The Art of Speed: A Conversation with a Vintage Car Enthusiast

I had the privilege of sitting down with a vintage car enthusiast who has spent decades studying and appreciating some of America's most iconic racing cars. As we sat in the driveway, surrounded by the remnants of his beloved collection, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and curiosity about the man behind the machines.

You were talking about seat belts earlier. You wouldn't want to see yourself thrown out of this car, would you? You want to be thrown way out so and in 1907 they didn't have the Vanderbilt cup because of the spectator injuries and Savannah sold them hard on the American Automobile Association told them they would have the militia guard in the course and they would have them had convict labor build a build uh build the roads and they still couldn't get the cup there so they just decided to have their own RAC. Yeah yeah, they called it the grand prize of America cup. How many did that run? They ran 10 and 11 times in 1908 and 1911. They didn't do it in nine and then 11 of course they got the vanville cup uh and and you were talking about the Indianapolis 500 that was really the sort of the you know once they started racing on closed track that that sort of shut down the racing on look how cool is that with a jet flying over justess that you're in that 1911 car that's right 100 years difference in technology. How fast have you taken the Mercer? Well it's seen 100 on the speedo which is about 92 I think got I hope you're on the track no actually I wasn't I was in the freeway it was all it was the safest place nobody stopping is this a transmission braake or is it on the actual drum no it it's a the brake is a strap from the rear wheel okay and we've adjusted it uh here recently in fact if you jam on it it it might lock up the right rear wheel but yeah um our Charmers has a break on the on the drive shaft um I know it's just catch fire I thought that happen well in and it's got one pedal so halfway down to clutch and all the way down to brake yeah it's very confusing yeah yeah it's a motor meter functional or no it is it is it's running cool I like that low down T and your red Line's about what 1,200 something like that probably yeah it can't reach it in third gear so guy who found this car in the early 80s up in New York a guy named Gordon Matson I think I was reading an account in the EMF magazine of his trip when he took it to the car was at tble beach in 2005 and he said he ran into you and y'all had a mutual friend in Maine or oh that's funny yeah that was Corin Benson probably yeah and uh anyway he he drove it it his when he first restored it was yell and he drove it in the Michigan Mile and he did all sorts of events with it he actually didn't even when he bought it it was disassembled in a barn he went there to buy a demi too um EMF he was one of those sort of EMF you know people and uh after a few months he started researching the steal number on this car and realize what he had he forgot about the other one and this became what he did for the last 30 years of his life I imagine you could have put a modern clutch in there so it eases out a little bit more for if if you keep NE foot oil on it and keep it pressed down it works a little better so shipping it out here we didn't do that FL D for Magneto huh yeah that's what all the aircraft Ed oh really my meryland power car got a shower SP you spin it by hand it shows throw Sparks everywhere and then you hit the starter button wow yeah pretty bulletproof nice afternoon ride oh yeah it goes this is very nice so they sent three of these cars to Savannah right number 333 435 and Barney olfield was there as a working as a consultant for Firestone and he told them they ought to use nonskid tires right and they said we use it on two of them they used it on the other two and they those two cars came in first and second this car came in third oh wow you go about Jack Tower maybe it would have been different if he' had the non Tire well thank you so much this has been a treat it was a I mean riding a car that actually ran in the race it was a treat for us I remember reading about the race hundreds of thousands of people it really was they slept on they brought trains in for people to sleep on they they they cleaned out all the people out of the jail and put beds in the jail kid well thank you my friend thank you great to meet a real old car Enthusiast who likes the really old car that's right I mean everybody raises over the early European race cars but this one is just something special.

The conversation was a fascinating glimpse into the world of vintage racing, and I was struck by the man's passion and knowledge. As we sat in the driveway, surrounded by the remnants of his collection, I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the machines before us. From the intricate details of the engine to the delicate balance of the suspension, each component was a testament to the ingenuity and craftsmanship of a bygone era.

But as we talked, it became clear that this man's love for vintage cars went far beyond mere fascination. It was an all-consuming passion that had driven him to spend decades researching, restoring, and collecting some of America's most iconic racing cars. And yet, despite his vast knowledge and expertise, he remained humble and kind, with a quick wit and infectious enthusiasm that made me feel like I was sitting down with an old friend.

