The Larc-Douglas Offyette Quarter Midget factory

[Brian Caruso]

Here are some pictures (courtesy of Doug Schiller) of his Dad Carl Schiller's shop in Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y. where he manufactured Offyette Quarter & Half Midget's in the 1950s and 1960s. Brian Caruso

[Brian Caruso]

Carl & a young Doug Schiller with Mike Caruso Jr to the right getting the car ready to debut at Freeport stadium 1949Carl & Doug Schiller getting the car ready for the debut at Freeport Stadium 1949Doug Schiller on the Freeport track with a full size Midget 1949

[Brian Caruso]

Doug's visit in 2008 was fantastic. I knew of Doug but it was the first time I actually met him. It was a learning experience for me because I had no idea how knowledgeable Doug was on the Quarter Midgets his father built as well as all Vintage Quarter midgets. He gave us an education on the beautifully restored Offyette Caruso Duece that we recently purchased from Joe Columbo from New Jersey. Listening to Doug and my Dad reminiscing about all the cars, drivers, different places and tracks they went to was great but one of the highlights was when Doug pulled out an 8 x 10 picture from Freeport Stadium in 1949 when Doug's Dad Carl introduced their first aluminum body Quarter Midget. The picture was of his Dad Carl , Doug (7 years old) and my Dad Mike Jr. (17 years old) working on the car. My father immediately recognized the moment and commented "Thats me, I remember that car, It was red and had an aluminum body". The amazing part to me was that was 60 years ago and here they were standing together again 60 years later. The second highlight for me was when Doug was there for a while and started talking about his search for the Wickey Offyettes he thought they may be at the Imperial Palace car museum on the strip because he heard they were in Las Vegas. He had no idea they were around the corner in another part of our museum. Well needless to say he was blown away and seeing his excitement is what makes putting all this racing memorabilia together worthwhile. Brian Caruso. Doug Schiller with the full size Caruso Duece & the Offyette Duece his Dad Carl built 50 years ago Doug Schiller poses with the Wickey Quarter midgets his Dad Carl built 50 years ago Doug Schiller poses in front of his Kurtis Buzz Bomb Quarter Midget where he displays at the Justice Brothers Racing Museum in California Dougs letter to Mike & Brian after his visit to the Caruso Museum

[Brian Caruso]

Doug Schiller's Shop in Texas Doug Schiller's shop signDoug's restored Quarter Midget collectionDoug Schiller's Contact Information

[Brian Caruso]

This red & black car owned by Steve Legras from Visalia, Ca was restored by Doug. It is the earliest built Offyette that Doug has been able to locate. Doug decided to restore Steve's car like this #7 he is seated in along side his Dad Carl approx 1954 to 1955. Here is the yellow & red #7 first production Offyette restored by Doug.

[Stan Pence]

Mr. Caruso,

 A few hours ago, I read an article, in the March 2011 issue of Hemmings Motor News, about scale promotional cars of the 50's and 60's in which the "Offyette" was mentioned. This rekindled an interest in my desire to gather information, and a few parts, for the car that I've owned for about 36 years. The ensuing internet search led through some very interesting web sites and, eventually, to your site. I am very impressed with your site and amazed that you've had contact with Doug Schiller! This has been a very exciting night (morning) for me! I didn't know if I'd ever find information about my car, let alone seeing photos of the shop it was built in and of the owner's son! Just Great!

 My car is a black, Continental-powered, front-engine model that looks like the "number 9" car in the first of the photos of Mr. Schiller's shop. It appears to be an un-modified, original car with only three parts missing: the points cover, the throttle linkage and the chain cover at the jack shaft.
 
 I believe I am the 3rd owner. The fellow I bought it from thought it was a '57 or '58 that was originally purchased by a Fort Wayne, Indiana, service station owner, who raced it for a couple years, then sold it to three local teenage brothers. Early in their ownership, they stored it at my dad's Marathon station and ran it on his lot (and around the service islands) during lags in business. That's where I first laid eyes on it, in about 1962, sat in it, fell in love at age nine and swore I'd have it one day. My dream came true in the mid 70's during a chance meeting with one of the brothers during a local bowling league night.
 
