Racing a vintage car is a gamble--it's putting a priceless piece of racing history in harm's way around every corner. Parts can fail and drivers can make mistakes, so to say vintage road racing is dangerous and exciting is an understatement. We love racing, especially if it involves vintage cars, so it was no-brainer for us to be a part of the Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports Mitty. The race is held at Road Atlanta, which is just down the road from us in Braselton, Georgia.
That's what we loaded up and took to Amelia Island this past weekend! It's one of the most prestigious car events in North America, and we took a truck load of cool stuff to the beautiful Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach. This event is what we like to call "fancy" and it's right up there with Pebble Beach, in terms of notoriety and cool factor. For 2014, the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance featured the Underslung, a unique design used by American Motor Car Company from 1905 to 1914. Just so happens that Corky and his father, Harold each have an American Underslung in their collection, so those two were no-brainer's...we just had to take 'em. Also on our truck was Richie Clyne's American Underslung roadster, a truly incredible piece and a great-driving car. Amelia Island also had a tribute to the Offenhauser Indy engine, so we displayed our Lencki Six engine, as it was an "offy on steroids".
As if the 1911 Marmon Wasp (winner of the inaugural Indianapolis 500) doesn't have a rich enough pedigree to be considered a rockstar, this sealed the deal! Our Marmon Wasp replica, built by Honest Charley Garage, was actually featured in a rock concert in Scottsdale, Arizona this week. The concert was held in conjunction with a Bridgestone/Firestone Dealer Meeting. Coker Tire was represented at the meeting, due to our involvement with Firestone tires for the vintage market, and we put our Marmon Wasp replica on display in the concert hall, where Foreigner rocked the house! How cool is that???
Here at Coker Tire, we sort of glaze over when we think of the cars here at the headquarters and the Coker Tire Museum. We see these cars every day, and sometimes forget just how cool they are. It's important to occasionally take a step back and reevaluate the cars in Corky's collection and let you guys know what makes them so cool. Today's subject is the "Shafer 8" an Indy racecar replica that has become one of Corky's favorite cars of all time.
Yesterday, we posted a video of Jim Hildebrand and Ben McKinnon (from Anitque Tyre Supplies in Melbourne, Australia) chatting about cars, tires and other stuff, but we just wanted to post a couple of cool pictures of Ben hanging out with Corky in his 1913 National Racing Type roadster. They happen to be parked in front of "world famous" Honest Charley Speed Shop. Check it out!
If you follow our Facebook fan page, then you know we blasted the page with live photos from the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a great event and we had a blast, as always, so it's time to wrap it up and get ready for the winter season. We met lots of great folks at SEMA, some new to the industry and some old timers like us. We debuted new booth artwork for our indoor booth and a brand new full wrap on our tractor trailer rig, which was positioned outside of the convention center. With new products on display, as well as the completed Marmon Wasp and Honest Charley rat rod truck, our booth(s) were a big hit. Check it out!
[caption id="attachment_2277" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Our updated SEMA indoor booth with new counter artwork, and TV\'s!"]
While I was in Hershey, Pennsylvania for the big AACA swap meet, I visited the annual Mini Muster at the Marmon Club spot in the Chocolate Field on Friday. Clay Thomas, a longtime member of the Marmon Club, told me about his 1922 Marmon 2-passenger speedster while club members Lou Iaccino and Dave Cargill listen in. The Mini Muster has been a 3-5 p.m. tradition for decades at Hershey for Marmon lovers from all over the world and I'm one of 'em! This year it was attended by 25 owners and club members.
[caption id="attachment_2217" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Having a good time with great friends at the Mini Muster, during the Hershey AACA meet!"][/caption]
Of course, I had to brag to the club members about my
Chances are, if you've been to our headquarters sometime in the past 10 years, then you've probably seen the Shafer 8 racecar, aka The Coker Special. The ole car has been around for a while and we've driven it across the country more than 10 times, including several coast-to-coast Great Race events. The car has a Buick straight 8 engine in it, and it runs pretty darn good! It's spent a lot of time sliding around Corkyville, but it's about to go on yet another long trip. The revitalized Great Race starts next week right here in Chattanooga and ends at the Hemmings Motor News headquarters in Bennington, Vermont. The Shafer 8 will not be in competition but it'll be on the trip! We'll be riding the route in style!
[caption id="attachment_1545" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Firestone Indy 600-20"][/caption]
Around here, there's no better way to celebrate the Indianapolis 500 than to show off some of our tires, built specifically for vintage Indy cars. In fact, we're up here in Indy right now, showing off our Marmon Wasp replica, along with our Firestone Indy tire selection, which are all built from either original Firestone molds or new molds built from the original drawings. We'll post up some pictures from the event later, but for now, check out a finished photo of the Marmon Wasp, and our line of Firestone Indy tires in the spirit of the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500!
[caption id="attachment_1522" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Group shot of the Honest Charley Garage crew with the finished Marmon Wasp!"][/caption]
With the Marmon Wasp mostly complete, we snuck it out of the shop for a few minutes and snapped some pictures of it. We're just gonna let those pictures do the talkin'...
[caption id="attachment_1503" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="The Marmon Wasp, hand built by Honest Charley Garage"][/caption]
Hey, remember when we said we had a short deadline on the Marmon Wasp rebuild? Well, it just got shortened up! Everybody at Honest Charley Garage is thrashing on this thing to get it done in time, and it's time for the final touches to make it as authentic as possible. The body is on, and the guys are hammering out the belly pan as this is being typed. The seat arrived today, so the "interior" (if you want to call it that) is complete.
[caption id="attachment_1491" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Engine is pretty much done--paint didn\'t last too long on that exhaust!"][/caption]
As you probably know by now, the Marmon Wasp replica built by Honest Charley Garage has actually been semi-complete for a year or so. However, it's never seen an ounce of paint, so it's time to get with the program and blast some yellow on this beast! Richard aka the "Car Carpenter" did an awesome job on the metal work, getting it ready for Zane to prep the panels and lay down some paint.
[caption id="attachment_1381" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Zane lays down the base color, which has been professionally matched to the original Marmon Wasp."][/caption]
The guys at Honest Charley Garage are still hammering away (literally) at the Marmon Wasp rebuild. Lots of metal work happening right now, with the chassis nearing completion, but Zane is also hitting it hard in the body shop. We're going to be providing daily updates of the car's progress, and show you guys its debut at the 100th anniversary Indy 500, which is just a few weeks away. We're counting on the guys at HCG to get the job done in time, so follow take a look at some of our latest photos to see exactly what these guys are capable of...
[caption id="attachment_1357" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Delton Scott making a bracket for the revamped Marmon Wasp chassis."][/caption]
Click to see lots more cool photos of the fabrication process!
If you guys follow along with our blog, or Coker Tire in general, then you know we built a replica of the Marmon Wasp, the winning car from the inaugural Indy 500, which took place in 1911. That's 100 years ago, if you hadn't already done the math. So, with this year marking the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 it's the perfect time to unveil the Marmon Wasp in finished form.
[caption id="attachment_1347" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="The old engine--A Ford inline six-cylinder....not exactly period correct!"][/caption]