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Buggy books are one of our best sources for buggy history. Just like old yearbooks, they’re just fun to browse through to see how much things have changed and how much they’ve stayed the same. Teams no longer proudly describe their build process in detail as was common into the mid 70’s. Check out this description offered by ATO in 1968:
The “Golden Goose’s” design is based on the aerodynamic features of a teardrop and is constructed of a plywood and steel frame with a molded fiberglass shell. In 1959 air scoops were added to improve the aerodynamic qualities of the buggy … Despite good times last year, both buggies were disqualified because of failure to pass a brake test. This year the ATO’s will add improved brake systems.”
and by Beta in the same year:
The “00” consists of a flat aluminum and cardboard honeycomb to which the mechanism is attached. The driver lies prone, steering with his hands at his sides. The two halves of the molded fiberglass shell clamp together. The most interesting feature of the “00” is its braking system. It is powered by compressed air with free floating cylinders. When the brakes are released, they emit a loud hissing sound.
At the same time though, a lot of what is written would fit right into this year’s buggy book, which just shows how much we all have in common. It’s no wonder the conversation flows so freely between generations down at PHI around Carnival.
Browse through the entire collection here:
cmubuggy.org/history/buggybook
Buggy books are also now included on the summary page for each raceday in the history section. Enjoy! Need a prompt for comments … What’s your favorite cover design from the last 45 years?
jess_thurston says:
last year’s… ;)
mldarm says:
Love the old buggy books, but I happened to look at 1966’s and could somebody eventually get the pages oriented properly (and remove a duplicate page)?
bordick says:
Wow. This is awesome. This looks like a lot of work and it’s appreciated. I have a question. Have we tried to compare the lists of buggies/people and correlated them to the buggy books? I was always interested in DU’s Teal Whistler, which is also listed in another buggy book as just “Teal.” However, there is no detail of either in the buggies list on the webpage.
Thanks again.
TommyK says:
Yeah, awesome job … on destroying my productivity … according to the 1969 book, the Men’s Dorms built a new buggy where the driver sits in the “distorted pike” position for safer rolling and falling …