First Auto Competition By: John E. Aibel

When I was growing up regular American sports were not of big interest to me. While my friends could spout batting averages of the New York baseball times, the latest statistics of the hockey teams or basketball teams. I knew next to nothing of this. 

1954 Brooklyn Dodgers
picture from Getty Images

Now, I could quote the cubic inch displacement of just about all American cars, and the displacement in cubic centimeters of the European cars, and the various power outputs of these cars. 

Formula One and the results of the latest LeMans 24 Hour race were what I just loved.

1954 24 Hours of Le Mans

While my friends knew it all about sports, they were not necessarily the best athletes. I was not sports-oriented, but I worked hard and always was able to pass the Police Athletic League tests. 

In order to support my love of cars I decided to get a job after school. From the age of fourteen on I worked after schoolto earn money for my passion. This left no time for sports, other than riding my bicycle.

In my high school a course in “safe driving” was offered to those who had their learner’s permit. It was taught by Coach Grecco, a wonderful teacher and role model. His good friend was Roger Ward* of Indianapolis fame. 

* - Years later I met Roger at Lime Rock, CT. while he was being honored for winning a professional Formula Libre event opened to all classes of cars. Roger won that race driving an Offy-powered (Offenhauser) Midget race car. He raced against the fastest of sport cars, and came out on top! I was at that race and remembered seeing Roger's crew changing the rear axle gear ratios between the two heats that made up the race. 

Roger Ward racing at Lime Rock Park
circa 1959

Roger drove his Midget just like the road circuit was an oval track with long straightaways. It was wonderful to see him beat much larger cars with his little Midget. - *

Near the end of the school year the “Junior Chamber of Commerce” sponsored a safe driving Road-E-O competition. This test involved both a written test and a precision driving test. 

The driving section was made up of a course laid out in a parking lot. I had to drive between traffic cones, park, and do various maneuvers. It was the first automobile competition that I participated.

Fette Ford of Clifton, New Jersey provided the cars used in our school course as well as the cars we would use in competition. 

As I remember the day of competition, it was a warm June day and I was assigned to a brand new Ford convertible. I was one of the last to perform that day and perform I did! I took home the first place award, and even made the local newspaper!

This was the beginning of a lifetime devoted to auto sport.

Learning To Love Oval Track Racing By: John E. Aibel

Road Racing at Watkins Glen

Despite the fact that my first exposure to auto sport racing was of the road race variety, I must admit it is not the best way for a spectator to view a race. Yes, I was in awe of the spectacle, the fancy cars, the sound of the Ferrari screaming down the strait, the wail of the BMW, the earth pounding deep moan of the Allards, and Cunninghams, and the high pitch whine of the tiny Crosley-powered cars. It was just hard to follow the race cars.

Who was leading, and in which class a given car was running? The racers just strung out into a parade of color. Witnessing only a small section of raceway, I just never understood the totality of the event.

I was aware of the other forms of auto sport, but had not witnessed them. My experience expanded greatly when my family was visiting our winter home located in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Palm Beach Speedway
photo by Getty Images

Way out west past the airport was the local fairgrounds where the local stock car track was located. I knew about such places by reading the car magazines of the era. Names like Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Trenton, New Jersey, where the sprint cars ran under the AAA sanctioning. These race series of course ended in the Indianapolis 500 race in May. Knowing about a sport, but never having seen this type of racing, I just had no clue as to what it was all about.

All of a sudden oval racing was real as we attended the races. Not sprint cars but what was called stock car racing, and modified stock cars. The National Stock Car Racing Association ran the show in Florida at the time. These cars did not look like new cars of the day, no they looked like old 1937 era Fords without windows and all stripped down. You could see the engines as they whizzed by. Nothing fancy about these racers.

Now I could understand the allure of oval track racing. I could see the whole track from the stands, and see who was leading, and how many cars were right there fighting for the lead. No train like line of cars, no, a tight side-by-side racing. Close exciting competition. I was hooked. This was real racing!

We attended many races at the West Palm Beach Raceway over the following years. I even became the fan of a great driver by the name of Al Miller. This man could “Drive” and was usually in the winner of the races I saw.

During the summers my friends and I would go to the local stock car tracks as spectators. We would attend the race track located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Lebanon, New York. We always had a great time watching the banging and shoving going on.

One sultry night the mixture of humidity, and fine clay dust filled the air and obliterated our view of the backstretch. It was a surreal experience to hear but not see the action.

