephone from Port Lavaca, Texas and a native New Yorker and West Coast citizen. Doug now in Port Lavaca has restored many 1/4 Midgets over the past decade and has been generous to share some of the photos of his work with us on this forum. Doug, thanks so much and stay in touch when you can. By the way you have performed some wonderful work here! All of the midgets below are Offyettes both 1/4 and 1/2 midgets according to Doug although the Yellow 7 resembles a 1/2 midget Moss from the rear. They were very close in design. The photo below is Doug racing his 1/4 midget in 1954 The next photo shows how dedicated Doug is with his Quarter Midget restos and has even developed his own logo to the occassion.

Pacemaker 1/4 Midget retired

Thanks Jim, I actually tried to buy these midgets but someone else snatched them up! They were in Wisconsin and someone there stole them at a great price.. Oh well, just like racin...win some lose some

Walhborg Retired Racer Resting after early years of racing Looking at this midget automatically sends you back to your youthful days of the mid to late 50's when Quarter Midget racing was born. Wahlborgs were plentiful in the racing world during the days