Tag Archives: Indy

Indy Monza Daytona – Kurtis KK500C

In 1954 Kurtis Kraft built nine Kurtis KK500C roadsters and today’s featured car chassis #376 was entered for the 1954 Indianapolis 500 International Sweepstakes as the Merz Engineering Special for Fred Agabashian to drive.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

Fred qualified the #77 for the 24th spot on the grid and finished in 6th place third best of the 9 KK500C’s which all made the start.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

The following year Walt Faulkner took over the #77 for the Indy 500 and starting 7th went one better than Fred and finished 5th.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

For 1956 chassis #376 was rebranded as the Hoyt Machine Co Special and entered in the Indy 500 as the #10 for Ed Eliian who qualified 14th but had to retire 40 laps short of the full distance with brake issues.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

Jimmy Reece qualified the #5 Hoyt Machine Co Special 6th at Indy in 1957, but retired 18 laps short of the full distance with throttle issues.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

In 1958 Gene Hartley failed to qualify the Hoyt Machine Co Special for the 500 but with Jimmy Reece back at the wheel the car finished 5th in the race of the Two Worlds at Monza.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

After returning from Italy #376 was rebranded as the Wheeler Foutch Special and entered for Red Amnick for the Indy 500, Red qualified the #87 26th but retired after an accident and completing only 45 laps.

In April 1959 Dempsey Wilson qualified #376, now returned to Hoyt Machine Co Special colours, 4th for the Daytona 100 USAC race run at the then brand new Daytona Superspeedway.

Dempsey spun the #24 out at turn 2 on lap 28 of the Daytona 100 and then took over the #75 Racing Associates Kazuma for the 2nd event of the day a shortened 50 mile “Libre”, open to all comers, race from which he was flagged running in 9th place having completed only 17 of the scheduled 20 laps.

Chassis #376 was retired from competition in 1962 and was fitted with a V8 and clothed as a road car until 1995 when it was returned to the condition in which it is seen today, this car is considered one of the most original roadsters to have survived having never been converted to a super modified spec for dirt track racing.

My thanks to Willem Oosthoek and Jerry Entin at The Nostalgia Forum for anticipating my question regarding events at Daytona in April 1959.

Thanks for joining me on this “Indy Monza Daytona” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a seriously modified FIAT. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Hot & Violent – Maserati Khamsin

The Maserati Khamsin was launched in 1974 to replace the Maserati Ghibli and like it’s predecessor the cockpit accommodated two seats and two rear cushions.

Maserati Khamsin, Auto Italia, Brooklands

For the first time Maserati commissioned Bertone to design the Khamsin and Marcello Gandini is credited with carrying out the work on behalf of his employer which included asymmetrical vents in the bonnet /hood. A post 1977 Khamsin like this 1978 example is easily distinguished by the three vents at the front.

Maserati Khamsin, Auto Italia, Brooklands

Like the late Maserati Indy, Bora and early Merak models the Khamsin was building a selection of parts from owner Citroën’s parts bin that included braking and steering components.

Maserati Khamsin, Auto Italia, Brooklands

The Khamsin was the only Maserati to be fitted with Citroen’s self centering steering gear, meaning the driver must hold the steering wheel at all times when negotiating corners because other wise the steering wheel will positively self center in a much shorter time than a traditional self centering system activated by the castor angle of the front wheels.

Maserati Khamsin, Auto Italia, Brooklands

Only the 4.9 litre / 300 cui V8 engine from the Maserati Ghibli SS was available to 170 mph Khamsin customers, this was fitted with Bosch fuel injection, replacing the Weber Carburettors and produced 10hp less than the 330hp Ghibli SS.

Maserati Khamsin, Auto Italia, Brooklands

Khamsin is the name given to a hot and violent Egyptian wind that blows in the desert for 50 days.

Production of the Khamsin ended in 1982 with only 435 vehicles built a disappointing third of the number of it’s predecessor, it was the last V8 Maserati model to be built until the arrival of the Shamal in 1990.

Thanks for joining me on this “Hot & Violent” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another aero engined car, not powered by a Curtiss OX motor. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Four Doors – Maserati Quattroporte

Like the first Maserati 5000GT which was built at the request of the Shah of Iran the first Maserati Quattroporte was built at the request of a customer, in the Quattroporte’s case the interested party was none other than Imam and business man Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan IV who ordered a special Maserati 5000, chassis #103,060, with a body designed by Pietro Frua that was built by Vignale in 1962.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

The following year Maserati commenced building production versions known as the ‘Tipo 107’ Quattroporte with 265hp 4,136 cc / 252 cui V8 motors and either five speed manual or 3 speed automatic transmissions.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

Top speed for the first 230 Quattroportes built between 1963 and 1966 was claimed to be 143 mph.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

In 1966 all Quattroportes were fitted with the US spec quadruple headlights as seen on this early 1968 example and from later in 1968 they were fitted with an upgraded 295hp 4.7 litre motor which increased the top speed to 160 mph which made the model the worlds fastest four door saloon / sedan.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

500 Quattroportes were built between 1966 and the end of production in 1969.

Maserati Quattroporte, Silverstone Classic

Although production of the second generation Quattroportes did not commence until 1974 the Aga Khan and King of Spain took delivery of Quattroportes built on AM 121 Maserati Indy derived chassis in 1974. New Maserati owners Citroen pulled the plug on the Indy based Quattroporte before it went into full scale production.

