1939 Alexander Tether Car Poster Print

1939 Alexander Tether Car Poster Print. Measures 24 inches wide x 21 inches tall. An awesome reproduction poster.

In the earliest beginnings — Racing of miniature cars powered by gas airplane engines started in California around 1937.  In the beginning the cars were home built with ashtray tires and primitive parts. They could reach speeds of around 40 MPHs.  Soon clubs started to form, rules were drafted, tracks were spawned, and events planned.  The earliest cars were lovingly modeled to appear authentic with windshields, seats, steering wheels, gages and sometimes even little drivers.

Pre-War — Manufacturers started to spring up and produced both kit cars and factory built ready-to-race cars.  These cars were expensive for the day considering the depression had just recently ended.  Most factory built cars sold for around $20 – $30  with the most expensive being the B.B. Korn selling for $53.50 in Magnesium form.  Kit cars sold for as low as $10.  Prior to the war, cars reached speeds in the mid-70s for Protos and 100 MPH for cable streamliners.

War time — Unfortunately, the hobby suffered like so many others during the second World War.  Most manufacturers went out of business because metals were shifted to the war efforts.  To my knowledge, The Dooling Bros. were the only one notable manufacturer resumed operations after the war.

Post War — After the war ended, manufacturers began to spring up once again.  Because of the war, there were new, light-weight materials to work with such as plastics, and fiberglass.  Most cars began to take on more streamlined looks and began to reach speeds of 100+ MPH.

The End — It has been said that the hobby came to a close due to the lack of fan participation.  The cars had become too fast and the fans could not longer view them.  The cars also lost their appeal when they took on a more streamlined appearance and no longer represented the real midget race cars of the day.

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1946 Dooling Brothers Tether Car Poster Print

1946 Dooling Brothers Tether Car Poster Print. A great print from 1946. This reproduction ad measures 22 inches wide x 17 inches tall.

Wikipedia: Tether cars were developed beginning in the 1920s-30s and still are built, raced and collected today. First made by hobby craftsmen, tether cars were later produced in small numbers by commercial manufacturers such as Dooling Brothers (California), Dick McCoy (Duro-Matic Products), Garold Frymire (Fryco Engineering) BB Korn, and many others. Original examples of the early cars, made from 1930s-60s, are avidly collected today and command prices in the thousands of dollars.

The cars are about 12-24 inches long, 3-4 inches wide, run on rubber tires 3-4 inches in diameter, have a cast metal body (usually magnesium and aluminum, but also fiberglass and wood bodies), and have robust gear drives. Engines are nitro or methanol fueled, with displacements from 0.09-0.61 cubic inches (1.5-10 cubic centimeters). Early engines (prior to 1960s) had spark ignition systems. Later engines use glow plug ignition. The cars are tethered to a central post hitch by a steel cable and run around a circular track of 19.9 meters in diameter.

Current racing activity in the U.S. is governed by the American Miniature Racing Car Association with three racetracks in NY, CA and IN. Contemporary cars run at speeds of up to 200+ miles per hour giving them the reputation as fastest model cars in the world. After push-starting the car the driver decides when to take the speed measurement. As soon as he presses a button the time for 8 laps, which equal to 500 meters, is accurately measured by 1/1000s.

• Click here to buy the 1946 Dooling Brothers Tether Car Poster Print in the Amazon WebStore
• Click here to buy the 1946 Dooling Brothers Tether Car Poster Print in the eBay Store

1946 Dooling Brothers Tether Car Poster Print. A great print from 1946. This reproduction ad measures 22 inches wide x 17 inches tall.

Wikipedia: Tether cars were developed beginning in the 1920s-30s and still are built, raced and collected today. First made by hobby craftsmen, tether cars were later produced in small numbers by commercial manufacturers such as Dooling Brothers (California), Dick McCoy (Duro-Matic Products), Garold Frymire (Fryco Engineering) BB Korn, and many others. Original examples of the early cars, made from 1930s-60s, are avidly collected today and command prices in the thousands of dollars.

The cars are about 12-24 inches long, 3-4 inches wide, run on rubber tires 3-4 inches in diameter, have a cast metal body (usually magnesium and aluminum, but also fiberglass and wood bodies), and have robust gear drives. Engines are nitro or methanol fueled, with displacements from 0.09-0.61 cubic inches (1.5-10 cubic centimeters). Early engines (prior to 1960s) had spark ignition systems. Later engines use glow plug ignition. The cars are tethered to a central post hitch by a steel cable and run around a circular track of 19.9 meters in diameter.

Current racing activity in the U.S. is governed by the American Miniature Racing Car Association with three racetracks in NY, CA and IN. Contemporary cars run at speeds of up to 200+ miles per hour giving them the reputation as fastest model cars in the world. After push-starting the car the driver decides when to take the speed measurement. As soon as he presses a button the time for 8 laps, which equal to 500 meters, is accurately measured by 1/1000s.

1946 Dooling Brothers Tether Car Poster Print

• Click here to buy the 1946 Dooling Brothers Tether Car Poster Print in the Amazon WebStore
• Click here to buy the 1946 Dooling Brothers Tether Car Poster Print in the eBay Store