Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

Here is a page out of the July 1974 Hot Rod Magazine. This is an Awesome looking Sprinter out of Phoenix driven by a shoe named Roy Fields. One of the Best Looking Sprinters that I have ever seen! Click on thumbnail and check it out. Hate to see his chrome bill. Anybody remember this car??


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Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

Boy that brings back some memories yes it was a beautiful car I think he got hurt in it though. As I remember it was very close to a copy of a car that Leo Ruggles had and was called the twister II built by Skeet Gibson. The twister II was driven by some great AZ. drivers a name some of the IN. folks will remember was a rookie named Ricky Hood, Buddy Taylor, Frank McDaniels and others. The picture showing the Manzanita grand stands is priceless.

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

That car has/had a 'sexyness' that todays cars don't.

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

Just wondering..

Do you think that the chrome roll cage on the car was properly heat treated to remove the hydrogen embrittlement after it was chromed? While chrome looks great, it can hurt you....

http://www.omegaresearchinc.com/Publ.../metal.html#cr

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

Aren't chromed cages banned today for this reason? Still looks killer though!

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

Chrome roll cages were never banned because of chrome....only because all of the chrome roll cages were bolt on, instead of welded on. And the vats you dip parts in, were never big enough to accomidate a whole frame. In the late 70's at some point USAC mandated welded on roll cages......maybe by 78 when the outlaws started, I'm not sure. Steve Stapp was about the first USAC car builder to weld his on. Chassis like J&J, Nance, and Trostle started building them that way too and Gambler never did build a bolt on. The first car I drove in 76, the cage was cut into 4pieces to fit in the vat. I agree....it was an awesome look though.

Steve

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

---------- Post added at 09:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 PM ----------

Not sure about other parts of the country, but one of the main reasons for chrome cages in the midwest was that IMCA was under pressure to legalize cages but didn't really want them so they made it as inconvenient as possible by stating that you could run a cage but it had to be chromed. :10:

I seriously doubt that many cages in that era were treated for hydrogen embrittlement.

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

I've seen a McElreath sprinter with a chrome cage that was welded on. Touchup paint around the welds. However, the tubes stopped at the upper frame rail instead of going all the way to the bottom. Not much safer than a bolt on in my opinion.

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

In John Mahoney's book,Full Tilt,there are two photos from 1971 with welded in cages. The 29 car, says Stapp on the hood but that was Boston Louie Seymour's number, with Joe Saldana at the Hulman Classic on May 1 and Paul Leffler's car with Sammy Sessions in the same photo. There is also another photo of the Leffler car at New Bremen in April. That's the earliest photos I could find of USAC cars with welded in cages.

Vern Plotts

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

You are all wrong, Larry Cannon had the first chrome cage and the the first roll cage in Usac in the 60's First usac we were at with it Gary B., called us a bunch of sissy's:31:

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

Rpracing1

Thanks for posting that cool old article. I can barely remember seeing that article when it came out. That was a sweet looking car. Possibly an Edmunds car ? Too pretty to be raced ,almost!, Not to take away from the thread ,but to fuel the fire. While on the subject of chrome cages,bolt on cages. Here is a sweet picture - Thanks Al Consoli- ! of a sweet looking ol' car. Not bad looking for a non- west coast car. Gene Gennetten KC,MO.at Tampa fairgrounds - circa 1974 as well. Chrome cage, chrome headers,chrome front axle,chrome bumpers,too cool! This is a sweet power shot to say the least.

http://www.eazylivin.net/GG.jpg

I doubt anyone in that era was worrying if the chrome was making anything brittle...:) Hammer down and turn left a bit,then start turnin right more!!

Take Care,
BC

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

BRC
You are welcome.........Thanks for your pic also...........Cars from that era were so cool........Alot of todays cars do not have that "Look" about them. One exception is a guy that is out of Owensboro Ky. , Larry Trunnel, who always has a very sweet looking car when ever he decides to get it out.
Rpracing1

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

That Hot Rod article brings back some memories.

Roy is still around and is currently a fabricator/chassis builder here in Phoenix. He's got a few sprint, midget, and mini-sprints running currently with the local clubs.

Yes, that car is an Edmunds. It was the second car that the family owned, and was new when the photos were shot for his Sophomore season in 1974. His Dad towed it to the races on an open trailer behind a brand new 4-door Ford Thunderbird.

He was the 1973 Rookie of the Year for the Arizona Racing Association sprint cars, bouncing back from a terrible accident at the start of 1973.

In March 1973, the Pinal County Fairgrounds opened a 1/2 mile dirt oval (called 11 Mile Corner Raceway, as it was 11 miles to Casa Grande and 11 miles to Coolidge). Manzy's Windy McDonald was the track promotor (and remained so for a few years until his son Rick was killed near there in a traffic accident after a race. This tragedy literally took the wind out of Windy, and he got away from there). The track had a 3-4 foot high concrete wall in turn 1-2, and nothing in 3-4 except a steep drop-off if you got over the top of the banking.

The team I was on at the time holds the honor of being the first sprint car to flip at the track. During the 2nd heat, our driver Dave Thompson took it into T3 a bit too hard, floated up high, and flipped over the banking. He ended up breaking his collar bone due to the "hook" portion of the aluminum seat (that keeps you from getting slung out in the turns) being a little too tall and breaking the collar bone during one of the landings.

They red flagged the race to take care of Dave, and after the restart for the same 2nd heat, Roy ran over a wheel about even with the flag stand, and flipped all the way to T1 and OVER the wall, landing in the parking lot. The whole time his arms were flapping around outside of the cage, and mangled the crap out of one of them. While the medics were checking him out, I went out on the front stretch with the pit crew of somne friends, and happened to notice a piece of Roy's arm bone about the size of 9/16" deep wall socket shoved in the clay. I dug it out and gave it to one of the ambulance attendants.

I can't remember, but I believe that the cage was chromed and it definitely cracked/broke at a few places.

They ended up doing surgery on Roy (I think he still has a rod in there somewhere), and about 4 months later he was back in the family car, eventually finishing about 15th in points for the season. I don't recall how long he raced as a driver, but when he quit driving he continued for many years as an owner.

Re: Kool 1974 Sprinter of Roy Fields
 

I know this car and Skeet. He loved racing and everything about it!! That's why it's in me. Anyone remember the first Twister???