History Classic Indy roadsters: Most beautiful oval racers ever?

Exactly. The turbo Offy could handle the Ford aka Foyt V8. It was the Cosworth that finally rendered the Offy obsolete.

 

And that only happened because of the limited boost. Without the events of 1973, and the subsequent attempts to slow the cars down, who knows how long the Offy would have been competitive.

 

Herk...

 

Rick Finch, thanks for posting these photographs. I think the Travelon Trailer Special is one beautiful car driven by one of the best. I love this thread.

 

Someone please post pics of the Millers at Milwaukee event this weekend.....I wasn't able to make it this year due to a conflicting family event! Be sure to tell Akin I miss him from the sunny beaches of Florida! He'll be there again with the Bowes #33.....Joe

 

These really were some of the most beautiful cars PERIOD.

 

We'll be there and we'll be posting a huge photo essay on the event at the website. Stay tuned.

 

Post #222
Bill Vukovich Before the 1955 Indy race that he was killed in.



Ago

 

If things would have worked out differently Vuky would have been driving the Keck streamliner in 55. As it was Hopkins gained a "dream team" of Vuky and the Whiz Kids -- Travers and Coon along with Stu Hilborn. Didn't end well, even though.

 

Pretty car.

Is that a moveable tail/spoiler?

 

Is this an annual thing? Is there a link?

Thanks

 

yes sir, it's an annual thing. 2013 is happening this weekend. Here's coverage of the 2012 event.

http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2012/07/07/millers-at-milwaukee-2012/

http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2012/07/10/more-from-millers-at-milwaukee-2012/

http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2012/07/14/millers-at-milwaukee-2012-final-recap/


.

 

Yes it is a movable "wing" of sorts. It was intended to be a way to adjust the balance of the car more than to add downforce.

 

Many roadsters on the Indy Speedway Museum, toured the track Tuesday . Awesome !


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Just leaving the Crown Plaza hotel here in Milwaukee, heading to "The Mile".
Looking forward to driving a couple hundred laps this weekend, in the #15 Boyle Valve Spl. and the #98 Agajanian roadster.
If you are there, stop by and say "HI!". This is the best vintage meet of the year!

mac miller, currently, in MILWAUKEE at "THE MILWAUKEE MILE"

 

And I'm jealous, have fun. We need pics of the weekend, PLEASE.

 

#33 Belond Miracle Power Streamliner
This car was based on Kurtis 500B chassis that was raced at Indy in 1953 and 1954. After the '54 500, Quinn Epperly used this frame to build the 1955 Belond streamliner for muffler king, Sandy Belond. Unlike the other two streamliners I'm posting below, this car used streamline fairings rather than fully enclosed "fenders". The car, with a 270 OFFY and driven by Jim Rathmann, finished 14th, but failed to qualify in 1956...






1956...



#48 Sumar Streamliner
This car was commissioned by Terre Haute Indiana businessman, Chapman S. Root .
The car was built in the Frank Kurtis race shop and was based on a brand new Kurtis 500D chassis and 270 OFFY engine, Driver Daywalt, immediately, complained of claustrophobia under the canopy and complained about not being able to see the front wheels. The stunning car was stripped of its canopy and much of the wheel enclosing bodywork. It went from being one of the most beautiful Indy cars ever to one of the ugliest. Daywalt drove the car to a respectable 9th place finish, but only after destroying the original spirit and intent of the car. The car failed to qualify in 1956. The car was reassembled and tested at the new Daytona Speedway in 1959. After setting a new closed course speed record of over 171 MPH, driver Teague lost control and died in the crash.





#4 Keck Streamliner
Howard Keck, owner of the 1953 and 1954 Indy winning Kurtis 500A roadsters, envisioned the most advanced Indy car ever built for the 1955 race. The car was to have fully enclosed streamlined bodywork and a supercharged V8 engine.
The car was designed and built by the top technoids of the day including Norman Timbs, Quinn Epperly and "whiz kids", Jim Travers & Frank Coon.
It was the only "clean sheet of paper" design rather than a "rebody" of an existing chassis. Eng. Timbs actually built models of the car for testing at the Cal Tech wind tunnel. The car was equipped with a full width aero tuning plane on its trailing edge.
The engine that Keck wanted to use was the NOVI, but that plan failed to happen when NOVI owner, Lew Welch, refused to sell Keck an engine. Plan B was to commission OFFY designer, Leo Goosen, to design a new, NOVI like, supercharged V8.
In early 1955, it became obvious that neither the car or the engine would be ready in time for Indy, so Keck released his driver, Vukovich, to drive for Lindsey Hopkins.
While leading the race in the Hopkins Kurtis 500C, Vukovich got involved in someone else's crash on the back straight and was fatally injured.
With Vukovich gone, the eccentric Keck lost interest in the race team. Travers and Coon finished the streamliner, but the Goosen V8 engine project was abandoned and a standard OFFY 270 was installed.
Shortly after, Keck closed down the shop and quit racing. The streamliner sat, untouched and unseen, until 1985 when Keck sold it to an unidentified Memphis businessman. Its last known location was "on display" at the Kruse collection in Auburn Ind.

 

Dumb question from the peanut gallery... if these streamliner / sports cars had been more successful, would they have eventually been banned - not being proper open wheel cars? Or would Indy cars today look just like LeMans cars? Gary

 

I don't think that's a dumb question at all -- it's a great question and a very interesting What If.

There is only one reason Indy cars are open wheel today: the rules.

 

Could one surmise then, that at some point during or after the "fat fendered" cars were appearing / running at the brick yard that the rules were changed to prohibit them - hence that aspect of design was outlawed? Gary

 

M/T tried some aero stuff back in the early 60s. I think probably what put the kibosh on streamlining was the bodywork rules enacted after the 1964 debacle.

 

Sorry Wrong place and time

 

I think they are what's called the beginning of the end.

 

Dan's car looked better, me thinks, even as a doomsday machine! Did Hot Wheels steal his designs? Always loved those rims. Getting back on thread, while Dan's my #1 racer hero, I don't think he ever drove a roadster at Indy. True? Gary

 

Took,and passed, his rookie test in a roadster but never actually raced one at Indy.

 

Removing his rookie stripes.

 

The life of the Hopkins KK500.

 

Neat pix... from the "Shell Answer Man," yet again. Thanx, Gary