 The car had sat, unused and uncared for, for several years before I obtained it. It was missing the few parts I mentioned above, but was remarkably intact. Unfortunately, I have done little to it, other than store it inside and remove the seat and cockpit material for storage in the house. The original racing slicks are still on the car, but have dry-rotted and the sidewalls have split. I am now semi-retired and ready to embark on a restoration. I would like to find some sources for parts and additional information on these remarkable cars, to make the restoration as accurate as possible.
 
Thanks, in advance, for any information you can provide, and for a great website. I hope to contact Mr. Schiller, also. However, should you make contact before I get the chance, please pass along my regards.

Thank you,

Stan Pence

[Brian Caruso]

Stan, I am so happy to hear you found our site. You can contact Doug direct
and he will be as excited to hear from you as you were to find the site. He
will be able to find any parts you need and can give you more information
than you can imagine. He is a Historian and knows more than anyone on the
Offyette as well as all vintage quarter midgets. Glad to hear from you. Keep
in touch and feel free to post anything on the website forum. That is what
it is there for. Regards, Brian

 

_______________________________

Brian Caruso

Micar Fabrication & Design Company Inc.

5166 S. Arville St.

Las Vegas, NV  89118

[phone] P.

[phone] F.

 



 

 

 <http://www.redbullstratos.com/Partners.aspx#GlobalPartners> redbull

 
   

[Brian Caruso]

Stan, Here is an Offyette half Midget we have on display. It was restored by Joe Colombo. Brian

[Brian Caruso]

Here is a story written by Doug Schiller that was originally published in Debi Supan’s Coast2Coast 1/4 Midget News after his visit to the Caruso Racing Museum in 2008:

 It was titled - “DEUCES WILD IN LAS VEGAS”

About a year ago a vintage quarter midget race car friend, Gary Morgan of Rochester, NY, gave me a subscription to a monthly periodical as a way of saying thanks for the help I was able to give him. The publication is a small one, but is distributed nationwide. Its name is The Alternate and is touted as “A Chronicle of 20th Century Motor Racing History”. I find The Alternate to be of particular interest because of the wide variety of articles it contains as well as the two monthly columns about motor racing. The columns, one authored by the publisher/editor, Phyllis Devine, the other by Doris Schindler (who coincidentally lives outside of Dallas).

Doris is the daughter of a very famous race driver of the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. The driver’s name was Bill Schindler and like so many of his era, he died in the cockpit. Doris’ contribution to The Alternate is a kind of gossip column dealing with among other things, those who recently went to the “Golden Raceway in the Sky” -- her euphemism for motor racing folks who have recently died.

While reading one of Doris’ columns this summer I came across the name of a fellow who I had written about with regard to vintage quarter midgets. It seems that he too had passed away. His name was Rosie Roussel and he had built a quarter midget for his son, Mike in the mid-1950s. His racing career spanned about the same years as Doris’ father. Rosie mostly raced full size midgets and sprint cars on the west coast and of all places, England.

Seeing Rosie’s name prompted me to think that maybe there would be interest in The Alternate publishing some of my articles about vintage quarter midgets -- particularly those stories that dealt with folks related to the full size race car fraternity. I took the step and contacted the publisher, Phyllis Devine. She replied with an enthusiastic, yes! Within a few months I had one of my articles published.

Meanwhile, I had made another one of my visits to Long Island to visit with family and while there I made a long desired trip to visit another vintage quarter midget enthusiast, Joe Colombo. Joe has 5 Offyettes. One of his Offyettes was restored as a replica of a famous full size midget race car of the late 1940’s and 50’s. The full size race car was owned by Mike Caruso Sr. and was referred to as the Caruso “Deuce” because of the #2 emblazoned on the tail. The “Deuce” was a highly successful race car, winning more than 50% of the main events entered during the years 1948 and 1949. The chauffeur . . . Bill Schindler. Joe Colombo even included Bill Schindler’s name on the Offyette replica of the original “Deuce”.

