Working for Dan Webb, I've learned a ton about Harry Miller. He was a genious...but very different indeed. Great read. Thank you.
Congratulations Ryan! Some day Miller will ask what happened to the Frank Lockhart LSR 16, it went on to power two Indy 500 cars called the Sampson Special. The twoman car is under restoration with a sister engine to the Lockhart 16. The original LSR engine is in the later single seater that Bob Swanson drove to 6th place in the 1940 Indy 500. The car is restored and ion the Indy 500 collection. I think they ran it at the Milwaukee Miller Meet a few years ago.
A replica of the Lockhart Stutz Miller car was built awhile ago. No engines, was made for static display. It was in Las Vegas about ten years ago...I think that's where and when I saw it. Good luck with the baby. Cris
seriously cool post..thanks for sharing such great history...those guys were wizards with brass balls.
Congrats to Ryan and Mom. I actually know two fellas named Miller - one from England, and the other of an old-Virgininan family. Strangely enough, neither knows the other, yet both are pronouced "Miler." I wonder if that's an English affectation. My closest friends, both big fans of Brit cars since the 60's, named their son Austin, their first daughter Marina, and the second one Morgan. When our kids were born in the early 70's I was banned from the naming convention... Still don't know why - what's wrong with DelRay, or Rocket or Clippper?
Cris, this static display is owned by Turner Woodard out of Indy. He bought the rights to the Stutz name and does some vintage racing under the Stutz name (an more modern open wheel racer, the make which escapes me). I took this photo when he was at Road America a few year ago. He carts it around in his rig and parks it as a static display. It is really a pretty neat piece but was actually built as a wall hanger for a restaurant in California. I really wish someone would write the history of the car. Gary Doyle had some interest but it would be a project and he has kept busy with his other projects. There are some real Blackhawk nuts, myself included. I have some original photos (nothing super special) and a signed blueprint signed by Myron Stevens who built the chassis and body. 37 Kid is right on with where the engine is. When I was at the Indy Museum years ago I photographed the Sampson Special just because I knew that I was in the presence of greatness. Miller was a character but he surrounded himself with the best in Offenhauser, Goosen and Stevens. Miller had some good ideas and Offenhauser and Goosen made them happen. Stevens was no slouch and was the best artisan of the bunch. If you ever studied his metal work you would be in awe. He also drove at Indy in the thirties, the only one of the group to drive the incomparable Millers at speed in competition. Including a photo of Stevens (on the left) building the Blackhawk body. Lockhart is talking to his promoter while leaning on the frame. Someday someone will recreate the Blackhawk and I only hope I get to see it run.-Jim
Great post Ryan hope the birth goes well .....me I've got the name "Burt" in my family and being an LSR nut it's kind of tempting....anyway I noticed this... .........this from landracing.com, posted today by Maguromic... the other car I have is a 1926 Stutz speedster. Its the prototype built by Frank Lockhart and raced all over including on the slat flats. The engine is shaft driven like a Hisso motor and is supercharged like a Bently, it is the only one of two that were built known to survive.. The engine pictured in the "The Splendid Stutz" page 136. ......you can find it here.... http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,3910.msg50460/topicseen.html#msg50460 where it appeared after a mention of this car for sale in "Fordbarn".... Car For Sale: 1936 Ford 5 window ex-race car from the Russetta timing association ran from 1948 to 1953. Sponsored by Offenhauser Speed Equipment and raced by one of their employees. I also have a picture of Fred Offenhauser tuning the car. This historically significant car needs to be restored. Currently there is no engine and transmission. Body has been blasted and sealed and is very stright. Lots of documentation included, timing tags, tech tags, membership cards, and trophies. $35,000 Tony < [ EMAIL ]> 650-906-0500 I hope I haven't trodden on any toes posting that here...it seemed relevant....
Been a Miller fan for years. You should try to make the Miller club Milwaukee mile event sometime. As posted earlier, its a cool event.Note the Golden submarine clone that was at Detroit this year.Anybody know the stoy of Harry Miller being a mechanic, and after the Indy 500 had the chance to work on the Peugoet[spelling] that won. He took that experience and designed his engine from it.Think it was 1913 or 1917.
Everything said about Miller, his cars and his engine is very true. The man was a genius. There are a couple of things not mentioned about Lockhart that should be. It is true he used two miller engines but he combined them to a common crankcase in the machine shop at Stutz. For a man that never finished school, he was the real brains behind the Stutz Blackhawk Special. Frank Lockhart, had he lived would have been the greatest name in racing and LSR trials. Frank even ran a tire at high rpm and shot it with a shotgun from behind a post to see what would happen. The results were devastating. It was then he realized a blowout at high speeds could kill. But it did not deter him. As you can guess I am a Lockhart nut. If you would like more info on Frank Lockhart I may have it, just ask.
Carmudgeon, Welcome to the HAMB, please keep posting whatever stuff you have. The fist photo shows Ira Vail on the far left next to his new 122 MILLER. He would race the car across the USA win what it cost to buy the car and sell it at a profit. H. D. Carpenter of Philadelphia would spend $6,500. for it and have Vail drive it again in the Indy 500 in 1925. The Indy garage photo shows the engine and Frank Fabian on the right. From what I understand the remains of the car are in Colorado now and will be used in the Ray Keech Indy 500 winning MILLER restoration. If so this is very fitting, H.D.Carpenter sold the car in 1926 to Mr. Yeagle who owner the Keech car.