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The picture at the top of the gas powered sprint cars on the board track is neat. This was big in California
in the '50s. I had a relative out there that did this, and my mother's father (my grandfather) made some
8mm films of it when he bought his first 8mm movie camera. I have one of that style car, made by McCoy
with a .19 cc red Head motor. I wish they we still doing this because I would like to try it out.

I can't find the picture, but I remember that Cox and Western Auto both sold propeller driven control line cars that were insanely fast on any ground that was reasonably smooth, including pavement. There was a Cox prop car in my town, and I saw it run once. It was about a foot or so long, maybe a bit bigger, and there was a guy in the center of the ring with a control handle that looked like the Cox airplanes. The cars were crazy tough. When the car hit a rock or something, it shot up in the air, flew a bit, then settled right back to the ground. The chassis was very heavy and balanced for the thrust of the prop on the little .049 engine.

I fixed my picture problem, and now I see. Yes, those were called board track racers, and they were insanely dangerous, and incredibly wonderful. They had a post, I think, that served as a guide, and were belt or gear driven.

The Cox cars I remember were much later, and exclusively pusher propeller.

OK!

Now I know what you guys are talking about....

...What Rob has described is what we call "Tether" racing over here....

....Really old fashioned but incredibly fast!

In Brisbane (the suburb of Toombul), there was a track located in a park adjacent to the railway line. The "track" was a flat concrete circuit around a metal post in the center, and the post had like a small stand on top of it that I assumed the guys could stand on while the model was running. Around the "circuit" was a metal chain link fence, obviously for the safety of spectators.



It was still in use in the '80's, I'd often go past there on the trains during the weekend when I was working, used to see people there and also the cars themselves, it was a bit of history that I should've explored more at the time I suppose.

I just had a look at the photo. So are these the same as tether cars? From what I understand tether cars were on a rope & the operator would stand in the middle of the track holding the rope as it runs around.

Either way those things are ultra cool. Almost makes me want to find an old one & restore it

G'day Greg,

Rob made mention of a Cox model that was held on a tether arrangement in his thread, I'd bet that style of car (the cox Rob described) came from what was "tether racing".

That club in Toombul kicked off after WWII ended, it would've been a real working class suburb back then and a lot of ex-servicemen would've been looking for hobbies to do in their spare time. One of the old drivers told me this one day when we were going past (he knew of mates that had done it and they were returned Diggers), he lived up the road at Wooloowin.

Wouldn't have the foggiest if that track is still there but it was a really beautiful location, the middle of parkland with nice mature trees around it for shade....

Exactly. The tether cars were in my era (1950s and 60s), but the board track cars were much earlier and they ran free of any direct control on steeply banked speedromes. They were cranked by running alongside pressing down, as in the photo. Some years ago, someone on HRW posted some very interesting photos of these things in several scales, some of which were quite large. I think I remember that someone said there were Popular Mechanics or Popular Science articles about building them.

I can't believe I found this so quickly... The photos will knock you out.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012 ... el-racers/

Found this video of a tether car. Don't know if this of any help or not.



Tubby

So with either tether cars or board track cars. Dumb question, how do you stop them when running? Do you just wait for the gas to run out? :)

....Liked the photos too Rob!!!

Very beautiful models weren't they???

My brother and I had some Testor sidewinder tether cars late 60s early 70s. The engine was a thru crank rotary valve type. The flywheel was too heavy and broke every crank at the opening to the carb. Other than that, lots of fun.

This dyno just gets me. The guy who made this HAS to be related to Locoracer Tom in some way.

Just wonderful.

Jeremy, all the extra land you have out there? Yeah, just figured out what can go there :)

The cars on the board track were inline motored with bevel gears to drive the rear wheels. There were
a few that tried front wheel drive. The cars ran in lanes divided by walls, and ran until the fuel ran out,
or at least until the fuel pressure in the tank ran down. The front tires are narrowed to a sharp edge
which keeps the car from climbing over the wall. The cars started from different start points, the inner
lanes starting farther back to make up for the difference in lane lengths. I have never run mine, but
with the gear ratio it has, the tire diameter and the RPMs the motor would run at it probably went
40 or 50 miles per hour.