About six months after seeing the car at Joe’s in New Jersey, I learned from a third party that Joe had sold the car to some folks in Las Vegas. The folks in Las Vegas . . . Mike Caruso Jr. and his son Brian. Mike Sr. had passed away years earlier. Mike Jr. had left the east coast and started a company which did metal fabrication, called MICAR Fabrication. A few weeks later I phoned Joe to inquire if he had indeed sold the Offyette replica. He said, yes he had and it was housed in the small museum the father and son created in the MICAR building. Joe said it sat right next to the full size replica of the original Kurtis Kraft Caruso “Deuce”. (the original car had long ago been parted out and the pieces sold off to other racers) He told me to check their web site as they had a picture of the pair of Deuces on it.

At almost the same time I noticed in the September issue of The Alternate, a mention in Doris Schindler’s column of Mike Caruso Jr. and his museum in Las Vegas and the fact that it now housed the Offyette replica that Joe Colombo had created. I made the bold move to contact Doris and tell her who I was, my relationship to the Offyette and my friendship with Joe Colombo. I wrote a letter explaining much about quarter midgets of the 1940’s and 1950’s. I included copies of the Offyette literature, magazine articles from Coast2Coast which I wrote about Joe and his restorations and last but not least, several pictures of our family and one of the children’s race cars that my dad had built in the 1940s. The pictures were done by a professional photographer and numbered more than 50. Several of the pictures were taken in and around our home on Meacham Avenue in Elmont, NY, while others were taken at Freeport Municipal Stadium, where midget races were held on the 1/5 mile asphalt oval. I thought the Freeport pictures would be of particular interest to Doris, since her family home was within ear shot of the track and she would listen to the roar of the Offy and Ford V8-60 powered race cars from her bedroom window. All of this info had been mentioned in one of her earlier columns.

One of the professional photos I included in the packet that I sent to Doris was taken in the “pits” at the track in Freeport. I felt the picture was special because the background contained the chalkboard with the driver’s names and car number. Many of those names were part of my childhood. I watched them do battle at Freeport amidst the alcohol and caster oil fumes and snarling engines -- with an occasional tumbling trip over the third turn wall into the fairgrounds beyond. The rest of the photo consisted of my race car raised up and mounted across the pit wall, while i squatted beneath with Carl (my father) who was feigning work on the bottom of the car. The rear wheel was held steady by a teacher friend of my father, Sam Malakoff. The front wheel was held by an unidentified teenage boy.
I thought Doris Schindler would find that particular photo of interest because of the names on the chalkboard -- drivers her father competed against and she more than likely knew as a youngster. I had included my business card in the packet I sent. It had my phone number. One night, not too soon after, I received a phone call from Doris Schindler, which initiated a series of exciting events which would culminate with me flying to Las Vegas.

In the phone call from Dallas, one of the very first things that Doris said, dealt with that special photo. She described the all too familiar photo and stated that, “The fellow holding the front wheel of the little race car was our Mike.” It took me a moment or two to realize of whom she was speaking. It then dawned on me that the only Mike we had in common was . . . Mike Caruso Jr.! She was telling me that she recognized the teenager, holding the front of my little race car -- 60 years ago, as Mike Caruso Jr. ~ who had just purchased the Offyette replica of the car that her father had raced so successfully.

Everything else in our half hour conversation was a bit of a blur. All I could think about was ~ she had identified the kid I had so often seen in the picture. That kid was now an old man living in Las Vegas . . . a place I visit frequently and he had an Offyette that my family had built!

I sat on the information for more than a month. Days before Murray and I were to depart on a long planned trip to Las Vegas, I called MICAR. Expecting to hear a female receptionist’s voice, I was startled to hear a male voice in that all too familiar New York area snarl. When I inquired as to whom I was speaking to, I was immediately challenged by the voice on the other end as to who I was!. I quickly settled that and he acknowledged that he was Mike Caruso Jr. I told him my relationship with Joe Colombo and the Offyette he just purchased and he welcomed my pending visit the following day.

