It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

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Rob
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It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Rob » Wed Jan 15, 2020 6:44 pm

My first attempt using a new app, Lumafussion. It took a bit to learn to maneuver, and I’m still not good, but it has a lot of potential.

Ford vs. Benz

Dropbox link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/220jmaeexhvxs ... z.mp4?dl=0

91AE1770-67B3-41C5-AD3A-727EACC1BA5F.jpeg


Bud Delong
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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Bud Delong » Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:27 pm

WoW!!!! :D Bud.


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Herb Iffrig » Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:35 pm

Thanks Rob. That was interesting.

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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by TRDxB2 » Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:57 pm

Nicely done!
The past is a great place and I don't want to erase it or to regret it, but I don't want to be its prisoner either.
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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:15 pm

A wonderful short video, very enjoyable to watch and listen to.
(About five minutes)


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Colin Mavins » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:21 pm

That was a great show so now the question that's on every bodies mind ,what engine was in that racer I see that the engine is pushed back through the dash. Maybe a 6 cylinder? Cheers


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Colin Mavins » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:28 pm

The other question I have is where is the little ford I have been to the Henry Ford twice in the last 10 years and is was not on display only the 999 ? Henry must have saved it you would think.

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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Rob » Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:46 am

Thanks guys. Colin, unfortunately, only two of the four racers still held by THF are on display, Sweepstakes and 999.

There were five versions of Ford racers, and each made headlines and their marks between the years 1901 and 1912. A quick timetable:

Sweepstakes - Ford’s first racer. Sweepstakes made local and some national headlines by beating Alexander Winton’s record holding racer in 1901. With Henry Ford driving and Ed Huff riding as mechanician, Sweepstakes overtook the ailing Winton at a race in Gross Pointe MI, giving Ford his first taste of racetrack fame. This car was sold a short time later, as Henry Ford worked on his next racing project.
467B9D5D-B09D-4AF4-8A1F-678AA68D5916.jpeg

The racer(s) that put Ford’s name in the record books and gave him worldwide fame were cloned creations 999 and Arrow. Built in collaboration with Tom Cooper, these racers set track and world records across the U.S. over the next few years. Barney Oldfield would be the first man to drive a circular track mile under 60 seconds (over 60 mph) driving one of the Ford racers. Below Cooper and Oldfield are seated on the two Ford creations. In early 1904, Henry Ford set the world one mile speed record on ice with one of the two racers, that had been returned to the factory to be rebuilt after wrecking in late 1903 in Wisconsin, killing driver Frank Day:


3E8E0F0D-580C-4D7C-926C-31486BB3196A.jpeg

Next, the only racer no longer in existence, and Ford’s first record holder. While Henry Ford, C. H. Wills and Ed Huff worked on the upcoming six cylinder racer, Ford built a lightweight racer by combining 2 two cylinder motors together to create “Baby,” or the “Skeleton Racer.” This racer captured headlines and crowd imaginations, beating several larger racers and setting world records for 1 - 10 miles for light and middle weight racers. A young Frank Kulick raced throughout the east and central U.S. with this racer, and even accompanied it to the west coast to challenge world record holding Barney Oldfield who was now driving the Peerless Green Dragon.

A66B16B3-71E1-4E9B-A144-9F8CC8BB1FA2.jpeg

7E648917-F8FF-4BA6-9E91-D73551486F80.jpeg

In 1903 Barney Oldfield while setting records with Henry Ford’s creations, contracted with Ford to build him a special racer “to compete with the best racers in Europe.” This led Ford to begin experimenting with, and building the six cylinder racer. This racer, completed in late 1904, began competing in 1905. While misfortune accompanied the three versions of this racer, it was the first Ford documented making 100 mph:
A4FB7309-138D-41E0-AA88-4A69D62143FF.jpeg
Later I’ll finish with the six, and mention the Ford Special racers.


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by It's Bill » Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:19 am

The cars weren't the only things that had brass. Great stuff Rob, thanks! Bill


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Dallas Landers » Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:02 am

Those are real racers. If it dont make it go fast, it aint there!

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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Rob » Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:45 am

Thanks Bill. A little more:

There were three iterations of the six cylinder racer. Although few records were made, there were many close records, such as when Kulick drove the 1905 six to a world record against a Darracq at Atlantic City. The record was disallowed because Kullick crossed the start line ahead of the Darracq (flying start). Below, Henry Ford at Cape May. Darracq protested and the record was withheld. This racer did set the beach record at a mile in 38 seconds, and tied the world 1 km record, although the world record holder, Walter Christie, broke his record the same day:

C8F825A3-A09A-4AE3-8528-BEA42CCA19A2.jpeg

This racer in it’s three versions, raced between 1905 and 1907, when it wrecked while attempting the one mile world circular track record at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, causing Henry Ford to quit track racing:
595EDB48-24B1-406D-B208-A6A9C1E085E4.jpeg
Following the wreck, the racer languished at Piquette in pieces. Following Ford’s victory in the New York to Seattle race in 1909, Henry Ford said he would rebuild the big six, and have Frank Kullick attempt world records at the new and safer Indianapolis Speedway. The racer was rebuilt, as it appears today, however was not completely finished, and did not race again:
4ED7AF7E-15F9-4E16-9418-F7C124FDC152.jpeg

The rebuilt six as it looks today:
2538A6C0-A14D-4498-A281-28E5C96195DE.jpeg
Later I’ll throw a few pics of the last Henry Ford racers, the Ford Specials.


