1983 World 100 Chassis Question...

[Krooser]

Maybe some of your veteran race watchers can answer this question.

Back in '83 I attended the World 100 with my track owners and their race team as they attempted to get into the big race.

I remember one of the name drivers (Moore, Swartz, Hewitt?) having a second car available to them that was rumored to be very light (1600#'s?) and very fast. The problem, as I heard it, was the car was so flexible that the chassis 'went away' after 10 laps or so... the car made practice laps and was quick but not consistent as I recall. It was built similar to a sprint car using small, light tubing.

Anybody remember this car and who the builder was?

[Crashmagnet]

Still trying to think of the driver here, it was a red chassis with a white body and did weigh in the 1500-1600lb range

[Enigma41]

Probably a Rayburn, I heard he built some in that time frame from the equivalent of exhaust tubing.

[bb14]

Larry Moore had a Jig-a-lo around that time that was rumored to be 1600 pounds. He hot lapped it at Riverside in SC one night but didn't race it. It could be that one or one like it.

[bullittwrench]

Could it have been a Tri City Buggy? Gary Oliver built some crazy lightweight stuff.

[formercrewguy]

Probably Swartz in his Bullitt wedge car.

[Krooser]

The name that keeps coming to me is Runt Pittman but he built engines for Morgan-McClure in NASCAR...

[BloomerHarvickFan]

I remember my dad talking about Eddie Carrier showing up at Tazewell in the late 70's with what dad called a "throw away" car, and totally dominating. I think he said he lapped the field after starting in the rear.
Dad said that the reason they called them throw away cars is that one crash and it was done. If I'm not mistaken he said it weighed like 1600 or 1700 lbs.

[brobber21]

Eddie Carrier did have a "light" car, but it wasn't the "70's". He along with Donnie and Rhonda House had the Number 155-Black Magic Mining cars. It was a white body, red frame Rayburn, around 1983-1986, I think.... To mind, I thought it may have been the red bodied, black chassis , number 12,...I think Jig-a-Lo of racing legend Gary Balough. The body had the sheet metal breaks in and out, really different, like a "Road Warrior". I recall another Gary Balough creation, that really got attention , the black 112 , which I believe he ran at Syracuse dirt and then some asphalt with the same car,,,,,,,,,i think???...maybe Eldora ??? Anyways, They were many back then, such as Russ Petro in the KIng , Swartz, Moore, etc....I recall Freddie Smith in the Custom Chassis, which was supposed to be light (small tubing) along with Bo Smith out of Missouri in a "Bopp Chassis", White and Red. Billy Moyer had a light car, the Black and Silver/White- Larry Shaw. Maybe we'll loosen the cobwebs on this one !!!!....

[Crash 4]

I remember seeing pics of Hewitt having a LM at Eldora around this era. It had a sprint car fuel cell and several other "tricks".

[PennDirt]

Could it have been a Tri City Buggy? Gary Oliver built some crazy lightweight stuff.

That would have been my reply, too. The TCB getting inside the 1600 lb.(1550 wet IIRC) barrier was a pretty big deal, at the time.

Larry Wright drove this one in that era (as did Bob Wearing Sr.) for the Martino Bros.(?) I know Wright had moderate success in it. He came to our local track for the Yankee Doodle 100 and that car was all the buzz in the pits. Wright broke the track record pretty badly in it.



I remember Blackie Watts saying he wouldn't drive one if his life depended on it because it did. A snarky testament towards weight being sacrificed over safety.

I was at the 1983 World and nothing notable jumps out at this moment other than the Tri-City Buggy and its weight. Policing weight and body panels in '83 was a such a dynamic then it was hard to keep accurate notes. Every week someone showed up with a new gimmick and the following week 50 drivers showed up with it. The wedge era was the greatest innovative cat-n-mouse game ever played on dirt.

[Josh Bayko]

Eddie Carrier did have a "light" car, but it wasn't the "70's". He along with Donnie and Rhonda House had the Number 155-Black Magic Mining cars. It was a white body, red frame Rayburn, around 1983-1986, I think.... To mind, I thought it may have been the red bodied, black chassis , number 12,...I think Jig-a-Lo of racing legend Gary Balough. The body had the sheet metal breaks in and out, really different, like a "Road Warrior". I recall another Gary Balough creation, that really got attention , the black 112 , which I believe he ran at Syracuse dirt and then some asphalt with the same car,,,,,,,,,i think???...maybe Eldora ??? Anyways, They were many back then, such as Russ Petro in the KIng , Swartz, Moore, etc....I recall Freddie Smith in the Custom Chassis, which was supposed to be light (small tubing) along with Bo Smith out of Missouri in a "Bopp Chassis", White and Red. Billy Moyer had a light car, the Black and Silver/White- Larry Shaw. Maybe we'll loosen the cobwebs on this one !!!!....

The 112 that Balough ran at Syracuse was a big block modified that was way ahead of it's time. It set a track record that took a bunch of years to break. As far as I know, the only place it ever ran was Syracuse. It was designed and built by Kenny Weld. I believe it's at the DIRT hall of fame in Weedsport, NY.

[HEAVY DUTY]

Maybe some of your veteran race watchers can answer this question.

Back in '83 I attended the World 100 with my track owners and their race team as they attempted to get into the big race.

I remember one of the name drivers (Moore, Swartz, Hewitt?) having a second car available to them that was rumored to be very light (1600#'s?) and very fast. The problem, as I heard it, was the car was so flexible that the chassis 'went away' after 10 laps or so... the car made practice laps and was quick but not consistent as I recall. It was built similar to a sprint car using small, light tubing.

Anybody remember this car and who the builder was?

Moore had a chassis that was built by Whip Mulligan I believe was the name. In his book , he talked about it. It had a small cage, and was supposed to be really light. Most of the cars of that era were light though. One driver who dominated in the wedge cars told me that his cage was .035 moly. Tri City Buggy claimed that their flexabugggy cars were in the 1500 lb range. In Larry Moore's book, he said that his Rayburn was something around 1680 lbs. I asked CJ about that a couple months ago, and he just laughed and said " They were", but didn't tell me how. I don't know how they did it, because we didn't even have Bert trannys then. We were still running clutches with muncies. Very few had aluminum blocks then. No power steering, all 23 degree heads which were lighter. Some were messing with aluminum spindles, I don't think that there were aluminum axle tubes yet. I remember John Mason parked next to us at the World in 83 when he set the track record( 16:11 ) I think, he had 025 aluminum, an aluminum 9" ford center section instead of a quickchange, and everything on the car was drilled, brackets, bolts , and all he could. He claimed that it was really light.

[Krooser]

This has turned into great thread... Keep 'em coming.

I'm thinking now it must have been Balough... Russ Petros son sent me a pm about his Dad's lightweight deal.

I knew Gary Oliver during those days... Visited his shop many times. I remember the cross fiberglass buggy springs that he tried... Built by George Smolen at Flexi-Flyer in SC IIRC.


D A M N I drank a lot of beer with George at Speed weeks...

[JustAddDirt]

my dad and uncle told me that one year there was a car at World 100 with steel frame rails and the roll cage and all support tubing was made from aluminum tubing.
That was probably around early 80's. Not sure if it raced or was just hot lapped.