1947 Haller Essex Sprint Car

During the first three decades of twentieth-century automobiles, opportunities to accumulate great wealth spurred many designers/engineers to invent their own 'better ideas.' One gifted innovator was George Riley of Los Angeles whose 2-port and 4-port conversions for Model A and Model B Ford engines were just two of his many power-producing modifications for production engines. The 4-port was most noted for tripling Model B horsepower, from 50 originally to about 150 horsepower in racing tune. In a lightweight track car or board track racer, a Riley-Ford was tough to beat. Riley made his equipment available through catalogues to racers looking for the winning edge. When fed from twin side-draft carburetors rather than a log manifold and downdraft carburetors (one or two), maximum power was achieved.

This 1928 Essex Chaise with a 4-Port Riley engine of 206 cubic inches is from that era when many production factory parts were used as is, such as Ford wire wheels, or replaced with more durable hardware from the vast array of aftermarket performance equipment manufacturers of the time. Hand-beaten bodies of aluminum in boat tail form were similarly available from specialty suppliers, and on any race day, a series of events over an afternoon or weekend would have starting grids full of similar cars - but few have survived.

This car was built by Frank Byman to race dirt tracks in Pennsylvania, then was purchased by the duo who built the dirt track in Owlhead, Maine. It was subsequently raced in New England through 1988.