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What is it?....Old rally instrument?

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This item is being sold by a seller who has a bunch of old rally paraphernalia...

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https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250367253616&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNARL:US:1123

How would they use it for rally?

(Reminds me of the Antikythera Mechanism
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It's a "Curta Calculator", aka "The pepper grinder".

They were beautifully made mechanical calculators. Serious Time-Speed-Distance rally folks would have one of these & their trusty "Halda SpeedPilot".

I'm sure if you google it you'll find they are in great demand & hugely expensive.
 
So it takes the place of rally tables? (book form)

Or this?

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Holy carp!!!

John knows. I can't believe they're actually being sought, tho.

It's a primitive mechanical computer, "programmed" with "niche software" as a rally specific tool.


wow. And th' Halda!!!

"MG Mitten" sold 'em, too.


...gawd I feel old now. :smirk:
 
One of these went very high last week on E-Bay.
(like the one on the left)

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Um.......Doc......you feel old.....well......because you IS! :laugh:
 
Cool.

I did TSD rallys with our old Plymouth Cricket in the late 70s, always running SOP class.

Even thought that Plymouth/Sunbeam/Hillman was a crappy car, it was OK for rallys.
We won a 12 hour event once (in the SOP class). I saw lots of those Haldas in the serious classes.

When I ran motorcycle enduros (mid-80s), we used similar devices. I always had to make up a route sheet for the old-time paper route holder (see 1st picture below)....a pain in the neck!

As I was just finishing up my motorcycle enduro "career" (too many injuries!), they were starting to use portable computers like the second picture below.
Nowadays, the bike route compters are enhanced with GPS.
Sometimes, in a bike enduro, the only good time to actually read the route holder is when you're in mid-air. Probably same thing in serious car rallys.

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Nial,

Are you sure that wasn't the "POS" class?
Sorry,I had to add that.

- Doug
 
The Curta calculators has an interesting history. They were invented by a guy in of of the nazi concentration camps (Auscwitz??). They kept him alive because of his work on the calculator. After the war he succeeded in getting them manufactured in Lichtenstein. There was an article about them in Scientific American 3-4 years back and then the prices really went out of control. That one is in real nice condition and is worth a small fortune or in other words way more than I can afford and I REALLY want one.
 
Doug:

*Very* Funny!.....*<span style="text-decoration: underline">Very</span>* Funny! :jester:

Interesting story about the inventor of the Curta unit. I Googled it and you were right about him being held by the Nazis. According to several sites, the inventor was held in Buchenwald.

These old Curtas were largly replaced by things like the Bomar Brain (I had one!) and other early electronic calculators. But John is right....they were beautifully built.
I *still* have my HP 32S with RPN. :laugh:
 
OMG...MG Mitten, I haven't heard about her in years. She made car covers like Triumph Tunic and other. I think her name was Marion?
 
I spoke to my father about this. He has three of 'em! He confirmed the origins of these wonderful machines, but believes that the inventor was incarcerated in Buchenwald. They are indeed eagerly sought after, and can fetch in the region of six to seven hundred bucks.
 
<SWOON>

...I think I GAVE mine away in the late 70`s...

I still have my dial-faced VDO tire pressure gauge. I s`pose THAT`s worthless now, huh?


sheesh.
 
Gawd! I used to covet those old rally instruments, but always ran in the SOP class as a poor college kid!! Hey, Nial, did you ever happen to run any of the NQP rallies out of Asbury Park in the early to mid 70's?
 
bugimike said:
...... Hey, Nial, did you ever happen to run any of the NQP rallies out of Asbury Park in the early to mid 70's?
Click to expand...

No.

I ran mostly in events run by the local region of the MG Car Club, The Delaware Valley Sports Car Club (I was a member), the Flying Burros (based at McQuire AFB) and the Trenton Triumph Club.

Others I can't remember.

What's "NQP" stand for?

I also built ~This SCCA Pro-Rally Car~ with my old friend Wayne R. We ran it in the late 70s (the picture in the link was taken at Mansfield, PA).
We ran events with John Buffum (BDA Escort), the SAAB factory team (all 99s) and lots of other neat cars.
But SCCA Pro-Rally is <span style="text-decoration: underline">terribly</span> dangerous and I'd had enough after one year. Wayne ran the car one more year with his brother and agreed.
 
It stood for "Not Quite Pro"! They were a lot of fun, running for about 280 miles at night through the Pine Barrens! I have some old photos somewhere I will have to try and dig out! They started and ended at the Jefferson Motel (which I think is no longer, a victim of urban renewal!).
 
Would that be the "Wing & Bonnet" club? There were a few clubs around the Jersey Shore area back then!
 
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