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Borden Mite
Designed and built by Warren Borden, Zion, IL
The Borden Mite was designed and built by Warren Borden and featured a teardrop-shaped magnesium body and engine mount, spur gear drive, and a Dooling 29 model engine. The cars were compact, well engineered and very fast!
Shortly after the car was introduced, the May 1951 issue of a short-lived publication titled "Miniature Race Car News" mentioned that: "Warren Borden of Zion, Illinois is making up little mite spur cars for the Dooling 29 engines. These cars can be bought." Also printed in that same issue was an advertisement placed by Joe Ilg, Jr. of Laureldale, PA in which he noted that he had "Borden .29 Mite Spur" cars for sale.
I actually purchased this car off ebay. The car was missing the engine, but otherwise was complete including the correct Dooling 29 crankshaft with the flywheel and spur gear attached. After receiving the car, I installed a Dooling 29 engine which I had in my collection.
I then shipped the car to Stuart Hamill in southern California, asking Stuart to sort out the car and try to get the car to run.
After spending a day and a half working on the car, adding a battery box, making a few other small repairs and tuning the engine, Stuart took the car to the Whittier Narrows tether car track. The car started on the first push and consistently turned laps in the low-90 mph range.
Over the next week Stuart continued to tune the car and took the car back to the track for an official AMRCA timed run. On that occasion, the car was timed at 100.293 mph.
Not bad for a 70-year old car, coming out of retirement, just getting a little exercise.