Yes, I do get the allure of oval racing despite being a confirmed road race devotee.

Pine Brook Speedway By: John E. Aibel

I wonder if the people walking through the Home Depot  in Pine Brook , New Jersey realize they are actually walking on the Pine Brook Speedway known as the Home of Champions?!  The 1/10 mile raceway opened in July of 1962  on the banks of the Passaic River. It lasted for about 25 years.

My brother Fred and I found this “bull ring” sometime in 1963. Fred had a brand new Chevrolet Impala convertible complete with a 283 engine and a floor-mounted four speed transmission.  

It was only a  matter of time before we took a ride in his new wheels. We headed west on Route 46 and were soon pulling into the parking lot  of this little race track. That Friday night was the first time in years that I attended a circular race track.

c. 1970 parade lap before an event
Pine Brook Speedway

The three quarter (TQ) midget race cars that raced there were miniature versions of Indianapolis race cars, and they could really put on a great, and exciting shows. The track was so small there was only one groove to follow.  This resulted in a lot of action as the faster cars had a very difficult time trying to pass the slow cars. 

It was not until the Mini Coopers brought out good ten inch tires that the TQ guys jumped on these rubbers. These tires provided the traction needed for the little racecars to pass on the outside of the slower competition. 

I witnessed many racecar improvements filtering down to the local racetracks.

My brother and I both bought our first homes in the same town that the Pine Brook Raceway was located. This enabled me to attend many of the Friday night races. I started to hang out in the pits where I met a lot of the racecar owners and drivers. 

At one point in the Pine Brook Speedway tenure I had acquired  the patterns for Crosley engine racing parts, and made up Cam covers, and side water jackets. I was able to have them cast up and sold them to the racers. Names like Nick Fornoro, Jack Bertling, and Tony Romit where just some of the local heroes.

c. 1972 Tony Romit being pushed off to compete
in a Friday Night race at
Pine Brook Speedway

One evening I brought my restored Crosley Super Sport to Pine Brook Speedway in hopes of driving it on the track. No luck, they would not allow it on the track. 

A couple of years later Fred and I bought a Ford Model T board track race car that had raced at the Altoona Board Track. This car they did allow to slowly tour the track. That was a first for me to drive on an oval track!

Unfortunately, as land values increased this little race track was closed down. 

Before the track was destroyed I had an opportunity to drive on the asphalt. I had been lucky to purchase a very special Crosley race car. This car raced in the 1951 LeMans 24 hour race. I had it in a repair shop where a new engine was being installed. A young man saw the car. He was making a movie and this was the car he wanted as its co-star. He somehow got permission to use the defunct Pine Brook Speedway.

The movie crew set about making the Crosley look like an old Ferrari, and me like a racecar driver! 

Make-up! 

I drove around and around the Pine Brook track for what seemed to be an hour. They shot film and recorded the engine sound. 

It all came to a screeching stop when the land developers showed up. I guess the movie maker never did get permission to use the track!

That ended my very limited oval track racing career.

Pine Brook Speedway existed from 1962 - 1988. In 1989 it was torn down. 

My First Car or The Deal of the Century By: John E. Aibel

With the "carbug" bite deeply injected into my blood stream, my obsession to own a car was   

over-powering. I just had to have one. Forget the fact that I was very young boy of about twelve years.   

Now, my Dad was a very savvy business man and he must have just completed a really good deal. In a rare moment in time he told me he would buy me a Corvette when I was old enough. I never forgot this offer.   

Naturally much thought went into what would be my first car. While New York was not considered to be a hot bed of automobile interest, there were, in fact, a lot of unusual vehicles in my neighborhood. 

Within a block radius of our home there was an early circa 1910 Buick, a Franklin collector, and a fellow with two Cadillac V-16's. While these were truly great cars they were not for me.

No, it had to be a Ford Model A roadster or coupe. The reason for this lust goes back to all those HOT ROD magazines read to me. Almost every one of those hot rods were Ford Model A-based. These rods were stuffed full of Ford V-8 engines modified to produce more horsepower. Some used multiple carburetors, supercharges, Mercury stroker crankshafts, and overbored blocks. Some rods used the newly introduced engines made  by Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Chrysler.   

By the time I was about fifteen years old the family had moved to New Jersey. Sitting on the school bus  gave me an excellent view of the local junk yard. 

