Being the Promoter of the event is a full time job all weekend long and very seldom do we get to stop and view all of the goodies that are on the various tables or tarps being sold however this year I just happen to stumble across a pretty interesting item.
As I was making my way to the front gate I stopped by the table of Charlie Crabbie and Ted Johnson where I noticed a dirty plastic bag with some rusty thing in it. As I picked up the bag I was horrified at how heavy the bag was and then I pulled out something that looked like a small horseshoe with a arm sticking off of it. Right about now Charlie could see the wheels turning in my head and said "Do you want it" ? I said, "What heck is it" ? Charlie then got a big smile on his face and said "Its a very early disc brake caliper and since you were able to lift it up you can have it". I said "Thanks...I think".
Well, what Charlie gave me was a N.O.S. Futora Spot Brake made by Futora Manufacturing out of Elmhurst Illinois. The manufacturer makes claims that the unit never fades and can take temperatures up to 1000 degrees. Upon further investigation the unit is a fairly simple in design having a long arm for mounting the unit to your chassis, a small rotating cylinder with a tab on it for your brake rod that moves only one of the pucks while the other puck is stationary and housed in the horseshoe. A floating type disc must have been utilized in this set-up. Oh, in case your still wondering why the thing is so heavy its because its made out of good old [heavy] cast iron.
Not really sure how popular this unit was back in the day but it is a good representation of the technology and the ingenuity that was being introduced to kartings early years.
Looking back at this overweight clump of iron it had me wondering, maybe instead of hooking up a brake rod to it you were suppose to tie a rope to it and use it like a anchor.
R.E.A.R.