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| The Green Dragon |
| Back To Cleveland |
| Reconditioned and Back To Work |
| The Wheel Problems of 1905 |
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Page 2 of 4
Louis brought the Dragon back to Cleveland and made several changes to it. He built a new radiator that fit between the front frame horns; he installed an aerodynamic aluminum hood, changed the exhaust system and installed disk wheels with different rims and tires. Louis realized that he was also outclassed as a driver and decided to hire a professional. Ridgeway and Tracy drove for Peerless but it was Barney Oldfield that Louis really wanted as his driver.
Barney was a National Champion bicycle racer. Tom Cooper was Barney’s best friend and fellow bike racer. In 1900 Tom purchased an English gas powered tandem bike and wanted Barney and himself to try and break a speed record. They brought the bike to the Grosse Point Michigan track for an exhibition run. They were completely over shadowed by Henry Ford, who defeated Alexander Winton in a match race that afternoon. Barney and Tom broke up and Barney took the tandem and put the engine in a single bike. He made a new carburetor and exhaust system and went on to set some speed records. Meanwhile, Tom Cooper had entered into a partnership with Henry Ford to build a pair of race cars. They were well into the project when they realized that they needed another mechanic. Barney was contacted and joined the team. They took both cars to the Grosse Point track for a test run, one car would not start and the other would start but died right away. Back to the garage. On the second attempt the same thing happened. Henry was discouraged and wanted out, he was about to manufacture an automobile for the public and didn’t want to start out with a failed race car with his name on it. He sold both cars to Tom Cooper for $800 and walked away.
Barney said he didn’t think they were getting enough gas to the carburetors and he re-made the gas tank and gas lines. The car fired right off and ran good. They took the car to Dayton and ran an exhibition race, the car was very fast. One mechanic at the track said that car goes like the 999 New York Central steam train that had just broke some speed records. So it was called the “999”. The following week Winton was taking on all comers with his Bullet and Cooper wanted to race him. He and Barney drove the “999” but Barney turned the fastest lap so he drove. He beat Winton and set a new track record. At once, Barney Oldfield and the “999” became the most popular name in racing. After hearing about the “999s” success Henry Ford went directly to the newspapers to claim credit for designing the race car and it became known as the Ford “999”.
Barney went on to set many speed records and won many races, he was the first person to go a mile a minute in an automobile. In August, 1903 Winton hired Barney to drive his new Bullet race car. In one accident Barney chipped several teeth and after that he kept a cigar clenched between his teeth to act as a cushion. This became one of his trade marks. He set new records with the Winton and was earning lots of money. However, he was living a lavish life style and spent more than he earned. He started drinking and getting into bar room brawls, Winton didn’t want a scandal so he let Barney go.
