Vanderbilt Cup Races

I have a picture somewhere of my grandpa in a Tucker Special race car. His name was Charles Hampton Davidson. I also have a photo or two of him with a bunch of guys working on a car inside of a garage. I will try and locate them & attach them & send them on.

From Mystery Foto #3 Solved: The #66 Tucker '48 Special Racer at the 1947 Indy 500

I have a picture somewhere of my grandpa in a Tucker race car. His name was Charles Hampton Davidson. I also have a photo or two of him with a bunch of guys working on a car inside of a garage. I will try and locate them & attach them & send them on.

From Mystery Foto #3 Solved: The #66 Tucker '48 Special Racer at the 1947 Indy 500

Prior to the Aircooled motor, Tucker apparently built a couple of water cooled 6 cylinder motors, one of which can be seen in the Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, NE.

From Update-Cradle of Aviation Archives: The 1948 purchase of Aircooled Motors, Inc by Tucker Corporation from Republic Aviation

Such a significant and pleasing connection between our combined lives for Tucker and The history of Long Island!

From Update-Cradle of Aviation Archives: The 1948 purchase of Aircooled Motors, Inc by Tucker Corporation from Republic Aviation

Well here goes with a couple of educated guesses and a wild guess or two. The registration, chassis, and engine numbers belong to a 1930 Bentley 6.5 litre Speed Six Weyman Sportsman’s Coupe built by Gurney Nutting coachbuilders. Winner of the 1930 Monte Carlo Rallye, the original owner was Glen Kidston. Current owner might be his nephew, Simon Kidston. Found most of that info by spending way too much time on internet searches but was unable to determine the Willie K. connection or the plate’s purpose. Looking forward to the answer.

From Mystery Friday Foto #47 Solved: A 1930s English automobile ID plate made for the son of William K. Vanderbilt, Jr.

No clue. Looks like an early old-style Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plate, still riveted onto automobiles today, to identify automobiles and help deter against auto theft.
Likely original owner here was Willie K.
Possibly Garden City registered vehicle with license plate No. 3661.
Looking forward towards this mystery’s answers

From Mystery Friday Foto #47 Solved: A 1930s English automobile ID plate made for the son of William K. Vanderbilt, Jr.

One more opinion - From “The Automobile” of August 21, 1909.

From Greg O's Garage: Why Do We in the U.S. Drive on the Right Side of the Road?

This post is in fact incredible, the picture feature and the video is really awesome. really enjoyed to see these historical pics

From Mystery Friday Foto #23 Solved: A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR W196S on top of the Mercedes-Benz "Blue Wonder" hauler

Thanks for the much needed update to this important inventory of LIMP license plates.

From Database of the 97 known Long Island Motor Parkway License Plates- Updated: 3/15/2024

David, some photos without the circles.

From Kleiner's Korner: Road Signs Erected for the 1905 and 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Races

Before and after (2020)

From Mystery Friday Foto #46 Solved: A 1936 Long Island flyover surveying the Hempstead Plains by the Braman-Johnson Flying Service

Mazel tov Howard.  Well deserved!!!

From Chrysler's Chrysler awarded "Best in Class- Classics Closed" at the 2022 Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance

Art-
If you have clean copies of the photos with the road sign (no circles drawn on them)? If so, some AI colorizing “magic” may be able to take best guess about about dark color on the road signs. (The cirles are adding color noise that is unseen by the naked eye.) A hint of what is possible is attached. (One photo is from 01/03/2015 post.)

From Kleiner's Korner: Road Signs Erected for the 1905 and 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Races

Nice find.  Thank you to the Rosenbum family for making available!

From A large collection of Long Island Motor Parkway License Plates rediscovered

How did it go?  Truly amazing car, so I’d imagine it was very well received.

From Chrysler's Chrysler to be featured at the Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival

Nice about the nap, great that they have such a superb actor playing the role of a man who had such a huge affect on so many neighborhoods and people for good or bad.

From Update #3-Behind the Scenes: The Long Island Parkway planning map in David's new play starring Ralph Fiennes as Robert Moses

Always welcome a new perspective Greg. Thanks for sharing this gem!

Bethpage (Central Park) looking north, close to 1920; early bi-plane design flying over a landscape missing many present roadways and dwellings. 

1 Hempstead Tpke
2 Lincoln Blvd
3 Roosevelt Dr
4 Lowell St/Park Ln
5 Rose St
6 Rose St towards the Barnes’ Tract (1908 LIMP Ground Breaking Ceremony Site)
7 Long Island Motor Parkway
8 Hicksville Rd Rt 107 (Massapequa Rd)
9 N Wantagh Av (Jerusalem Av)

LIMP structures:
N Wantagh Ave bridge (Jerusalem Ave) 1908 - 1940s is visible. The Massapequa Toll Lodge and Hicksville Rd bridge (Massapequa Rd) are hidden under the plane’s right wing.

Grumman Airport will eventually occupy the space just above the plane’s propeller, some decades later.

History in the making on early Long Island, great mystery post!

From Mystery Friday Foto #46 Solved: A 1936 Long Island flyover surveying the Hempstead Plains by the Braman-Johnson Flying Service

This plane is flying above Bethpage, NY in a east direction. Photographer in the plane that would be above and to the south snapped this image looking north. The Wantagh Ave LIMP bridge is seen. The Massapequa Lodge and Hicksville Rd LIMP bridge is obscured by the airplane. I’m figuring this is dated 1936 - 1937. Grumman in Bethpage was established in 1937. Property for Grumman looks to be in it’s early stages. Grumman Building is visible on a 1938 aerial, on this image only the footprint. Photographer’s plane and the plane seen might be capturing aerial images of Nassau County. I marked the roads on the map below.

From Mystery Friday Foto #46 Solved: A 1936 Long Island flyover surveying the Hempstead Plains by the Braman-Johnson Flying Service

George Robertson lunched with Fred Wagner and Senator Morgan in Patchogue, as reported in The Suffolk County News, Oct. 8, 1909. Readers could wonder about the next Long Island race because Wagner was a notable promoter of racing events and the previous year, he had started the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race that Robertson won. Robertson chaired the annual picnics Wagner hosted for the auto industry at Wagner’s Sunnybrook Farm in Smithtown, notably the 10th Annual in 1915, when 300 attendees picnicked and played sports, with racing greats taking a day off from the circuit where they were setting records—Bob Burman, Earl Cooper, Ralph De Palma, Hugh Harding, Barney Oldfield, Dario Resta, Harry Stutz, and George Robertson, all drove to Smithtown to Wagner’s place! For a look at Wagner’s [National Register] Sunnybrook home they visited that day, see “Residence of the Starter of Five Vanderbilt Cup Races Rediscovered in Smithtown,” on the Vanderbilt Cup Races at https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/the_residence_of_the_starter_of_five_vanderbilt_cup_races_rediscovered_in_s

From Profile of George Robertson- Winner of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Nice find! #76 1928 was on eBay and missed reserve twice.

From A large collection of Long Island Motor Parkway License Plates rediscovered