Photo from Hooniverse.com
These days, we take High Definition for granted. My camera does it, my phone does it, and I won’t even watch movies that don’t come on BluRay. Things couldn’t have been further from the truth in the 1940′s. In those days, very few individuals had access to any quality “portable” video equipment, let alone dragging all that gear to the race track.
Video was shot when it could be, under the conditions that were available and many, many, hours of footage found itself on the cutting room floor or the trash bin. Often relegated to the archives of production studios or long-passed film companies, this footage offers a glimpse into the past.
This video is period racing at it’s best; a combination of horsepower and sheer guts, flinging ultra light weight roadsters around what in those days passed for a race track. No door panels? No problem, weight reduction was the name of the game. The adage will always ring true, “If you can’t make it faster, you’d better make it lighter.”
The video may not have sound, but the film itself carries a mood and sense of timelessness that no soundtrack could ever make up for. Sit back, relax and enjoy some vintage speed from Southern California circa the 1940′s.
Image: Hooniverse.com