As we wrapped up our conversation and I prepared to leave, the man smiled and nodded at me, as if to say "thank you for being here". And in that moment, I knew that this was more than just a chance encounter – it was a connection between two people who shared a love of speed, passion, and history.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwell here we go Ali well how exciting would this have been in 1911 when the horse was the fast me You' ever been on talking about seat belts earlyer you wouldn't want a seat belt you want to be thrown out of this yeah you want to be thrown way out welcome to episode of J on garage today a real piece of Automotive History this is an EMF race car now if you've never heard of EMF uh you're you're probably not alone but at one point between 1908 and I guess about 1911 or 12 they were the fourth bestselling car in America they weree a Cadillac course behind Ford who's out selling everybody but it just showed you how quickly success and failure come and go in the automobile business there were three men there was uh Everett Meer and Flanders EMF they put their names together to build the cars and and they they took a lot of heat I think they used to say EMF stood for every mechanic's friend if I'm not I'm not mistaken you know people always do that one another but this is a car taken off the assembly line with a stock engine nothing tricky no overhead valves none of that it's a flathead a model 30 uh set up to in a Speedster configuration like this the man that owns this car has quite a bit of History Dale CR Jr come on in Dale thank you sir thank you so much for bringing this this is you know I've heard about these and I've seen pictures of them but they are so rare there can't be very many of them left and this one you can trace back all the way to the factory because it's been a race car its whole life has it it has it's it was uh taken right off the assembly line and brought to Savannah a couple of weeks later a race in the tan cup which was the light car race that preceded the Vanderbilt Cup in 1911 right cuz prior to this you get these cars they'd put huge engines 14 ler 18 L they put them in a car and then and and the front ends were just plow into corners and guys would go but they were fast you know cars have always been fast at stopping and going around corners is where the sophistication like the Mercer was the first sort of purpose bill it was light it was agile you know even the stuts had a bigger engine up front when the the Mercer would might lose them on the straights but they catch them in the corners as they say you know uh but this was really a stock chassis and everything just with the body off and couple of racing seats and maybe a little compression build in the engine possibly but that's about all huh that's about right straight pipes and uh it had to had maximum of 230 cubic inches to be in a light car class and also about 12200 lb and I think they started the light car class because just people were getting killed in the other classes because you know much like cars of the 60s the engines just overpowered the chassis they only had rear wheel brakes you just couldn't stop I mean you they got up to 70 80 100 miles an hour in fact I think the Savannah Georgia race was where they started the light car the first time so smaller cars could to have a a chance to compete without against these you know big monsters right and and actually before they started this savan Races they put on a race in March of of 1908 that they called stock car races they took took uh some cars uh right off the assembly line to show they could do it and not not like today what they call a stock car I mean it was a car literally like the merer race about it came off the assembly line they took the fenders off and they sent it to Indianapolis I think it came in second in the in in the very first race uh what else do we have here so uh no no front brakes obviously a single hand they got a hand breake in the in the rear right that was you know not particularly effective and as you can see you have a center throttle correct correct that was pretty common back in the day it seems almost more natural to have your finger your foot on the center throttle because when you slide your foot over you you usually hit the side of the wall of the car and the gas pedal is right there right you know so I I I like a center throttle but if you're not used to it going along let me slam on the BR you just floor it and you and you just run into stuff and of course it has a monometer right up there which is how you see if your car is overheating uh you see the glass in the center if the red line goes all the way to the top you're probably too hot you went about halfway through there and when it raced in 1911 it wouldn't have had a motor meter I don't think they invented those until the next year but we drive this thing a lot and we when when we race pretend race and so we've used a motorer now normally have an exhaust cutout but you've got probably just pretty much a hollow exhaust here isn't it yes yeah so okay want to be careful when you're getting in and in and out on that side is this oil or fuel pump that would be uh both um actually but the fuel pump during the race keep the keep it pressurized but we've got valves on the on the other side to switch between oil and fuel okay cuz see the riding mechanic would sit here and while you're racing it he's keeping the fuel pressure on by doing that and then also these use a lot of oil yes so rather than