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I guess tether racing was the first form of motorised miniture car racing...way before rc racing..the first cars were run in the mid to late 30's...the big difference of course between rc and tether racing was there is no direct contact between the driver and the car...I just bought one off ebay because they look so damn cool..little cars mostly alloy,wood and plastic...here's one doing 200mph http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ0Fvo51XLM&feature=related

I don't know anything about them, other than every one I've seen looks really cool. That one looks like it's front wheel drive.

Yep front wheel drive pretty high tech for way back then...

Every time I see a pic of one of these or here about them, I am saddened by the fact that my grandfather sold his without telling me, right before he passed away. I asked my grandma after his passing if I could have it to restore, only to realize it was no longer in his basement where it had sat my entire life, except that day I went to grab it.

So do you have any control of the throttle, or do you just light it up and spin around? I think I'd get pretty dizzy playing with one of these. They'd look awesome on the shelf though.

not really into running in a circle but they do look awsome on a shelf infact that is where I got my first Idea about building my miget prodject

I had one of those Cox U controls, similar concept but using an airplane, and you could control the elevator to make it go up and down.

I think I still have it at my folks. Old Airacobra IIRC.




MOmo

Those are soo cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks for posting the pics JohnnySr.

My father still has his tether car from when he was a kid; it's from around 1950. Very cool. I restored it for him about 15 years ago. It's a Cox Thimble Drome midget. I'll have to take some pics sometime.

I saw a vid of a tether racer once, the darned thing went so fast you couldn't see it. A fellow Clodtalker has a few tether rocket cars he runs, which is the same principle, only done in a straight line.

SoloGraphix wrote:Every time I see a pic of one of these or here about them, I am saddened by the fact that my grandfather sold his without telling me, right before he passed away. I asked my grandma after his passing if I could have it to restore, only to realize it was no longer in his basement where it had sat my entire life, except that day I went to grab it.

I also got to push around my Grandfather's tether cars, and they too disappeared after he died. Quite a frighteningly expensive hobby on the vintage side, but they are oh so cool..

murphy3428 wrote:not really into running in a circle but they do look awsome on a shelf infact that is where I got my first Idea about building my miget prodject

Exactly what I was thinking. They are way cool in the fact that they represent history, and the styling is really cool. Other than that, I think I'd get bored about half way through the first time I "drove" one. LOL

This old ohlsson and Rice tether car dates back to the late 40's. As you can see it's in pretty good condition and should make an easy restore. I can get the missing windshield, nerf bars and handbrake off ebay... some company still makes them. The other missing parts such as the top to the fuel tank will be harder to find...might be easier to just make one myself...the rest of the car is great..tires are still firm with no cracks and the motor still has good compression..pretty cool little cars..