A Real Vintage Eastern Sportsman Car

Back in the day – namely the 1960s – these small block race cars were known as Sportsman cars, but whip a big block onto the motor mounts and it suddenly became a Modified.

This particular Sportsman race car was restored by owner Jim Cramsey and aided by Don Hoffman. It was originally built to race at Wall Stadium, which it did for three years after being built in the mid-1960s.  Its initial driver was Norm Fourre at the paved Wall track. After sitting for a number of years it came back as a dirt car, running mostly on quarter miles up to five-eighth mile tracks like Flemington, NJ.

Then it was wheeled on dirt by Bert Coverts for about half a dozen years before being parked for about ten years when the present owner made the purchase. “It was in pretty good condition when I got it,” Cramsey said.

As is very recognizable, the steel body formerly rested on a 1937 Ford coupe street car. But is has a very different look on all four fenders. Part of the rear tires are contained inside the wheel well. The car had a great stagger capability when rings were inserted in the wheels.

It has a great look with its blue and yellow colors which were repainted in its exact original colors.  The chassis came from a '55 Chevy. The machine weighs in at about 2800-3000 pounds.

Small block Chevy power is currently under the hood and is modified with a number of aftermarket parts and pieces. Included are an Edelbrock carb and intake, an Accel ignition, and custom headers by John Dover. When the car was acquired by Cramsley, there was no engine with the car. He found out, though, that the original engine had been a 327, the 350 is a close replacement. The remainder of the powertrain consists of a three speed manual and an early Frankland quick-change rear end.

It was called a Sportsman Car with its small block V8 engine.

The car used a '55 Chevy Chassis and a '37 Ford steel body.

This sturdy right side rub rail provided serious protection.

This beautiful car was built at Kenny Schrader's shop by owner Jim Cramsey (former Hedrick Motorsport Employee and Don Hoffman.

From this front view of the car, you can see that the front shocks are attached to the upper radiator a frame. They are Monroe gas-filled units.

This is a view of the right rear tire. There was a capability to make the wheel wider by inserting metal rings.

If that protective cover over the windshield looks like chicken wire, that would be a correct guess! The many gouges and marks of dirt clods and rocks hitting it were quite evident.

The front tire was a standard steel wheel.

View from under the rear of the car. The rear end came from an old Ford truck. The silver tubing to the right of the rear end is the fuel line while the red wire is the battery cable. The red fuel tank sits above.

The left rear leaf spring is clearly visible with the four leafs. Leafs can be added or removed to change the spring rate.

The car now carries a more-modern powerplant, a 1980s small block Chevy.

The front bumper is definitely a dangerous weapon if a little revenge was contemplated against another

This view of the interior shows that there are only two gauges on the dash panel. They are for water temperature and oil pressure.

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Sources

Edelbrock

(800) 416-8628

www.edelbrock.com

Frankland Racing Supply

(724) 898-2111

www.franklandracing.com

Holley/MSD/Accel

(866) 464-6553

www.holley.com

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