Vanderbilt Cup Races

Anyone remember the exhibit at AACA a few years back?  We saw it on our way to Pittsburgh for a family event.  I’m wondering how much that exhibit and this one have in common other than, as I recall the chassis.

From The nine Tuckers to be featured at the "Tucker '48 75th Anniversary Celebration" in Hershey, PA on June 16-18, 2023

Great article.  It occurs to me as I read about early automobiles, that it seems really crazy for the Wright brothers (and others, less effectively) to think about taking an internal combustion engine up in the air when they could barely reliably travel across the ground.  When I think further, one of the major problems for early automobiles was the condition and maintenance of roads.  Perhaps the Wright brothers were trying to avoid all that infrastructure by going above it?

From Kleiner's Korner: A 1902 Interview with Willie K.

That’s the #1 Locomobile racer at the pits in the Hempstead Plains (Levittown) during the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race. The driver is Jim Florida with Leonard M. Travis as the mechanician. The date is October 24, 1908. Florida finished third in the race but at the end unavoidably crashed into spectator David Shuh breaking his leg. Shuh had irresponsibly ventured out onto the course. Florida also hit a private vehicle on the course but there were no reported injuries to the driver or two passengers.

From Mystery Friday Foto #22 Solved: #1 Locomobile at the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race pits

Art,

Who were the ‘Meadowbrook Colony members’ mentioned in the article?

Thanks.

From Kleiner's Korner: A 1902 Interview with Willie K.

I believe the 1902 Automobile Topics map proposed to have the speedway connect Manhattan to Roslyn via the Queensborough bridge in Long Island City, not Brooklyn? The Queensborough bridge opened Mar 30, 1909

From Kleiner's Korner: A 1902 Interview with Willie K.

Montague Roberts was at the museum that same evening for the cocktail party. Southampton photographer, Irving Cantor, took this photo of him in the Thomas Flyer with the HAC Jr family, but he does not appear to be in the photo out front with the helicopter.

From Mystery Friday Foto #21 Solved: Celebrating the opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum on August 27, 1948

Howard, Could one of the unidentified men be Montague Roberts ?  He won the 1908 around the world race in the Thomas Flyer that Clarke ended up owing,

From Mystery Friday Foto #21 Solved: Celebrating the opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum on August 27, 1948

What a GREAT story and photos! Thought you’d like this link from 2012 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2vfDt6yVlM

From Twelve years after saluting the Alco Black Beast, Josef Newgarden wins his second consecutive 2023 Indy 500 Race-Congrats!

I agree with Steve Lucas, #14 the young boy has Austin Clark’s features. Lester Cutting, I’ve seen his name linked to past images of the LIMP. He must’ve done his own explorations and documented the LIMP like we do now.

From Mystery Friday Foto #21 Solved: Celebrating the opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum on August 27, 1948

Marty - My lovely wife Fran (of 42 years now!) and I still treasure the 2 reunions we performed at for you, and in between all my doctor appointments would like to come visit you on either a Friday or a Sunday ( Maybe even for breakfast like Johnny Coy did!!).  I’ll contact you!  We hope you are staying well.

Fran & Al Woods

From Update July 20 2021: A visit to see Marty Himes and the Himes Museum of Automobile Nostagia

The celebration and its location: The opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum at the museum in Southampton, NY

The date: August 27, 1948

Who likely hired the helicopter: Art Peck

The automobile: 1910 Buick Model 10

Best guesses for some of the individuals:
#5 Dorothy Hopping
#7 Norris Hopping
#10 Alfred Momo
#11 Bill Spear
#18 Henry Austin Clark, Jr.
#19 Ann Clark
#24 George Duryea
#25 Alec Ulmann
#27 Ken Purdy

The museum was always a favorite place to go during summer stays at my grandparents. Still have all the postcards that I bought at the gift shop…including two of my favorites cars, the 1911 Mercer 35 and the Ferrari 166 ( 004C ). Also have one of a 1966 Lotus Elan owned by James H. Clark.

From Mystery Friday Foto #21 Solved: Celebrating the opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum on August 27, 1948

16. My cousin, Jerry Nicholas.
18. Yeah, I know this guy too.
19. My sister, Ann.
I recognize a few of the others as well, but I’m hoping to learn several new names.

From Mystery Friday Foto #21 Solved: Celebrating the opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum on August 27, 1948

Brian - the cover picture is definitely not Pintail.  It’s Roosevelt Field. Somehow that picture got onto this mystery photo.

From Mystery Foto #40 Solved: Pintail Elementary School in Levittown Built on the Motor Parkway

I don’t see this is being Pintail Lane School in the mystery photo. It was a small school, as seen in photos in the comments section.

The building in the mystery photo is too big. There are way too many parking spaces. There’s even a plane parked in one spot.

I showed the mystery photo to the president of the Levittown Historical Society. He attended Pintail Lane School. He said this is definitely not the school.

From Mystery Foto #40 Solved: Pintail Elementary School in Levittown Built on the Motor Parkway

I think the photo was taken on August 27, 1948, at the grand opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum in Southampton, NY. The car could be a 1910 Buick Model 10. Person #18 is Henry Austin Clark, Jr.; #19 is his daughter Cynthia; #14 might be Jim Clark. That’s all I’ve got. Good luck to everyone.

From Mystery Friday Foto #21 Solved: Celebrating the opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum on August 27, 1948

I have fond memories of seeing the Chrysler for the first time when it had just arrived at the Vanderbilt museum and I was about 10 years old. Also seeing it stored in the back building of the L.I. Auto Museum in Southampton for some years . I helped pull it out from the basement of the Vanderbilt Museum when Howard bought the car and we towed it up a very steep grade on a chain to get it on level ground to load into a trailer . Car had no brakes so I used a block of wood from a museum display to throw under the left rear wheel to slow it down. Then the wonderful trips to western NJ to the restoration shop where it was restored and the conversations about that going to and from long island to the shop. Then at the photo shoot for the feature story in Hemmings Classic Car magazine with Richard Lentinello ( now Editor/Publisher of Crankshaft magazine that had Howard’s Tucker on the cover of the first issue). SO many stories and being there at the right times over the decades.

From Greg O's Garage; Chrysler's Chrysler at the Merchant Marine Academy Car Show

Looks like Coppola isn’t sending out his Tucker which was used in his film “Tucker?”

From The nine Tuckers to be featured at the "Tucker '48 75th Anniversary Celebration" in Hershey, PA on June 16-18, 2023

That is the youngest picture of “Austie” I have ever seen! Wonderful!

From Mystery Friday Foto #21 Solved: Celebrating the opening of the Long Island Automotive Museum on August 27, 1948

Howard,

Congratulations for having a top of the line car and to be aligned with the others is just great !

Regards, Mark Thomas

From The nine Tuckers to be featured at the "Tucker '48 75th Anniversary Celebration" in Hershey, PA on June 16-18, 2023

I saw this car up-close once on a sunny day. I had my camera snapping away. The body surface literally looked like a black mirror throughout the auto. The brilliance of black color is difficult to maintain as its top surface is easily scratched through cleaning/etc. Outstanding restoration/preservation work of this automobile. High Five!

From Greg O's Garage; Chrysler's Chrysler at the Merchant Marine Academy Car Show