6 replies to this topic

[Don Radbruch]

This is absolutely as far as far from Formula One as one can get! However, it is a chuck of racing history. The Tin Lizzie Derbies were held on dirt tracks in a hundred or more towns in the US and Canada in the late 1930s. These were races, with amateur drivers, for stripped but otherwise stock Model T Fords. These events have been nearly forgotten by both racing and Ford historians. I have just finished a booklet relating the history of the Tin Lizzie Derbies. TIN LIZZIES is 40 pages with about 25 very rare photos. For more information please contact Don Radbruch at radbruch@sandpoint.net

[Muzza]

Great to see you popping your head here, Don.

I got my copy of "Tin Lizzie Derbies" and I recommend it to anyone interested in motorsport history in general. It covers "stuff" that I had absolutely no idea that had happened! Very interesting and informative text, and the pictures are lost treasures as well.

Good job as usual, Mr. Radbruch!

[Graham Clayton]

Here is some information on a Tin Lizzie Derbya at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in 1939

http://winfield.50me...r/30Jul1939.htm

A photo of the wreckage after a crash at the Santa Rosa fairgrounds in April 1939:

http://weather-dimen...del-t-crash.jpg

[paulhooft]

Don Radbruch was very kind to send me his "Tin Lizzie Derbies" booklet a few years ago.
I was very sorry to hear when he died shortly after that.
I still enjoy the booklet.
R.I.P. Don.
Paul Hooft
Netherlands.

Here is some information on a Tin Lizzie Derbya at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in 1939

http://winfield.50me...r/30Jul1939.htm

A photo of the wreckage after a crash at the Santa Rosa fairgrounds in April 1939:

http://weather-dimen...del-t-crash.jpg

Edited by paulhooft, 25 July 2011 - 14:24.

[D-Type]

Do the Pig-N-Ford races at Tillamook County Fair count? Or is that a step too far?

[bpratt]

Do the Pig-N-Ford races at Tillamook County Fair count? Or is that a step too far?

I think Don Radbruch would have approved of any sort of Model T racing, even involving pigs.

I have a few entries on the world of Model T racing from Canada. It started during the Second World War, one of the few places where motorsport was held during the war.

http://befastpast.bl...part-three.html

http://befastpast.bl...-part-four.html

http://befastpast.bl...atoon-1945.html

http://befastpast.bl...ther-batch.html

There was a book on the Alberta Model T races by Kelly Buziak and available through the Reynolds-Wetaskiwin Museum. Not sure if it's still in print.

[Jim Thurman]

Sadly, I was awaiting a copy from Don when he entered the hospital for what proved to be the last time Since then, someone was kind enough to provide me with a photo-copied version.

Typical of Don, he left the door open for me to fill in more details on California events. I've since done some research on California Tin Lizzee Derbi" races. For some reason, they were extremely popular in the area about an hour north of San Francisco. Between Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma Counties, there were at least eight of them, with six in Mendocino County alone (four at Ukiah).

Duncan, not quite to the pig level. Some photos show very crude cars, while others show cars that are remarkably close to the track roadsters that caught on in California after WWII. The mix of inexperienced drivers in surprisingly fast cars on bumpy, rutted fairgrounds ovals that were usually 1/2 mile or larger was a bad recipe and there were many bad accidents.

As Don noted in the booklet, they seemed to flourish in areas lacking much in the way of organized racing or areas where there had been little to no organized racing for a while. Plus, the fellow who was the Derbies promoter (a la "The Music Man"? or perhaps more accurately, the monorail man in the memorable episode of The Simpsons) seemed to have trouble paying the prize money to the winners. Curious, considering attendance was quite good at some of these events (wink, wink).