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by DHort » Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:53 am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIC7MClo1MU

Hopefully this works. Here is one of the early 1900 racers on the Milwaukee Mile, summer of 2019.

Many thanks to Rob and Bruce for giving me this ride.


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Bud Delong » Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:54 am

I love this but on the other hand someday i would like to buy at least two copies of a nice hard bound book before all Robs work is gone!!!!!!!! :D The Internet has any and everything [now] but will it last long term or be gone like farts in the wind??? Something you can get your hands on in the future when some idiot post all the racers of that time had solar cells and used 5-w-40 oil!! :D Bud. :D

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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Rob » Thu Jan 16, 2020 2:47 pm

Thanks Dave. The racer was missing by that time. Here’s another clip. We were holding the mid 40s on the corners and mid 60’s on the straightaways on the banked track. I realized why the Ford Special at The Henry Ford has tightly woven leather around the steering wheel. My hands became sweaty and it was tough to hold the wet slippery wheel pulling left constantly on the corners:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ts7grbm28jlb ... M.mov?dl=0


Bud, I hope to write two books someday. One about the Ford Six (model K and racer), and one about Frank Kulick. Frank Kulick lived a charmed, yet simple life, and I believe should be celebrated for his skill, perseverance, and loyalty to Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company. And how, when he chose, under his terms, he walked away (as opposed to how history reports his exit, but that’s another story for another thread).

Colin, if you’re still following, an answer to your question. The Ford Specials were all four cylinder racers. They were built to compete in specific classes, with one built and sent to France for the 3 liter class. The reason some thought the four cylinder Ford Specials (at least one version) was a six cylinder due to a reporter seeing the racer below with the hood up. He commented that the racer was a 6 cylinder, because he could see 6 spark plug wires under the hood going to 6 plugs.

The reason? The motor was long enough that the 4th cylinder is “hidden” under the false tank behind the firewall. With a Bosch dual ignition, the reporter could only see the six wires going to six plugs, on three of the four cylinders. This is the 300 cubic inch racer we own:

92E742E4-2BFA-466A-A35A-1BB9113EF19E.jpeg

Other Ford Specials:

Below, the 228 cubic inch racer, sent with the 300 c.i. to the Mardi Gras races in February 1911. Both racers cleaned up, winning most races in their respective classes during the three day meet:

B06FF54D-C3CA-481B-A7C7-70399A3EDAFB.png

Next, the 3 liter racer sent to France to race in the light car races, and Grand Prix. This racer was withheld from the small car race, because it was too light. It was allowed entry into the Grand Prix of 1911. Henri Depasse, Ford France manager, is at the wheel:

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Photo courtesy of THF, all rights apply.

This French version ran second among all entries in the French racers in the 1 km preliminary races, clocking 69 mph. Unfortunately, while practicing over the course the Grand Prix was to run on, a tire blew and the racer crashed at an estimated speed of 75 - 80 mph. Depasse was injured, and his mechanician killed:

99F8C5BF-80E9-4B2E-A269-8D7D9D43C382.jpeg
Photo courtesy of THF, all rights apply.


Unbelievably, this racer was rebuilt, and a month later, came in 2nd in the most famous hill climb in Europe, on Mont Ventoux. This race is very similar in distance and grade to Pikes Peak, and the little Ford ran second, defeating many of the most famous cars and drivers in Europe. The photo below shows the Ford racer on one of the hairpin turns near the top of the mountain. You can see exhaust streaming from the left side of the hood. This tells us the auxiliary exhaust ports are open on the left side of the motor. These ports were a unique feature of the racers, and designer Joe Galamb described the ports in his reminiscence:

0F6D88DF-06FF-4D6C-AB3D-D18B6E744EA8.png


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:25 pm

A wonderful synopsis of the Ford racing cars!
Thank you Rob!
W2


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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Colin Mavins » Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:22 pm

Thank you sir you have answered the questions Cheers Colin

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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Kaiser » Fri Jan 17, 2020 8:20 am

As usual another great thread Rob, love the way you come up with bits of 'new' Ford racing info every time ! I never knew about the 'Skeleton Racer' , or that there were TWO 666 racecars, completely new to me...
When can we pre-order the books :lol:
Keep it coming,
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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Kaiser » Fri Jan 17, 2020 8:37 am

Warning OT !
Some info on Mr B Oldfield and the Peerless Green Dragon(s) from the site of 'The Old Motor' :
http://theoldmotor.com/?p=139846
http://theoldmotor.com/?p=140310
enjoy !
When in trouble, do not fear, blame the second engineer ! 8-)
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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by John Warren » Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:50 pm

Rob thanks for sharing such researched stories. All ways intrigued.
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Keep it simple and keep a good junk pile if you want to invent something :P

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Re: It’s not Ford vs. Ferrari, but it did happen

Post by Rob » Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:27 am

Thank you guys. Kaiser, great pics on Old Motor of the Green Dragon and Oldfield, thank you for posting.

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