Speedster Reunion 2011
Speedster Racer & Hall of Fame
Author Jim Roof
Date Published Aug 1st, 2011
The 5th Annual International Speedster Trials and Reunion was again hosted by The Smith Collection Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska. The previous Reunions I have attended alone, this trip The Indy 500 Chapter was strongly represented. Dan Conder, Tony Wiltshire, Scott Norris and I had a fun and interesting 6 days. The first day out started in Dan’s woods with a send off by one of the chocolate labs that stand guard for the Conder’s. After traveling west for about 30 minutes our skilled driver detected a wheel problem on the truck, we stopped and the 4 of us quickly diagnosed the problem and made repairs it took 4 club members to change a wheel.
We stopped in the middle of Iowa for the first night. The next morning we visited The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum in Knoxville, Iowa. Arriving in Knoxville we were greeted with a long line of vintage tractors on a road tour. Why would anyone drive around in old machinery? There were several hundred machines, oh what a site! After exploring the Hall of Fame we traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska in time to register for the event and unload the machines that tagged along with us. A welcome dinner was provided by Bill Smith of Speedway Motors and we got our first look at The Museum of American Speed. Bill started collecting racing stuff as a teenager, after 70 years some of the items are on display. For you motor racing fans this place is a do not miss! The museum has a large collection of Model T speedsters, racers, equipment, and after market accessories. The 5,000,000th model T that he showed at the centennial is also on display.
The first full day was a road tour of about 100 miles divided into 2 legs. With 4 guys with one running speedster it was decided that Dan would drive the first leg and I would be the riding mechanic. Tony and Scott would take the second leg after lunch. The morning leg was cool, damp, windy and somewhat refreshing. I’m not sure if the water was from the sky, or the front tires and the cross wind was stronger than our forward speed. Dan’s car got wet for the first time and we learned wiping the windshield inside and out offers little help for vision. I got soaked, but loved every second of the journey. Tony and Scott’s leg after lunch was sunny and warm. Hard to believe it was the same day that we started. They enjoyed the tour so much they added about 10 miles to their leg.
Second day was a hill climb officiated by F.A.S.T., a special interest group of The Model A Ford Club of America. The climb was at the “bunker storage” area at the airport. This seemed similar to Newport, not the hill but the proximity of ordinance. The hill was a tenth of a mile long. Some T’s ran around 10 seconds and speeds of 45 mph. The king of the hill was a model A powered race car. His time and speed was 9 plus seconds and around 55 mph. Dinner was at the Haymarket district downtown Lincoln. The city closed a section of the street for speedster parking and public viewing. We also had a looong conversation with Humble Howard Genrich about his very unique wheels on his speedster. Tony also gave Howard a wrench on a string to aid road side carburetor adjusting.
Last day was dyno runs at The Shop. About 11 cars were run on the “roller” dynamometer. Some of the owners ran them like they stole them, but most used restraint so they could drive another day. No one broke their car on the dyno. Back at the Museum we had a presentation about racing at Bonneville and then more museum time; it’s 3 floors of stuff with much to see and study. The dinner and awards presentation at the museum that evening was a formal affair (no shorts or T shirts). The hill climb winners received a nice trophy made with a piston and connecting rod fastened to a timing gear for the base. The final part of the evening was the induction of the 2010 and 2011 members to The Model T Ford Cub of America Speedster-Racer Hall of Fame.
I want to thank my travel companions for a pleasurable trip. The sweat and muscle they provided to move my non-running car and non-drivable engine that we lugged around for 1400 miles.
Speedster Racer & Hall of Fame
Author Jim Roof
Date Published Aug 1st, 2011
The 5th Annual International Speedster Trials and Reunion was again hosted by The Smith Collection Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska. The previous Reunions I have attended alone, this trip The Indy 500 Chapter was strongly represented. Dan Conder, Tony Wiltshire, Scott Norris and I had a fun and interesting 6 days. The first day out started in Dan’s woods with a send off by one of the chocolate labs that stand guard for the Conder’s. After traveling west for about 30 minutes our skilled driver detected a wheel problem on the truck, we stopped and the 4 of us quickly diagnosed the problem and made repairs it took 4 club members to change a wheel.
We stopped in the middle of Iowa for the first night. The next morning we visited The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum in Knoxville, Iowa. Arriving in Knoxville we were greeted with a long line of vintage tractors on a road tour. Why would anyone drive around in old machinery? There were several hundred machines, oh what a site! After exploring the Hall of Fame we traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska in time to register for the event and unload the machines that tagged along with us. A welcome dinner was provided by Bill Smith of Speedway Motors and we got our first look at The Museum of American Speed. Bill started collecting racing stuff as a teenager, after 70 years some of the items are on display. For you motor racing fans this place is a do not miss! The museum has a large collection of Model T speedsters, racers, equipment, and after market accessories. The 5,000,000th model T that he showed at the centennial is also on display.
The first full day was a road tour of about 100 miles divided into 2 legs. With 4 guys with one running speedster it was decided that Dan would drive the first leg and I would be the riding mechanic. Tony and Scott would take the second leg after lunch. The morning leg was cool, damp, windy and somewhat refreshing. I’m not sure if the water was from the sky, or the front tires and the cross wind was stronger than our forward speed. Dan’s car got wet for the first time and we learned wiping the windshield inside and out offers little help for vision. I got soaked, but loved every second of the journey. Tony and Scott’s leg after lunch was sunny and warm. Hard to believe it was the same day that we started. They enjoyed the tour so much they added about 10 miles to their leg.
Second day was a hill climb officiated by F.A.S.T., a special interest group of The Model A Ford Club of America. The climb was at the “bunker storage” area at the airport. This seemed similar to Newport, not the hill but the proximity of ordinance. The hill was a tenth of a mile long. Some T’s ran around 10 seconds and speeds of 45 mph. The king of the hill was a model A powered race car. His time and speed was 9 plus seconds and around 55 mph. Dinner was at the Haymarket district downtown Lincoln. The city closed a section of the street for speedster parking and public viewing. We also had a looong conversation with Humble Howard Genrich about his very unique wheels on his speedster. Tony also gave Howard a wrench on a string to aid road side carburetor adjusting.
Last day was dyno runs at The Shop. About 11 cars were run on the “roller” dynamometer. Some of the owners ran them like they stole them, but most used restraint so they could drive another day. No one broke their car on the dyno. Back at the Museum we had a presentation about racing at Bonneville and then more museum time; it’s 3 floors of stuff with much to see and study. The dinner and awards presentation at the museum that evening was a formal affair (no shorts or T shirts). The hill climb winners received a nice trophy made with a piston and connecting rod fastened to a timing gear for the base. The final part of the evening was the induction of the 2010 and 2011 members to The Model T Ford Cub of America Speedster-Racer Hall of Fame.
I want to thank my travel companions for a pleasurable trip. The sweat and muscle they provided to move my non-running car and non-drivable engine that we lugged around for 1400 miles.