One day in route to school I spotted a Model A Victoria in front of the junk yard. It did look like it would run, but the body looked very sad, in need of some bodywork, and paint. Getting Mom to drive me over to look at the "Vicky" revealed the fact that for the sum of $100 I could own the car of my dreams. Not a roadster or coupe, but a rare body style Model A.  

Next it was time to sit down with my Dad to get permission to buy the car. Knowing his business   

acumen, I made him a deal he could not refuse. I released his half-joking promise of a Corvette someday for the right to buy the Model A.

It worked, he made the deal with me. We both won.   

Next I had to get big brother Roy to drive my pride and joy up to Massachusetts so it could be stored in a barn and worked on by me during summer vacation. The 140 mile trip went well until we were almost at our destination. Going through a small town a car suddenly turned in front of us and Roy had to hit the brakes hard. Model A's are not known for having the greatest brakes in the world.

One rear brake locked up and screeched its tire. I was upset because the tires had almost no tread left on them.   

After inspecting the brakes we noticed that a screwdriver that was used as a poor brake fix had fallen out and that only the one rear brake was working! With a temporary fix of wire and that screw driver in place the trip was completed without further incident.   

That next summer found me sanding and playing with the Model A. The barn was located on a private dirt road and I would drive all over this road. I was always found visiting neighbors up and down the road.

I could not afford a new battery, so I always had to park the car on a hill so I could roll down hill, let the clutch out and jump start the Ford. I became good at this and knew just how much of an incline I needed.

By the summer that I was 16 I had my new license, insurance and registration. I never did get the Model A looking good, but I did drive it just about everywhere. 

One evening a girl friend and I were sitting, talking and it became time to go home. Well, I tried the starter, but I had never had a good battery, so it was no use, the Ford would not start. 

“Okay,” I said, “Joan please get out and push the Ford over the ridge to the down grade.”

Worked like a charm, and off into the evening we went!   

A Brief Autobiography of John E. Aibel or How the Car Bug Hit

The author John (center) flanked by big brothers Roy (left) and Fred (right)

I was fortunate to have been born the third boy child (kid brother) in my family. My brothers were five and eight years my senior. Naturally I learned everything I know from them.

As a small child, before I could read, my brothers would read the very early issues of Hot Rod magazine to me as bed time stories. Their girlfriends would also read car magazines to me.  This was the beginning of a lifelong obsession with not only Hot Rods, but all things that move on their own.

My Mom was a good sport, and would do anything her sons wanted her to do. She drove my brothers and me out to Bridgehampton, Long Island, NY to watch the Sports Car racing held on county roads.

The cars I saw there were out of this world. In the general parking areas there were Allards, Isotta Franchini, Maserati, and even a street Ferrari. I took my hand-me-down Brownie box camera to record this wonderful experience. I was able to get a picture of Dave Garroway, the first Today Show host, standing behind a telephone pole after he spun out while driving his circa 1939 Jaguar SS-100 powered by a then modern day XK-120 engine.  The noise, the smell and the spectacle of that day lives with me to this day.

The author John racing his 1951 Crosley Le Mans car at the PVGP

The cars I saw racing that day included two cars that I was later in my life able to obtain. One was a Crosley that was a real American Sports Car that you could buy in a local hobby store. I was able to locate and buy a very special Crosley that was specially made for the 1951 LeMans 24hour race. The other car that raced that day was an English car called an Allard, powered by a Cadillac engine.

The other interesting things I saw that day was a group of enthusiasts including Henry Austin Clark and Briggs S. Cunningham driving their very old racing cars as a pre-race show. They seemed to be having so much fun driving these old monsters around the race track!  This had to be the very beginnings of the Vintage Sports Car movement in this country. This was in 1951, 52, 53 era.

During 1951 my oldest brother Roy was able to buy a brand new red MG sports car. Wow, I can remember to this day the time I came home from school, went into the garage and saw this beautiful car just sitting there. It was not long before the three of us would drive to some sort of racing event in that MG. Yes, you guessed it, I had to ride atop the emergency brake handle until Roy bought a third seat that fit into the small space between the two regular seats. I was almost as tall as my brothers due to the box I was sitting on!

The die was now cast for my future life as a car nut.

Stay tuned for the rest of my car life here at My Lifelong Automotive Passion!

