8456 Oakwood Drive Becker, Minnesota 55308
In the fall of 1992, I was buying parts at a gas engine repair
shop and my attention was drawn to a small race car in bad shape.
The shop owner informed me he had always intended to fix it up. I
never thought about the car again until the March 1993 issue of GEM
arrived. On page 7 was an article on the Maytag Racer. My
adrenaline began to flow and I returned to the small engine shop
owner. He didn’t think he was interested in selling the car. I
told him I’d give him some time to think it over; two weeks
later an agreement was reached. I was now the proud owner of a
rusty, beat-up race car with no engine.
I began researching the car by contacting the author of the
article in GEM. He referred me to others, who referred me to
others. I finally was able to put together an accurate profile of
the car. I want to thank everyone who assisted me with this
project.
Research showed there were 498 Maytag Racers made and only about
25 are still in existence. They were made as a sales promotion by
the Maytag Company from October 11, 1934 until December 1, 1941.
Top speed is 8.5 mph. The first models were powered by the model 92
Maytag Multi-motor with a cone clutch. Later models were powered by
the Maytag Twin cylinder. This unit used a belt tightening
arrangement for a clutch. The brake and clutch were operated with
one lever on both models.
To my knowledge, my Maytag Racer is the only one in complete
operating condition. It took approximately one year to gather all
the information and restore the car. The racer’s maiden run was
in our local 4th of July 1994 parade driven by our 8 year old
grandson. The car received a lot of attention at the Hanley Falls
and Albany (Minnesota) threshing shows. The car is now wintered at
the Ellison Car Museum in Rodgers, Minnesota, and in the summer
will be in parades and cruising our neighborhood followed by
children once more.
I look forward to attending more shows and showing off my Maytag
Racer!