Thanks for joining me on this “Four Doors” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an air cooled Amilcar. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Maserati Classics – Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

This weeks Maserati Monday looks at some of the Maserati’s that appeared at the Classic Motor Show last week.

Maserati 300S, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Registered on the road as a 1960 Maserati 300S the chassis number motor number showing was “750” which I have not been able to identify as any of the original 27 examples of the 300S built by the factory. If you know the story behind this car please chime in below.

Maserati 5000GT, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The headlights on this 1964 Maserati 5000GT remind me of the infinitely less glamorous Citroén Ami for some reason, may be it was a portent of things to come as Citroén took over Maserati in 1968.

Maserati Mexico, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Think of Maserati’s and something racy usually springs to mind, quite a contrast to this 1968 Maserati Mexico.

Maserati Indy, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The Mexico was replaced Maserati Indy in 1968, above a stylish door handle conceived by Giovanni Michelotti who working for Vignale on the Indy body.

Maserati Khamsin, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Powered by the same 4.9 litre 300 cui motor as the last of the Maserati Indys was the 1974 Maserati Khamsin styled by Marcello Gandini at Bertone.

Thanks for joining me for this “Maserati Classics” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at some French classics. Ne pas oublier de revenir maintenant !

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The Kiwi Bear Corrections – McLaren Offy M15

Firstly a big thanks to racer Jerry Entin who kindly corrected a blog I posted a couple of years ago about Denis Hulme’s participation in the 1970 Indy 500 and has kindly sent some additional photo’s from the IMS Archive to complete the story.

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Jerry Entin and IMS Archive 1970

For 1970 Bruce McLaren had Gordon Coppock design the first McLaren Indy 500 challenger, above the #73 McLaren Offy M15 is seen in the Indy pit lane with Denny at the wheel, Tyler Alexander crouched beside him and Teddy Mayer with clip board on the pit wall. Jerry tells me the little guy in the back ground is Chickie Hirashima a well known crew chief and Offy engine builder.

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Jerry Entin and IMS Archive 1970

The turbocharged Offenhauser’s that McLaren used were prepared by George Bolthoff (R) with help from the legendary Herb “Herbie Horsepower” Porter (L) of Speedway Engines.

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Steve Arnaudin Copyright Ed Arnaudin 1970

Ed Arnaudin’s photo above show’s New Zealander Denny taking part in practice,

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Jerry Entin and IMS Archive 1970

his team mate in the #75 McLaren Offy M15 was to have been fellow New Zealander Chris Amon with whom team owner Bruce McLaren had won the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours driving a Ford GT40.

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Jerry Entin and IMS Archive 1970

Team owner Bruce McLaren, seen above squatting next to Denny, had tested the #79 M15 making a big impression driving in convoy with his #73 and #75 entries on the opening day of practice for the 1970 Indy 500 and Denny was to shake down the #79 back up car to cover all eventualities.

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Jerry Entin and IMS Archive 1970

However the #79 developed a methanol fuel leak,

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Jerry Entin and IMS Archive 1970

which caught fire, the only evidence of the fire in the photo above is the clearly visible heat haze above the far front wheel as Denny prepares to jump and roll away from his car which was still traveling at 70 mph.

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Jerry Entin and IMS Archive 1970

Denny received severe burns to his hands which forced him to miss the Indy 500 and the next two Grand Prix however within a month he was back behind of the wheel of his McLaren Chevrolet M8D Can Am car winning the series with six race victories, a string of three third place finishes also helped Denny secure 4th place in the world drivers championship all while his hands were still healing.

McLaren Offy M15, Indy 500

Photo Courtesy Jerry Entin and IMS Archive 1970

Teddy Mayer engaged Peter Revson to replace Denny in the #73 for the Indy 500, Peter qualified 16th but retired and was classified 22nd.

McLaren Offy M15, Donington Park Museum

On seeing the extent of his countryman Denny’s injuries Chris Amon was not impressed with the Indy safety facilities and withdrew from the race.

McLaren Offy M15, Donington Park Museum

Chris’s place in the #75 was taken by Carl Williams who qualified 19th and brought the car home 8th to record McLaren’s first finish in the Indy 500. The teams next design the M16 would become the class of the field in early 1970’s taking wins with Mark Donohue driving in 1972 and Johnny Rutherford in 1974 and 1976.

McLaren Offy M15, Donington Park Museum

However team owner Bruce McLaren would not see any of these success he was killed a couple of days after the 1970 Indy 500 testing a McLaren Chevrolet M8D Can Am car at Goodwood. Team manager Teddy Mayer took over the running of the Bruce’s legacy which is now the second oldest team in Grand Prix racing behind Ferrari.

