I talked with a fellow from Sioux City, Iowa, named Mort Mulford who drove big cars and midgets from after World War II until the late ’70s. He told me about a Smith Jiggler that was raced at Sioux City’s Riverview Park Speedway quarter mile.

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The Jiggler was owned by Otto Hoffman who started racing before the war and mostly fielded low-bucks flathead fours. In 1949, Hoffman procured a car with a Smith Jiggler (see the clipping from the Sioux City Journal). Mort said that it didn’t exactly fit the area rules at the time but, because it was it owned by Otto Hoffman, no one was worried about it being a ringer.

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(I’ve attached a photo of the car and a closeup of the engine. LEEDS on the hood just refers to the Leeds section of Sioux City. All the photos are by Bob Stolze who documented racing from the first midget races in the mid ’30s in Sioux City.)

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At the time, the newly formed Missouri Valley Auto Racing Association (MVARA) set the rules for Riverview. DOHC engines could be up to 105 c.i.d., OHV (in line) engines up to 125 c.i.d., V8-60s up to 146 c.i.d., and the Smith Jiggler up to 125 c.i.d. Sounded like maybe Hoffman’s Jiggler used the regular V8-60 displacement of 136. (From an article in the Illustrated Speedway News, 1-28-49)

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Mort drove the car for him one night in July 1955 and ended up winning the B-feature. Otto had tears streaming down his face when Mort pulled in because none of his cars had ever won a race! (Photo of #4 about to be pushed off.)

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I have no proof, but I was told that the Jiggler in Hoffman’s car may be the one in Bill Smith’s museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.