Dooling "Mercury Deluxe" Gas-Powered Racing Tether Car, 1939-1940

01

Artifact Overview

Tether cars, gas-powered model race cars, were popular in the 1930s and 1940s. They were raced individually while tethered to a central pivot, or against each other on a scaled-down board track. Dooling Brothers, of Los Angeles, California, manufactured a complete line of open-cockpit and streamliner models. Company owners Tom, Harris and Russell Dooling were successful tether car racers themselves.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Model car

Date Made

1939-1940

Location

at Henry Ford Museum in Driven to Win: Racing in America

Object ID

2013.47.8

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Eric Zausner and the E-Z Spindizzy Foundation.

Material

Aluminum (Metal)
Leather
Rubber (Material)
Paint (Coating)

Technique

Casting (Process)

Color

Silver (Color)
Maroon
Blue
Red

Dimensions

Height: 11 in
Width: 10 in
Length: 19 in

Inscriptions

On body: [Eagle decal] KRAUS | AMERICAR | TACOMA On front tires: DOOLING BROS. | LOS ANGELES, CAL. On rear tires: GARDNER | 6.00-17 On battery: GENERAL | MODEL | MOTOR | IGNITION [...]