Thursday, June 21, 2007

1914 Tahis Special, made in Chicago

If the new fad of admiring "Patina" is your flavor of the month, then you will be stunned by this all original 1914 race car.


Here's a closeup of the paint that looks like a scorched , cracked, desert floor. Thats aga, no mistake

An engine configuration I'm unfamilar with, but it's got 8 sparkplugs...

Here's where you can notice the seminal beginnings of drilling all the weight out of any metal a racer can spare. This culminated in the "Swiss Cheese Pontiacs" of the 60's drag race wars.

the front of the rails, and even the crank is drilled!

The steering wheel spokes are a good example of too much metal for the use of the item, and why not drill it all out?


How about these gauges? Now those are vintage! And the rear view mirror post is drilled out too!


Here's the details, click on the pics to enlarge them



Names such as "The Ardent Alligator," The BuMerc, ONO, "Old Grey Mare," Tahis Special, Ol Yeller, and Baldwin Special achieved their place in motor racing history as did Miller, Kurtis, Edwards, Cunningham, Scarab and Chaparral. The creative talents and the motivation to win of individuals like Max Balchowsky, Roger Barlow, Sterling Edwards, Frank Kurtis, John Fitch, Jack Hagemann, Dick Troutman and Tom Barnes, Ken Miles, Miles and Sam Collier, Briggs Cunningham, Brooks Stevens, Lance Reventlow and Jim Hall, have brought a uniquely American element to the world of motor racing.

"The best of the American specials are treasures sought after by individual collectors and museums alike and an historic gathering of these unique machines is anticipated for what has become the premier vintage event in the U.S.," said Earle, whose organization, General Racing, Ltd., founded the Monterey Historic Automobile Races in 1974.
http://www.izoom.com/racing.aspx?article=montereyhistorics2005.html
http://www.teamvoodoo.com/Monterey05/pages/Tahis%20Special.html
http://www.supercars.net/Pics?viewPic=y&source=gal&uID=119513&gID=6&pgID=1&pID=892
http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/ZQZA17ReedTalis.html