|
|
 Pat tends to inspire envy...  Pat tends to inspire envy for reasons such as the Stewart-Warner gauges. The 5-inch-diameter tachometer is a late '30s/early '40s scripted gauge, leading one to wonder what turned 8,000 rpm at the time. Flanking that tach are late '40s 2 5/8-inch industrial gauges. Since racers bought the majority of these gauges from places like Bell Auto Parts, fuel gauges didn't constitute many sales and are nowadays exceedingly rare.  Butch built the pedal assembly...  Butch built the pedal assembly from pedals and keyed cranks from a bicycle Pat's parents bought for him when he was a kid. Also check out the highly modified Ford spoon throttle pedal.  A track car wouldn't have...  A track car wouldn't have run an on-board fire system, but we just couldn't help but love the whimsical Stop Fire extinguisher. The brass-cased job once held a load of Chlorobromomethane, a chemical that sounds about as nasty to humans as it is to fire. Among other things, it "instantly dries wet ignition wires and coil."  The Wayne cast-iron exhaust...  The Wayne cast-iron exhaust manifolds feed a 4-inch-diameter pipe, also a Butch Bowers masterpiece. Above and beyond masking the bend in the pipe, the guard he made keeps occupants from leaving skin on the pipe below-a thoughtful touch indeed!  King Bee-shaped headlights...  King Bee-shaped headlights are common, but the real badged-and-stamped buckets from the '40s and '50s are fairly uncommon. The smaller King Bees, intended for industrial and agricultural use, are really rare by comparison. Not just that, their demure size suits them perfectly for applications where headlights wouldn't be appropriate-as in a racecar-inspired roadster.            Roadster drivers in the day...  Roadster drivers in the day sat astride the driveshaft. Since Pat intended to take a passenger or two for a ride, he mounted the driver's seat and controls to the left (he has a second aircraft seat for the passenger). Typically track roadsters ran a narrow roll bar, but the wider seating arrangement prompted Butch to make Pat's bar protect both passengers. Not many aircraft bucket seats lend themselves to automotive use; most are too tall or wide, or require occupants to sit on thick 'chute packs. The Fairchild PT-19 trainer seats, on the other hand, are pert-near perfect for even small cars. The November '43 date-coded belts are NOS pieces, vestiges of the Lee Chapel estate.
|