Racing Skate Cars

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Jack Smith
Morro Bay Skate legend
Morro Bay Skate legend
Posts: 736
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Morro Bay, California
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Racing Skate Cars

Post by Jack Smith » Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:12 am

This forum will be for discussion of racing skate cars. Information about past, present or future skate car projects is welcomed.

I am currently in talks with Red Bull regarding a skate car event to be held later this year.

Thaks,
Jack

Slappy Maxwell
Posts: 343
Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2002 1:00 am
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Post by Slappy Maxwell » Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:20 am

Jack, what kind of courses are skate cars run on?
I've only seen pictures of Henry Hester's old car and now yours. It looks like they are designed to run straight down a hill like drag racing?
Is there anywhere to see video of an old race?

Hugh Regalado
G.R.A.S.S.
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Location: quartz hill
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Skate car

Post by Hugh Regalado » Mon Jan 05, 2004 3:36 am

Hey Jack, I am in communication with the son of Dave Dillberg... he still has his dad's car from 1979.

I just shot of an e to him letting him know of the event talk...

Also, can you post up some specs and such for those of us who may be interested in building one??

Does it HAVE to be face first??

HR

Adam Trahan
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Posts: 795
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2002 2:00 am

Post by Adam Trahan » Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:31 am

I'm with Hugh, does it have to be face first?

Lot's of questions.

When you get the time...

Dave Gale
Dave Gale
Dave Gale
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Skate Cars

Post by Dave Gale » Mon Jan 05, 2004 8:02 am

I sent Hugh R several pics a few years back, he had them on his site!! If I'm not mistaken Hester/ Grundy/Hitchcock/Dilberg and several more were "face first" Nick Leonard's was "feet first" The main stipulation was that leaning was the means of steering..Bad H would be the one to ask on the rules tho!
ENJOY!! (while you can)

Dave Gale
Dave Gale
Dave Gale
Posts: 489
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2003 2:00 am
Location: West Virginny

Post by Dave Gale » Mon Jan 05, 2004 8:04 am

I think Tommy Ryan's Turner "open faced" was considered in the same species!! And can't remember who "piloted "Free formers" entry'
ENJOY!! (while you can)

Jack Smith
Morro Bay Skate legend
Morro Bay Skate legend
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Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Morro Bay, California
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Skate Car connstruction rules

Post by Jack Smith » Mon Jan 05, 2004 6:25 pm

Here are a few of the rules I remember:

Overall Length - Not to exceed 10'
Maximum Weight - Not to exceed 75 pounds
Must be lean controlled
Maximum wheel diameter - 4"
Must have braking system and parachute
Maximum axle width - 12"

Hugh Regalado
G.R.A.S.S.
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Location: quartz hill
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Post by Hugh Regalado » Sat Jan 10, 2004 4:29 am

Skatecar Pages

I have started a page to show some stuff... HR

Jack Smith
Morro Bay Skate legend
Morro Bay Skate legend
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Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Morro Bay, California
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My first skatecar

Post by Jack Smith » Sun Jan 18, 2004 4:15 pm

Hey Slappy,

Sorry for not answering your question sooner. In the 70's skatecars were run on straight courses. Signal Hill was one car at a time, at Akron were ran head to head just like we run slalom now. At the Akron race I refused to race Ty Page because his car was all over the place. They let us take seperate timed runs. Sure enough Ty swerved right across my lane, he would surely have taken me out. Those Freeformer cars were a joke, they ran stock skateboard trucks, tightned down to the max. I felt sorry for those guys and gals that drove them.

I have ran the Vetter Streamliner through some fairly tight turns. It had a Stroker in front and a custom axle in back that only traveled up and down, no lateral movement.

Stan will be posting a clip of the Akron race on www.bahneskateboards.com in the next couple of days.

The Vetter Streamliner was actually my second skatecar. The first was a plywood and aluminum press plate creation that I built along with my friend Cliff Marshall for a soap box derby type race in Morro Bay. The chassis was 3/4" plywood, bulkheads were 1\2" ply and the skin was aluminum press plate that Cliff and I had plenty of as both of us worked for the local newspaper. The car was a head first model. The whole nosepiece unbolted to allow me to slide in. For brakes we hooked up a couple of side pull bicycle brakes on the 3" tall urethane elevator glide wheels that Roller Sports had sent me a couple of years before. The brakes were activated by squeezing handles mounted to a couple of vertical posts that I held onto. For the rear truck we used a Ram truck with axle extenders, we also fabricated turn limiters, so the truck would not have to much movement. We ran a stock Stroker in front.

The car actually performed quite well, easily winning the race. When I look back I sometimes wonder what the heck I was thinking, if I had crashed, the aluminum press plate would have ripped me to shreds. Not too mention what would have happened if I had encounterd a curb. Ahhh..the bravado/ignorance of youth.

The cost was about $100 for this skatecar. Guess what we spent on the Vetter Streamliner.

I'll post some pics of my first skatecar soon.

The car was sat for years in an empty lot behind Gary Fluitt's house in Los Osos.

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