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In 1977 Frank Abramoff came to Autoresearch in Anaheim, CA to purchase 100 Indy-style ride cars for his southern California amusement center road course facilities, where those with race car dreams or simply out for an evening's entertainment, could challenge the time clock hustling a scale version of an Indy car on a compact road course.
Don distinctly remembered the term '100 cars' as a part of the discussion and developed a sketch and a bid for the rear engine cars, using Arctic Cat rotary snowmobile engines. Abramoff returned, gave his O.K., and Autoresearch was back in the Indy car business, albeit on a smaller scale.
Don recalled, 'My first project was to create a body buck for the little racers, so we could produce bodies in quantity. Since a wooden buck was impractical, I decided to sculpt the body shape from a large block of foam. It took a while, but I was able to shave the foam to develop the right side 3-dimensional image of a neat little Indy car. As I was standing back, admiring my work, it hit me – all I had to do was to shave the remaining foam into a perfect mirror image of the first side. The left side took quite a bit longer, but when it was done I added some fiberglass gel to the foam to provide a smooth surface from which I could pull a fiberglass mold. Once I had a mold, we started knocking out bodies. The car was basically go-kart technology, so there wasn't anything overwhelming about that phase of the project.
The staff at Autoresearch constructed 100 of the little cars and in no time aspiring racers were hot-lapping amusement center road courses all over southern CA. And they had the 'Edmunds look', too!
As we were discussing Don's 'little Indy cars' for his biography, 'The Saga of Rotten Red – The Don Edmunds Story', Don was quite certain none of these cars survived, since Abramoff cut them all up after his amusement centers went out of business a decade later. In California if you resold one of the cars, you would still be responsible for it in perpetuity. It was the final word on the cars, none of them would be restored.
When Don passed on August 11, 2020 no new information regarding these cars had been found. Late in August of 2022, I was directed to a facebook post by Kirk Eilertsen of Kenner, LA, who had two Edmunds buck-a-lap cars for sale. A phone call to Louisiana revealed a fourth Abramoff fun center outside New Oreleans, which lasted two years longer than the CA facilities, a plausible story of the body shop owner who was never paid for painting the cars, took two cars in payment after the facility closed, stored them for 30 years in the second story of his shop, and traded them to Eilertsen as part payment on a restoration of a Ford Mustang. As I hung up the phone I was planning a trip to The Big Easy on Labor Day weekend, 2022.
Upon arrival, Eilertsen stated he would sell one of the cars and keep the other. He had one car 'ready to run' – it was nowhere near restored and pricewise he was really proud of it. The second car was in rough shape. The body was 'well used', but it had a chassis, rear end, front suspension with hubs, and a so-so steering, but no engine or brakes. Kurt was considerably less proud of this one, so I bought it and loaded anything from the car for the trip back to PA in hopes of being able to reconstruct it.
First thing, I put a call for a Wankel rotary 1974 Arctic Cat snowmobile engine on the internet. Nothing …...until Mike Sweger called late in December, '23 with a lead just north of Middletown, NY. The guy had two sleds for sale, I told him I only wanted the engine from the one with the Wankel rotary, and if he'd pull the engine, I'd give him the sled. After some wrangling.....done.
This was, sadly, the final EARHS project for good friend, Billl Stoner, who worked on the steering gear before his unfomtuate passing in January, 2024.
In the meantime, Stan Applebaum and I got all the fiberglass work done and sent the body to Reliable Auto Body, who prepped and painted it a striking Carerra yellow. Brian Seidel designed and machined needed driveline parts, Chris Laudenslager did the upholstery, Roy Danner donated a set of vintage Firestone slicks, and High Speed Graphics provided the lettering. We will have the restoration finished for the 2024 EARHS Fall Open House.
EARHS Corporate Level Sponsors
Please support our sponsors
Weisel Racing Equipment, Inc. Orefield, PA
Plunkett & Graver, P.C. Allentown, PA
The Gang at Stoner Racing Enola, PA
High Speed Graphics Orefield, PA
Father & Son Spl. #33 Junie & Bing Metz
Reliable Auto Body Allentown, PA
John Schneider Allentown, PA
Leigh Earnshaw Ent. Morgantown, PA
Pocono Raceway Mattioli Foundation Long Pond, PA
Antonini Radiator Pottsville, PA
Midnight Machine Works Eddie Gittens Mountaintop, PA
Jim & Donna Hontz Bethlehem, PA
Freddy Adam - The Kutztown Komet From Freddy's family, friends, and fans
Bob and Carole Wilkey Hollsopple, PA & COLORADO
Your monetary sponsorship in any denomination or donations of historically significant items, photos, documents, etc. toward projects undertaken by the EARHS are welcomed and encouraged. EARHS is recognized as a federally tax exempt charity by the IRS under Section 501c(3).
EARHS "wants and needs"
Wanted: Racing photo collections – share and preserve programs. If you have vintage racing photos, EARHS would like to be able to scan and copy these items. All items will be returned intact and we can provide you with a computer disc of those items from significant collections. We are especially interested in Dorney Park items from the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s and all Allentown Fair items, including indoor racing events, but all items are welcome.
Wanted: Showcases and display cases. Often cases of unusual configuration can be used for displays of trophies and memorabilia. Also, race programs from the '55 & '58 Allentown Fair.
We continue to fill our showroom - all members are invited to visit and check our progress. Please call Pete (610 398-2188) or Paul (610 395-5303) to arrange a time to visit.
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