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Scat Cat Pre-Production Prototype
Designed and built by Clare Counterman of Mount Morris, MI
The Scat Cat gas powered miniature race car, produced by Pac-A-Lite Mfg. Co. in Mount Morris, MI, was the first purpose-built mite car designed strictly for tether car competition.
Early pre-production advertisements for the Scat Cat noted that the car was fitted with a drawn aluminum body. The graphic image which accompanied that description showed a car with a body which appeared to be formed from sheet aluminum. However, by the time the car finally reached production, the Scat Cat was fitted with a cast aluminum body of a different design and not the drawn sheet aluminum body shown in the advertisement.
The car shown in the photos is an early pre-production prototype of the Scat Cat fitted with a wood body which appears to be nearly identical to the body shown in the early pre-production advertisement for the car.
The car was designed and built by Clare Counterman who worked at
Pac-A-Lite Mfg. Co. as a mechanical engineer and machinist. One of Counterman's first efforts was to perform the mechanical design and machine work required to bring the Mini-Mount conversion kit into production. Following that , Counterman designed the Scat Cat and then performed the machine work when that car went into production.
The pre-production prototype car shown in the photos features an early version of the Scat Cat cast aluminum p[an, before bridle mounts were added to the casting pattern. The early design die-cast aluminum rear axle bearing caps and the engine front housing cap were stamped with part numbers. The wood body would have been used as a pattern for the buck used to form the drawn aluminum body if it had actually gone into production. All of the work performed on the car was done by Clare Counterman.