stop and pull it into the pits you had a separate oil tank right here correct this is gas and look how much extra car it's constant loss oil system oh that right this is total loss isn't it so it just kind of goes through all right now in England these would be leather uh with with grease packed in but this looks like a twine this is twine that's been impregnated with oil that keeps it lubricated as well and these here in the front and the back those are called dampers people sometimes confused a shock absor absorbers but they're not you know for every action is a reaction like when something goes down boing boing so if you didn't have that what you have is pieces of wood in there and you tighten them down and the wood presses against you so when this so when the spring goes down it comes back very slowly so you don't pull go down the road as you go down the road and that was sort of the idea and then you digest them depending on the track you're in notice you have grease cups on each uh around the kingpins and around all any kind of parts that move in the suspension because these kind of things you had to oil them after every race and yeah no seat belts of course no the the riding mechanician would hang on to the to the driver the driver hung on to the steering wheel the reason they did it away what would happen is when they got to Indianapolis guys would go around the track at 100 or 120 miles an hour they'd pull into pits at 40 and the mechanic would junk out and just usually sometimes get killed because they thought they were going you know seven eight miles an hour cuz and if you've never done that I remember I was at Willowbrook with the Corvette we were lapping at 204 mph and slowing down to 60 can't be going 60 but we were but felt like Yeah from 200 yeah exactly here you have of course you have a a hand throttle and you have adjusting your uh ignition advance and this one's pretty complete you got to even have a clock yeah and you have uh a tachometer right right and the tachometer goes to an amazing 1,500 RPM Bo that I mean that's crazy isn't it just because 1500 Revolutions a minute that that was a there wasn't a lot moving at that speed in those days that's right and phenoma goes to an amazing 60 M that's a mile a minute well it actually averaged 58 miles an hour around the 17 Mile course in 1911 right we probably said this before but in the early days of the 2 Century speed was the first New Sensation you know there was no inherent fear of speed all our lives had an inherent fear of darkness you put a baby in a dark room if P crying put him in a convertible going 50 hold him up they laugh because it's it's brand new yeah I mean armies moved at 5.2 miles an hour across Europe World War I came suddenly they were moving at 30 miles an hour and they could cross entire countries in a matter of a few days instead of weeks and months you know so to see something going a mile a minute was pretty impressive yeah and and and pretty scary too and hundreds of thousands of people turned out for these Races they did there was over 200,000 people came to they came on trains they came on boats they yeah and that was in 1911 right when it was a chore to you know get somewhere to leave your town was a huge deal you know so to go to a race that was 30 or 40 miles away but that's how exciting it was to people it you know there was fire and Noise noise and just all you know and thankfully in Savannah no no uh no big wrecks like they had in in or no big pedestrian right uh incidents like they had in in Long Island and when you think about it they the the Races they weren't all stacked up so there'd be a lot of time between cars right and people would tend to want to cross the road and what and there were people who became open I said Barney olfield he was there yeah Jimmy Murphy all these kind of guys you know it was pretty amazing yeah it was it was it was a whole just a whole new way of life it was you know the R Brothers are flying in the air cars are going on like what's going on here with the world you know but let's see can we open her up and take a look at the engine let's do put this down like that side your let's look's this side first here we go one spark plug per cylinder a lot of them had to this is not a tad this is just a regular an lad an lad and did have uh at one point had two spark plugs per cylinder we've replaced them with the the cups to make it a lot easier to start Oh Oh I thought it' be easier to start with morph with well it you wouldn't you you could choose which Magneto they weren't running both at the same time oh they never did okay oh it was only in case you had a problem with one Magneto and we've talked about these before these are primer cups in cold weather You' put a little bit of gas in there you turn that like that the gas would go into the cylinder you'd shut it again so when you pulled the hand the spark would you didn't have to wait for it to pull the fuel up through the carburetor and all that kind of stuff it works good in hot weather too when you haven't started it now did this have two mags on it as well it did have two mags okay okay very and but this is a pretty bulletproof design back in the day there's a lot of water area around these valves to keep them cool because gas octane was 60 45 whatever not much whether they could run it on now what do you run for like a 50 weight or 30 weight HD 30 okay non- detergent yeah yeah and you just run regular water in it you run just run regular water because when we take it we we