It has an early 50's Kurtis look to it. The pipes are puzzling, a V8 with pipes on one side? Straight 6? Probably not an OFFY.
That hood blister so far forward of the exhaust ports has me confused. Maybe carbs sticking up on a front drive blower??? Man I gotta see under that hood!
I can't say I've ever seen an Indy Roadster with front nerf bar. Looks like a B or R on the front bumper? It looks so familiar but my own search just now brought up nothing. ~Peter
Good shit. Where did these come from? It's weird that there is a roadster so finely finished, but unknown...
I would say the motor is definitely right side biased but I don't think it's canted because of the high exhaust exit. They canted some OFFY powered cars which made the exhaust exit down low. For example the 1957 Indy winner Belond Special, where the offy was laid on it's side.
Well I was wrong, according to this, it was an OFFY. This is a caption to the pic below from here https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/IMS/id/12434 "Fred Agabashian races along the track in his #26 Ross Page Offenhauser Special during the 1948 Indianapolis 500"
Fuckers... I just found the car after searching the Indy 500 grid from 1948... Fred Agabashian... The old Indy 500 color commentator...
Right? An idea worth stealing. I don't think we use plexiglass enough: Looks like Fred finished 23rd after having an oil line issue... Car was a Kurtis/Duray.
Wish I could see it closer, that's gotta be a supercharger up front there, can't think of another reason to move the carbs up front.
'48 was before the Watson style roadster era. This could be the first roadster style Indy car built. Tail of car is known as a "Flat Tail".
The Ross Page Special is recorded on the Indy 500 website as being a Kurtis Duray, it ran with a motor that started life as a 1932 Miller 220 but which was modified by 2 time Indy winner George Stewart better known as Leon Duray and the Offenhauser Engineering Company who fitted a super charger. Though the badge on the front carries the words Miller Ross Page, Indy 500 historian Michael Ferner tells me the car was referred to in period as “Offenhauser Special”, “Page Offenhauser Special”, “Ross Page Offenhauser Special”, “Page Special” and “Ross Page Special”. The names of frame and bodywork builder Kurtis, engine originator Miller and engine modifier Duray have all been added retrospectively. Mel Hansen started the 1946 Indy 500 from 27th on the grid and was classified 11th having retired on lap 143 with a crankshaft issue. For some reason that is not clear to me the car is listed in the official Indy 500 results as the #4 though the photographic evidence shows the car carrying the #41. In 1947 rookie Fred Agabashian started the Indy 500 from 23rd on the grid and was classified 9th and running with 191 laps completed. The following year Fred could only start from 32nd on the grid and only managed 58 laps before retiring with a broken oil line and was classified 23rd with the car now carrying the #26. When the car was restored by John and Heather Mozart it was briefly used raced in vintage events before being donated to the Peterson Automotive Museum.
Look how asymetric the cockpit is: -Really low on the left (inside). -High on the outside with what looks like maybe a riveted tank (oil or water maybe?) right beside the driver's shoulder.