Murray and I flew from Austin to Las Vegas, rented a car and proceeded to the Rio Hotel/Casino. I dropped her off, got our luggage up to the room and departed for MICAR. I took the route provided by Map Quest on my computer, but later found a much shorter route to and from the hotel which put MICAR less than 2000 yards from the Rio!

I arrived and parked in front of MICAR. Once inside I was awed by the array of machinery. An employee was kind enough to fetch Mike Jr. and after brief introductions I was taken upstairs to the museum, which I was to discover, held more than I had dreamed. Upon entering what was a compact display area, I saw the two “Deuces” as well as an impressive collection of family memorabilia, racing related, as well as other. All of it neatly displayed.

Explaining who I was and my relationship to the Offyette that sat before us was a bit awkward. He did know something of me and the Offyette from his contact with Joe Colombo. In a panic as to how I was going to extend what looked to be a 5 minute conversation, I whipped out my manilla folder full of pictures and literature. That bit of quick thinking led to a 6 1/2 hour conversation between us, over a period of two days.

Of course I was there to see the replica Joe had produced, but secretly I was there to show Mike Jr. THE photo. I had blown it up to 8 x 10. I took it out and pointing at the young man holding the front wheel, I inquired, “Who is this?” His immediate response was . . . “ME!” He went on to rapidly explain details that nearly knocked my socks off. Mike Jr. said things like, “That’s that aluminum body car, and that it was red”. (The picture was black and white) What he was telling me was, HE REMEMBERED THAT EVENT IN THE PITS AT FREEPORT THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE 60 YEARS AGO! When I pointed out that the little 7 year old kid beneath the car was me, he smiled as he too realized that our paths had crossed six decades before and were frozen in that photo. From that point on, the words and memories flowed. Hour after hour we swapped stories and details, long forgotten, but now fresh as yesterday. What a joy!

[Brian Caruso]

 The “Tiny-Mite Sprint Car" also known as the “Hornet Tiny-Mite.” The “Sprint Car” version was originally conceived and built by Bud Gregory who owned a muffler shop in the Los Angeles area. He later sold or passed on the rights to manufacture the car to Ray Snow of Fresno, CA. Bud’s access to tube bending equipment naturally led him to integrate many tubing related curved pieces to the car’s design. Most obvious is the robust roll bar and the twin exhaust pipes that straddle each side of the car. Beneath the fiberglass body was a frame, built of much smaller diameter tubing, that was one continuous piece with but a single weld to close it. No rear suspension and a simple mechanical caliper/disc brake. Front suspension was by means of transverse leaf spring. This particular car had the springs removed sometime during its existence and the front axle was welded to the frame. The Bud Gregory version had a tail cone that did not include a tear drop headrest, while the later Snow version added the headrest. Ray Snow came out of WWII and opened a machine shop, where among other thing’s, he manufactured the small bore Hornet gasoline engines used in tether cars. Once Ray Snow took over manufacture he changed the name to “Hornet” Tiny-Mite reflecting the name of his machine shop. One of the most interesting things that Ray Snow did was to turn over the business of manufacturing quarter midgets, to his 3 children. They ranged in age from 8 to 18. The eldest did the fabrication and assembly of the cars in conjunction with his father, while the middle child, a young lady, was the bookkeeper and was responsible of ordering parts and inventory. The youngest, nicknamed “Frosty” Snow was the test driver. I paid tribute to “Frosty” by adding his name as driver to the cowl. The rakish appearance of the car was one of its most appealing attributes. There is no record as to how many of the “Tiny-Mites” were built by the combined group of Gregory and Snow. I recently spoke with a grandchild of Ray Snow, Jeff Barker, and was delighted to learn many more details about the Snow family and their involvement in the “Hornet Tiny Mite.”

[Wm Bolle]

I have a 50's eara offyette 1/4 midget Doug has seen some pict it is about 90% comp. would think of selling it have no idea of a price could someone out there help me bill = [e-mail]

[stratos]

I own a Tiny-Mite , complete and unrestored.  Located in Dallas Texas.

[Brian Caruso]

Bennett,

Are you looking to sell? Let me know and I will ask around.