My thanks to Jerry Entin, IMS Archive, Ed and Steve Arnaudin who made today’s blog possible and apologies for any confusion caused by getting the car Denny was driving when he got injured wrong in the original post.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Kiwi Bear Corrections” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Indianapolis Excursion – Indy 500 29th May 1988

I was living in Brixton, London in November 1987 when I received an invitation from Rick and Karen, two Canadian friends also living in London, to attend their wedding on May 27th 1988 in Toronto their home town.

The first thing I did after I received the invitation was to check the dates for races in the USA around the wedding date, the Winston 500 was to be run at Talledega on May 1st, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte on May 29th as was the Indy 500.

The timing was against me getting to Talladega, a track I finally visited 21 years later, and Indianapolis seemed a lot closer to Toronto than Charlotte so I made my mind up to visit the Indy 500 something I had wanted to do since I read a book by Tommaso Tommasi called from Brands Hatch to Indianapolis in which a precise description of driving around the track is given by Peter Revson.

Chevrolet Beretta

The weekend of the wedding I went to Avis and collected this shiny brand new Chevy Beretta, an interesting contrast to the £50 1973 Volvo 144 DL automatic I was driving around London at the time !

Early on the morning after the wedding I packed my stuff and headed around 350 miles west on the 401 which turned into Route 96/94 after I crossed the US border into Detroit and then 200 miles south on Route 69. The only difficulty I had was keeping to the 55 to 60 mph speed limits which seemed excruciatingly slow compared to the 70 mph I was used to in the UK.

Datsun, Indianapolis

Eleven hours after I had set out I arrived at a mall parking lot (Lafayette Shopping Centre ?) a mile or so north from the track having picked up a ticket for the bleachers from a vendor at face value of $15 (?) right out side the track. I felt very much at home as some lads were having a kick about with a proper round football, turned out they were telephone engineers from Manchester, England !

My plan was to spend the night in the car, I got a shock when I opened the boot/trunk of the car and found I had forgotten to pack two important items one of which was my sleeping bag. I need not have worried the weather was more than warm enough to feel comfortable sleeping on the back seat of the car wearing a T shirt and shorts.

On race day I woke up with the dawn, had a round of salami sandwiches I had packed in advance and my customary breakfast apple and headed off to the track which opened at 6am.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

I bought a souvenir T-Shirt from a girl, who like me hailed from Germany, on the way in and before I knew it I was standing on the hallowed pavement of Indianapolis pit lane. I was as inspired as I had been by any other tourist sight I had seen, Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and even the Pyramids, by the Indy timing tower which I had seen in countless photographs over the previous 15 years I had been a racing fan.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Pinching myself standing before the gates of Gasoline Alley, I felt a little like I was standing before the gates of heaven itself as the sun came up.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The immaculate team haulers seemed a tad quaint to be carrying 220 mph race cars, but then again a hauler never won the Indy 500.

I took a walk all around the infield while the hullaballoo that starts the days proceedings got underway prior to the 11 am start, including a look at the infamous inside of turn 3 hard partying Snake Pit. I saw ‘Supersonic’ Chuck Yeager prepare himself for duties in the pace car and took my seat in the bleachers as Grand Marshall Garfield was driven around the circuit.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

At this point the fact that I had somehow overlooked packing a telephoto lens I had borrowed specially for the event became painfully obvious.

The race was dominated by Rick Mears on pole with Danny Sullivan and Al Unser Snr who locked out the front row of the grid. All three were driving the new Penske PC 17 designed by Penske new boy Nigel Bennett and all three Penske drivers would be 3 of the only 4 drivers to lead a lap of the 72nd running of the Indy 500.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

’85 Spinner & Winner Danny Sullivan set a blistering early pace driving the Miller PC17, seen here chasing the #92 of Dominic Dobson, led a race high 91 laps but crashed out on lap 101 leaving Rick Mears to almost run away with the race. Sullivan would end the season as the winner of his one and only CART championship.

Lola T87 00

For 8 laps I was beside myself with excitement as Scottish born Brit Jim Crawford became the only non Penske team member to lead the ’88 500 in his year old Buick ‘stock block’ powered Lola T87/00. Jim who just two months earlier had been unable to walk as a result injuries received at Indy in 1987 became a father the following week. Jim retired to become a fishing boat captain and died of liver failure aged 54 in 2002.

March 88C, IMS

Two time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi did not lead a lap but still managed to come home 2nd in his Pat Patrick run March 88C powered by the then relatively new Ilmour Chevy V8. The following year ‘Emmo’ returned to win the fist of his two Indy 500 victories.

Penske PC 17, IMS

Rick Mears ran out the deserving winner of the 1988 Indy 500 a race that ended under yellow flags thanks to a piece of body work that flew off Michael Andretti’s 4th place Kraco March with just 4 laps to go. Ricks third 500 victory marked the first for the Ilmour Chevrolet engine which would dominate at Indianapolis until 1994 when a one off Mercedes push rod engine also designed by Ilmour would take top honours.

After the race I rehydrated and slept in the car for an hour before the 11 hour 550 mile trek back to Toronto. Two weeks later I was back at one of my other favourite race tracks Le Mans, but that story will have to wait for another day.

Thanks for joining me on this Indianapolis excursion edition of
‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for an Indy Ferrari Friday special. Don’t forget to come back now !

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