Maybe we need cops every place in Ohio. During the auction someone in a
new Ford Explorer drove past an Aurora police car that was setting at
the auction site with lights flashing, supposedly to keep passing
motorists altered to traffic problems, and directly into the back of a
car stopped on the highway to either enter the parking lot for the
auction or to allow someone else to do the same. I suspect the first
clue the Explorer driver had of stopped traffic was when the air bag hit
him/her in the side of the head.
As for the towing, the auctioneer warned folks several times that they
needed to move their vehicles from the driveway and lawn of the church
property or they would be towed. And everyone chuckled to themselves,
knowing it was a bluff. NOT!
Now, all that said, the state patrol in Ohio needs a 50% reduction in
funding about as bad as any governmental body I know. When you have
time to devote six cars and an airplane to speeders on an interstate
highway, you have too much time and money on your hands. And that
happens every (sunny)day.
I, too, found that oval racing was outside my budget. The results (up
to the time I gave up hopes of being midget car owner):
1948 KK midget No. 299. On trailer and supposedly ready to race. Not a
show car, but owned and raced by Wimpy Vober for 50 years (think about
that). $24,500
1951 Johnny Pawl car (Pawl bought all of Kurtis' molds, dies, etc.) An
old-timer from New York seriously questioned the heritage of this car to
those who would listen, but appeared nearly race-ready. Regardless sold
for $16,500
The above car had a fiberglass body, and the next lot was the original
metal body parts. Sold for $2,300
1948 KK No. 247. This is the car I wanted because it was driven in the
50s by Eddie Johnson. When I was a kid (yes, they had race cars then) I
used to cheer for Eddie in the 500 because he was the only driver from
Ohio. But at $17,500 I'll settle for the photos of Johnson I have.
The next KK was a chassis and body sitting on horses. It was to come
with everything to complete, save engine. Went for $6,000.
Next came a lot of eight 110 Offy engines, high bidder getting choice.
High bid was $6,500, and three folks picked up one at that price. When
I left the bidding for choice of the remaining engines stood at over
$5,000.
The great part about the auction was the people I met. Old racers from
the past 50 years. Guys who still raced antique midgets. Ran into one
fellow who owns a KK car Rathman drive to fourth at Indy. He also gave
me a lesson on rebuilding Offys. All-in-all a great way to waste a
morning.
Rick Yocum
66 Nova Trans Am racer
-----Original Message-----
From: vintagegarage [mailto:vintagegarage@erols.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2001 11:09 PM
To: rossf; gewhite
Cc: vintagegarage; vintage-race; aantipas; pattyrex; als26
Subject: Midget Auction in Aurora, Ohio
Gordon and Ross,
I'm back empty handed from the midget auction in Aurora, Ohio. The
Kurtis-Kraft/Offy on the trailer sold for $24,000 or $25,000 and the
next
two midgets were in the same ballpark. The best deal was the KK body
and
frame on the stand, which by auction time, included most parts to finish
it
except for the motor and in-out box. I think it sold for $6,000. I'd
have
paid that for it with motor and box, so I wasn't even close. All eight
of
the extra offy motors sold in the range of $5,000 each and up. About
20
cardboard trays of assorted midget bits went for in the neighborhood of
$400
each, and I didn't see what the cabinet full of pistons went for, nor
the
cabinet will all the rear end parts.
Looks like this isn't my year to get into vintage oval racing..
As a side note, the town of Aurora is a most unfriendly place. Cops
were
everywhere telling people they couldn't park here and there, and at the
halfway point in the auction the church next door called in 8 tow trucks
to
tow about 20 cars away that were parked on the grass. The tow operators
seemed to enjoy their work as did the cops and neighbors who had great
fun
at the out-of-towners expense. Fortunately, I escaped the town with no
tickets or towing bills.
Vaughn
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