Thank you, Brian

 

From: bennett smith [via Caruso Racing Museum Forum] [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2011 5:54 PM
To: Brian Caruso
Subject: Re: Doug Schiller story " Dueces Wild In Las Vegas"

 

I own a Tiny-Mite , complete and unrestored.  Located in Dallas Texas.

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[Penny Clarke Sciarpelletti]

I raced for Lil' wheels Racing Assoc. in 1957.  My late sister, Bonnie, and another girl, Kay Cupee, were probably the only girls racing 1/4 midgets at that time.  We raced at different tracks in Indiana.  My late father, Charles R. Clarke, reconditioned my car about 10 yrs. ago.  My sister and I were featured in The Indianapolis News, Thursday, July 10, 1958.  Also featured in that article were Dana Carter (son of Duane) and Johnny Parson's Jr., whom we, also raced against.  I still have many of my trophies, and my car did not look like the ones you had...it was originally built as a two seater. The frame was brought in to fit the largest specs allowable.  Lil' Wheels home track was Art Zipps in Indianapolis.  We also raced at Kokomo's dirt track, Andersonville, and Lafayette, IN.  These races all occured after the stock car races, so we raced on regular stock car tracks.  I am sure my contact info is submitted with this post.  I would be happy to provide you with any futher info, if you are interested.
I forgot to add that my car was built in Pop and Jr. Dwyer's motorcycle shop on Washington St., Indianapolis.  My late sister, had a 1/4 midget built with the engine on the side (she had a Continental, I had a Briggs) with a huge tailfin.  Both our cars were fiberglass bodies.  I have pics of us sitting side by side in our cars.  She got rid of hers in the 60's, but I still have mine, totally restored, with extra chrome..Dad decided to add things that hadn't been on my car, previously.
I heard there was a quarter midget museum in Terre Haute, IN...do you know if that is true?  I live in TN.  

[Brian Caruso]

Penny,

 

That would be great!

 

If you can send me pictures on jpg files, any articles and a story I will
add to our website. You can type the story on an email or put on a Microsoft
word document. You can send in a few emails if you want.  It would be a
great addition and that's what is all about.

 

I think that Quarter Midget history is really important and the fact that
the girls raced against the biggest names in racing would make for a very
interesting story.

 

Thanks, Brian

 

_________________________________

Brian Caruso

Micar Fabrication & Design Company Inc.

5166 S. Arville St.

Las Vegas, NV  89118





 


 

 

 

 

From: Penny Clarke Sciarpelletti [via Caruso Racing Museum Forum]
[mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 5:46 PM
To: Brian Caruso
Subject: Re: Doug Schiller visits the Caruso Museum July 2008

 

I raced for Lil' wheels Racing Assoc. in 1957.  My late sister, Bonnie, and
another girl, Kay Cupee, were probably the only girls racing 1/4 midgets at
that time.  We raced at different tracks in Indiana.  My late father,
Charles R. Clarke, reconditioned my car about 10 yrs. ago.  My sister and I
were featured in The Indianapolis News, Thursday, July 10, 1958.  Also
featured in that article were Dana Carter (son of Duane) and Johnny Parson's
Jr., whom we, also raced against.  I still have many of my trophies, and my
car did not look like the ones you had...it was originally built as a two
seater. The frame was brought in to fit the largest specs allowable.  Lil'
Wheels home track was Art Zipps in Indianapolis.  We also raced at Kokomo's
dirt track, Andersonville, and Lafayette, IN.  These races all occured after
the stock car races, so we raced on regular stock car tracks.  I am sure my
contact info is submitted with this post.  I would be happy to provide you
with any futher info, if you are interested.



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[Penny Clarke Sciarpelletti]

Brian,
I'd be happy to send some pics and a copy of the news article I mentioned  before.  Please just give me an e-mail I can send them to. I gave you the date and paper, in case you could have accessed the article directly.  I don't know if that was possible.  But, I have loads of pics and the article.  They are all black and white.  I am very leary about putting my personal e-mail address on an open forum, so if you are an administrator of this forum, are you able to see my personal e-mail address?  If so, just pop me off a note and it will be easier to send the pics that way.  
Thanks,
Penny

[Brian Caruso]

Penny,

That would be great!  Here is my info. I didn’t realize it didn’t show and went through the website.