Why We Race on Ovals By: John E. Aibel

Have you ever wondered why the predominate form of auto racing in the United States occurs on an oval-shaped track? And why most of the rest of the world prefers to race on simulated or actual road circuits?

To find the answer to this question we must go back to the Roman Empire. These wonderful people realized that good roads were one of the key elements in maintaining their empire. These early roads were steadily improved upon during the ensuing years.

By the end of the nineteenth century European roads between leading cities were the norm. The United States was a relatively new nation by the end of the nineteenth century as compared to Europe.

The United States’ major cities had relatively good roads, but roads between cities were not much more than old deer paths improved to carry the mail. The distances between cities and natural topographical obstacles in the US were much greater barrier to good roads than was the case in Europe.

Automobile racing developed as soon as two different car owners wanted to prove that they owned the fastest or most dependable vehicle.

In Europe the natural test was a race between two cities. Paris to Bordeaux and back or Rome to Brescia would soon prove who had the best and fastest car.

In the US when owners wanted to boast who owned the fastest car the easiest place to go was the local horse racing track. Now almost every county had a fair and a horse track so this was where automobile racing in the United States started.

Of course there were exceptions to this. In the hilly sections of the country hill climbs were the early sites of racing.

And, William Kissam Vanderbilt II, the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, actually built his own road on Long Island, NY in which cars could be raced.

Vanderbilt Cup Races

Those people living near the coast had access to smooth long beaches, while still other Americans who lived in the far western reaches of our nation would race on dry lake beds.

Racing at Daytona Beach

Now you know why we in the US race on circular tracks and the rest of the world use the European over-the-road form of race track.

Muscle Car By: John E. Aibel

What is a “muscle car” and when did this class of car originate?

It is widely known that a GTO Pontiac, or 442 Oldsmobile, or any of the Hemi Head Chrysler-powered cars, or Ford big block cars are all Muscle Cars. The formula of a Muscle Car is a major manufacture's lightest and smallest product equipped with the biggest most powerful engine that they produce.

The question remaining is when did this all get started?

There are two distinct eras of production that must be looked at, pre-war and post-war time periods of history.

In the pre-World War II period the first brand that generally was considered as fast cars were the Ford V8-powered cars. However, although no one can argue with the reputations for speed these cars had, they did not fit the definition of Muscle Car as all models carried the same power and size engines.

No, it was the General Motors brand of Buick that first used the biggest Roadmaster engine shoehorned into the light and small Special model body. Buick renamed this the “Century” model. Century meaning the Buick would go 100 miles in an hour.The Century of 1939 would go down in history as the fastest American cars for the next decade.

During the Second World War, the oil industry developed high octane fuels for aircraft use. This technology filtered down to auto fuel and provided the impetus for the development of the high compression overhead valve V-8 engine.

Mr. Charles Kettering of GM was the person responsible for bringing these engines to full production. In 1949 Oldsmobile Division of GM introduced a 303 cubic inch engine, and put it into the Model 88. Well the 88 was in reality a light Chevrolet body with their most powerful engine. Hence, we have the first of the post-war muscle cars. Even the staid luxury division of GM put the new Cadillac 331 cu.in engine into a short wheelbase Model 61 that was also equipped with a standard 3-speed transmission and contemporary with the Oldsmobile 88.

Within two years Chrysler Corporation introduces an engine even more powerful than the Cadillac’s 160 hp engine. Ford was competitive as well with a new Lincoln engine. A horsepower war developed and even Packard Motor Co. got involved. 

By the year 1955 Chrysler escalated the wars by introducing the 300 Model. With a 300 horsepower rating and installed in the smallest Windsor body this car was truly a real muscle car. This model went on to win the NASCAR championship for 1955.

To sum it up, it is evident that by 1955 the formula was set for all future Muscle Cars to come.

Government and the Automobile By: John E. Aibel

Ever since the first self-propelled vehicle rolled down the road government has been there to influence the development and use of vehicles. 

England, where it all started, had the worst of all laws concerning vehicles. Until the year 1896 vehicles were restricted to a speed of a walking red flag-carrying human being. Government rational for this was that the noise of these vehicles could scare a horse and cause mass trouble for horse drawn carriages. Naturally this had the effect of stopping the development of the modern automobile. 

Fortunately for the Brits, the law was changed. The English were so pleased by this change of law that a group of auto-loving people drove their cars from London to Brighton to celebrate the repeal of the “Red Flag Law”. This event is still being celebrated to this day!

