Somewhere between shifter kart and open-wheel dirt track racer lies this 1975 Jenssen midget car for sale on Hemmings.com, a one-off with a number of outside-the-box innovations, including a rear-mounted four-cylinder Chrysler marine engine, torsion bar suspension, and a handmade body and chassis. While it reportedly was never approved for competition when originally built, we imagine it wouldn’t be too hard to get approval to take it vintage racing these days. From the seller’s description:
Suspension: Cross torsion bar front, one cross and one parallel bar rear. Engine: Chrysler 4 cylinder, 2 cycle, 140 cu/in. 200 HP. 1200 RPM——–. Outboard engine. Wheels are very rare Mag wheels by Smokey Alleman of Allcast co.
History: In the 1970′s this car was designed and built to perform in the United States Auto Racing ( USAC) Midget Div. It was a very unique and a different design. The workmanship and craftsmanship is impeccable. Considering the car was built before computerize machines, makes the building effort very impressive. Look at the chrome square box on the outside the right side of the cockpit. This is a air cooler that would cool the rubber drive belt for the engine. Ice would be put in the ice box before every race.
In the 1970′s Twin brothers Gordon and Gary Jenssen from Torrance, Ca, designed and built a race car to compete in the United States Auto Club ( Midget Div. ) see photo of the # 79 car. The race car was a new and different design , with advanced innovations. The cars design demonstrated how men with a passion for auto racing, can improve the performance of there car. The craftsmanship and workmanship are impeccable. All the parts, including the body, were hand made. If you take in consideration that the car was hand made, before computer machines were making all the parts, makes this car truly amazing. Winning a auto race with your own designed car and with your own innovations, can be a more satisfying reward then winning the first place trophy and prize money. The car was such a stand out, and well respected car, it was featured in Hot Rod Magazine ( July 1977). Then after five years in the making, the car was finally ready to hit the race track. The car performed beyond expectations, but proved to be too fast, because the car was quickly banned from auto racing. It was too fast for the competition. This was a major set back to the brothers, but it did not discourage the brothers from there quest to race with a new innovate car of there own design. They then designed and built a new car that was more like the current race car designs of the time but still was very different from the rest of the cars. It was also a fast car, but when driving home after the first race, with the new car, they were going down a long steep down hill grade, when a large 18 wheeler truck lost its brakes and slammed into the back of the open wheel trailer with the race car on it. The race car was totaled. No one was hurt but the Jenssen brothers never raced again. The twins were devastated after giving 10 years of there life to bring there dream to life, a dream that never came to life.
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