 

Brian

_________________________________

Brian Caruso

Micar Fabrication & Design Company Inc.

5166 S. Arville St.

Las Vegas, NV  89118

[phone] P.

[phone] F.

http://www.micarfabrication.com 

http://www.carusomidgetracing.com

 

http://www.redbullstratos.com/partners-supporters/

http://flightlinefilms.com/our-team/brian-caruso/

 

 

 

 

From: Penny Clarke Sciarpelletti [via Caruso Racing Museum Forum] [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 12:26 PM
To: Brian Caruso
Subject: RE: Doug Schiller visits the Caruso Museum July 2008

 

Brian,
I'd be happy to send some pics and a copy of the news article I mentioned  before.  Please just give me an e-mail I can send them to. I gave you the date and paper, in case you could have accessed the article directly.  I don't know if that was possible.  But, I have loads of pics and the article.  They are all black and white.  I am very leary about putting my personal e-mail address on an open forum, so if you are an administrator of this forum, are you able to see my personal e-mail address?  If so, just pop me off a note and it will be easier to send the pics that way.  
Thanks,
Penny

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[Brian Caruso]

Penny,

No I can see your email address.

Brian

 

Don’t go through the forum   email me direct

 

 

_________________________________

Brian Caruso

Micar Fabrication & Design Company Inc.

5166 S. Arville St.

Las Vegas, NV  89118

[phone] P.

[phone] F.

http://www.micarfabrication.com 

http://www.carusomidgetracing.com

 

http://www.redbullstratos.com/partners-supporters/

http://flightlinefilms.com/our-team/brian-caruso/

 

 

 

 

From: Penny Clarke Sciarpelletti [via Caruso Racing Museum Forum] [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 12:26 PM
To: Brian Caruso
Subject: RE: Doug Schiller visits the Caruso Museum July 2008

 

Brian,
I'd be happy to send some pics and a copy of the news article I mentioned  before.  Please just give me an e-mail I can send them to. I gave you the date and paper, in case you could have accessed the article directly.  I don't know if that was possible.  But, I have loads of pics and the article.  They are all black and white.  I am very leary about putting my personal e-mail address on an open forum, so if you are an administrator of this forum, are you able to see my personal e-mail address?  If so, just pop me off a note and it will be easier to send the pics that way.  
Thanks,
Penny

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[Jim Patton]

Hi there, I raced a Tiny Mite from 1958-1963. Then I switched over to half-midgets and got a Moss. Though the Tiny Might had a large diameter roll bar, I can tell you from experience it wasn't very strong! Once over and it collapsed. But I loved racing it. Brings back great memories seeing one (almost) like it on the 'net. Mine did not originally have the headrest but My dad added one and put a larger gas tank up there. I had never actually seen a factory car with the headrest.

Thanks for showing this one.

Jim Patton

[Penny Clarke Sciarpelletti]

I haven't been on here in a long time.  I would love to upload the pictures, but don't know what your e-mail is. Where can I send them to?  I just put the newspaper article on a friend's site on FB, along with separate pics of me and my sister in our cars...one with me at Art Zipps Speedway in Indy summer of '57.  I will check back in a couple of days, hopefully, you can give me an e-mail address to send them to.  There was only one other girl I knew of who raced quarter midgets in the 50's, and her name was Kay Cupee.  Cars back then came in all different varieties...some were almost put together with the barest nuts and bolts.  Mine was built at Pop Dwyers (Imight have spelled his name wrong) Motor Cycle Shop on W. Washington Street, Indianapolis in late '56.  When we got it for Christmas, it was a two seater, and had reverse on it.  Dad got us into racing the summer of '57 with Lil Wheels, and reverse went bye bye.  I had a hand brake that Eddie Sachs designed for my car...a lot of race drivers hung out at Pop Dwyers.  I think I have misspelled his last name.  Anyhow, please tell me where to send  the photos.