Not to be stopped by this “repeal”, governments all over the world started to pass laws affecting cars. This was a way for a government to raise money. A registration fee was imposed on cars based on weight, engine size, engine power, or value of the vehicle. The category used depended upon the whims of the government in power.

Responding to these fees, auto manufactures came up with ways to minimize the impact of the fees. Engine power was used by governments that used complex formulas to determine power rather than actual measured power. Thus, long stroke small cylinder bores permitted more actual power than the formula measured. A manufacturer could show a five or six taxable horsepower while in reality the engine achieved twenty-five or thirty real horsepower! These long stroke engines limited the development of high speed efficient engines. 

It was not until the 1950s that high-speed short-stroke engines start to be introduced in passenger cars. Racing engineers knew the benefits of these engines for years, but because of antiquated laws new technology had to wait for the laws to catch up.

Whole industries developed in England because of unusual laws. Four wheel vehicles were taxed much more heavily than three wheel vehicles. This led to a profusion of three wheelers being built. The Morgan Company capitalized on the law to build a very successful automobile with three wheels. Other manufactures including Berkeley, Bond, and Allard built three wheelers just to get cheaper taxes.

Another industry that grew because of a law was the kit car makers. Factory built cars are and were taxed very heavily by governments. These laws do not cover vehicles built by individuals. Thus, Lotus, TVR, and many other manufactures sold complete knock down complete cars to be assembled by customers. To this day kit built cars are a big business in the United States.

In Japan the government so tightly regulated engine size that 360cc limit proved to be a large segment of the vehicles manufactured. The next size of about 660cc were considered large by their standards. For those uninformed with engine size this relates to an engine of a very small scooter or motorcycle!

Now in the US the government is giving large tax credits to people who purchase electric or electric gas generator cars.  Thus all taxpayers subsidize those few who spend large sums of money for these cars. It is true the emissions of these vehicles are zero to nil; however, government does not consider the power plants run by large utility companies who supply these electric cars with the energy to run.

You cannot get away from laws, but they are passed by people who have no clue of the engineering they are affecting.

My Best Christmas Present By: John E. Aibel

Welcome to My Lifelong Automotive Passion. I am John Aibel and this is where I will explore and share my passion, or, as some say, my obsession with the automobile. If you, too, share this passion/obsession or know someone who does, please share these writings with them! In the meantime...

We begin at the beginning!

I did not realize it at the time, but the book I received for Christmas 1952 was the best present I ever received from my family. Sports Cars of the World written by Ralph Stein and published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, is the book that has meant so very much to me over years.

Here was a book that taught me what the meaning of a sports car was, the history of these cars, and the various countries and marques that built sports cars. 

Sports Cars of the World
By: Ralph Stein

To this day I use this source to refer to in my continuing study of automotive history. If you can, beg, borrow or steal, a copy of this book and you will understand the importance of this work.

For the sixty four years that I have owned this book it has become the one link to my youth. Under its hard cover, I have accumulated some interesting memorabilia. Just like people put important items in a Family Bible, I put them into this book.

Here is a list of the items I have saved in my book:

1.  My Report Cards from Junior High
2. An original sales brochure for a Cunningham Continental Coupe complete with specifications and options available
3. Another original brochure for Allard cars showing drawings of the K.2, J.2 competition and Sports Saloon (Coupe in our English). This brochure includes the cost of these cars both ex works (out the door in England), and New York, as complete cars or less engine, or as a chassis only! A J2 Allard less engine was listed at a price of $2620.00 in New York. It is no wonder that these vehicles were so popular in this country!
4.  An issue of Automobile Topics dated December 1952 that has a C-3 Cunningham on its cover. It is one of the cars I lust after to this day.
5. A sales brochure for Model Toys. They built accurate toys of the then current construction and firefighting equipment. I bought myself one of these toys for the grand sum of $12.95 “Fair Trade Price”.
6. The last item still with me is a letter from Stoeger Arms Corporation of New York concerning the purchase of my first real firearm. It was a Marlin 39-A in 22 caliper. I remember riding on the NYC subway system with that rifle in a case. Try that today!

This is where the story begins and there are so many stories to come. Stay tuned for more of my love affair with cars, Motorsports, and history!

The author John E. Aibel running his one-of-a-kind Crosley Le Mans car
 at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix circa 1990s.