Dirt Late Model Chassis by decade.........

[zyoung25]

Cheetah Race Cars.

MB_Racer might be able to give the story on those. I think they got tangled up in a lawsuit with one of other chassis manufacturers. I was too young to remember what the rise and fall of those were.

[HoosierDirtFan]

Original post has been updated.

[bleedblue55]

Rocket Chassis was started in 1986

[LugNutz]

Gary Oliver Tri-City Buggy

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Cheetah Race Cars.

MB_Racer might be able to give the story on those. I think they got tangled up in a lawsuit with one of other chassis manufacturers. I was too young to remember what the rise and fall of those were.

I don't really know a lot about that deal. They tried to get me in one, but I bought the proprietor's mastersbilt instead. They started out buying unfinished chassis from Rayburn. I'm assuming that arrangement went south.

[Morgs153]

MB Customs came out in 2008

[foxfire2dirtracing]

Still hoping someone will post who the very first custom ( non-factory) Chasis builder was?

[TowerView]

Tucker 1980/81 started

[Henry Every]

Still hoping someone will post who the very first custom ( non-factory) Chasis builder was?

When you say "custom", do you mean just a modified frame or a full tube chassis? I think either Ed Howe or Rayburn were the first full tube, but I'm not sure. Jig-A-Lo by Jimmy Thomas was pretty early with his chassis, 76 or 77.

[KTMLew]

When you say "custom", do you mean just a modified frame or a full tube chassis? I think either Ed Howe or Rayburn were the first full tube, but I'm not sure. Jig-A-Lo by Jimmy Thomas was pretty early with his chassis, 76 or 77.

Believe both Rayburn and Howe were building Asphalt chassis first and don't believe Howe ever built a dirt specific chassis. The OG Howe were designated as X-design. 1/2/3 were cages built on Chevelle stock frame. 4th design was what is now basically a mod chassis but used Camaro front stub. 5th was optional fabbed/Camaro front clip. 6th was 100% fabbed. Last one i am aware of, that followed that path, was 6th design. Once Rodney Combs moved South, taking Mark Richards with him, WRC was the "dirt division". And I haunted the WRC shop a ton back then.

[foxfire2dirtracing]

I was referring to full tube frames. I am thinking I was told a few years ago is was Boscoe/Roscoe Lowe or could have been Smith. I just remember it wasn’t Rayburn, Ed Howe, Jig a low or those names more recognizable. I have slept a few nights since I asked him. He’s 87 and in the Hall of Fame at Florence- but I am really curious as to the correct answer.

[Morgs153]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1112656272094601/

The link is for the old Bemco Engineering Chassis of Wausau WI. If you check it out there's a lot of great photos of old late models. Now there were a lot of asphalt customers for BEMCO for sure but there were also many dirt late models built by them back in the 70s and there's some photos of them in the link (Pete Parker, Tom Steuding, Darrell Dake, Roger Regeth and others). I know BEMCO was building a full fab tube chassis (not based on a stock stub) back in the early to mid 70s when Ed Howe was still building off a reworked stock stub.

[KTMLew]

If this link works some info about Howe from around 1977-80.

https://public.fotki.com/outlaw-ford/howe-racing-enterprises/howe-2nd-design.html#media

[KTMLew]

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/racingjunkgallery.internetbrands.com-gallery_site/600x337_85-1/phpbngv5z_8aefc09e9ab0e60575dee987fae3c95ec1295101.jpeg

Wild looking "J-bar".

[KTMLew]

https://www.speednik.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/tech-the-air-force-2018-04-02_16-36-42_868275.jpg