take it out and pretend race it and obviously they don't want anything but is it thermos does it have a water pump or is a thermos cyer it's got a water pump oh it does have okay y Henry Ford didn't believe in any of that he just want and it worked you know the hot air the hot water push the cold water you leaves you a water pump greasers right there this is your temperature gauge is that a temperature gauge oh oh yeah that's okay I see I see yeah and there's your window right there with the splash Loop little cups throw the water throw the oil throw the oil make sure you still have oil pressure it goes around it Scoops up the oil just throws it everywhere so yeah and we we want to turn it a couple times without the mag on don't we yeah okay we shot a little ether in there you got it on full you got it un so you don't break your thumb we do but I'm going to turn it a couple of times without the mag on just to prime it here we go do we hear the terminal Cor try out ignition fire in the hole sound good here we go you can ease it out oh very nice well here we F got legs in thir thir gear got long legs it y y but how exciting would this have been in 1911 when the horse was the fast me You' ever been on it just and you're riding mechanic would be the one to make sure nobody's overtaking you and um jump out and pack the tire when you have a flat you were talking about seat belts earlier you wouldn't want to see Bel you want to be thrown out of this yeah you want to be thrown way out so and in 1907 they didn't have the Vanderbilt cup because of the spectator injuries and Savannah sold them hard in the American Automobile Association told them they would have the militia guard in the course and they would have they had convict labor build a build uh build the roads and they still couldn't get the cup there so they just decided to have their own RAC yeah yeah they called it the grand prize of America cup how many is did that run they 1908 yeah 10 and 11 they didn't do it in nine and then 11 of course they got the vanville cup uh and and you were talking about the Indianapolis 500 that was really the sort of the you know once they started racing on closed track that that sort of shut down the racing on look how cool is that with a jet flying over justess that you're in that 1911 car that's right 100 years difference in technology how fast have you taken the Mercer well it's seen 100 on the speedo which is about 92 I think got I hope you're on the track no actually I wasn't I in the freeway it was all it was the safest place nobody stopping is this a transmission braake or is it on the actual drum no it it's a the brake is a strap from the rear wheel okay and we've adjusted it uh here recently in fact if you jam on it it it might lock up the right rear wheel but yeah um our Charmers has a break on the on the drive shaft um I know it's just catch fire I thought that happen well in and it's got one pedal so halfway down to clutch and all the way down to brake yeah it's very confusing yeah yeah it's a motor meter functional or no it is it is it is it's running cool I like that low down T and your red Line's about what 1,200 something like that probably yeah it can't reach it in third gear so guy who who found this car in the early 80s up in New York a guy named Gordon Matson I think I was reading an account in the EMF magazine of his trip when he took it to the car was at tble beach in 2005 and he said he ran into you and y'all had a mutual friend in Maine or oh that's funny yeah that was Corin Benson probably yeah and uh anyway he he drove it it his when he first restored it was yell and he drove it in the Michigan Mile and he did all sorts of events with it he actually didn't even when he bought it it was disassembled in a barn he went there to buy a demi too um EMF he was one of those sort of EMF you know people and uh after a few months he started researching the steal number on this car and realize what he had he forgot about the other one and this became what he did for the last 30 years of his life I imagine you could have put a modern clutch in there so it eases out a little bit more for if if you keep NE foot oil on it and keep it pressed down it works a little better so shipping it out here we didn't we didn't do that FL D for Magneto huh yeah that's what all the aircraft Ed oh really my meryland power car got a shower SP you spin it by hand it shows throw Sparks everywhere and then you hit the starter button wow yeah pretty bulletproof nice afternoon ride oh yeah it goes this is very nice so they sent three of these cars to Savannah right number 333 435 and Barney olfield was there as a working as a consultant for Firestone and he told them they ought to use nonskid tires right and they said we use it on two of them they used it on the other two and they those two cars came in first and second this car came in third oh wow you go about Jack Tower maybe it would have been different if he' had the non Tire well thank you so much this has been a treat it was a I mean riding a car that actually ran in the race it was a treat for us I remember reading about the race hundreds of thousands of people it really was they slept on they brought trains in for people to sleep on they they they cleaned out all the people out of the jail and put beds in the jail kid well thank you my friend thank you great to meet a real old car Enthusiast who likes the really old car that's right I mean everybody raises over the early European race cars but this American stuff was very durable\n"