History Flathead at Indy..

Ive been trying to research about any flatheads that ran in the Indy 500. I haven't had to much luck. Anyone have any pics and history on any flatheads at Indy?

 

I know a lot of fatheads in Indy

 

Just google up Miller-Ford Indy 500, Lots of em ran during the "junk formula" years of the 1930s.

 

You haven't been researching in the right places.

 

Miller - Fords...Wasn't the weak link the close proximity of exhaust manifold to steering box the cause of steering failures on these cars ?

4TTRUK

 

The 35 Ford Indy car may be the best looking Indy car of the thirties. The brass bushing in the steering gear got hot and froze the steering. A few louvers may have solved the problem, but lack of time to develop screwed the operation. The Speedway Museum has a very nice example of the car.

 

There were two '32-based cars (drivetrain, frame, maybe suspension?) that ran in the junk formula days; I think one of them ran under the Barber-Warnock banner. They were unsuccessful in the extreme, I believe. There are one or two photos of them in Thacker's Deuce book, if I remember correctly.

Cris

 

INDIANAPOLIS 500 – WINNING ENGINES

Engine Wins Years
Offenhauser 27 1935, 37, 41, 47-64, 68, 72-76
Miller 12 1922-23, 26, 28-34, 36, 38
Cosworth 10 1978-87
Ford 8 1965-67, 69-71, 95-96
Honda 8 2004-11
Chevy 7 1988-93, 2002
Oldsmobile (incl. Aurora) 5 1997-2001
Peugeot 3 1913, 16, 19
Duesenberg 3 1924-25, 27
Frontenac 2 1920-21
Maserati 2 1939-40
Mercedes 2 1915, 94
Marmon 1 1911
National 1 1912
Delage 1 1914
Sparks 1 1946
Foyt 1 1977
Toyota 1 2003

Number of wins with eight-cylinder engines: 56 (last victory: Dan Wheldon, 2011)
Number of wins with six-cylinder engines: 2 (last victory: George Robson, 1946)
Number of wins with four-cylinder engines: 37 (last victory: Johnny Rutherford, 1976)

BROKEN BARRIERS (10-MPH INCREMENTS)
WINNER’S AVERAGE SPEED FOR 500 MILES


Barrier Winner, Engine (speed, year)
70 mph ..............Ray Harroun, Marmon (74.602 mph, 1911)
80 mph ..............Rene Thomas, Delage (82.474 mph, 1914)
90 mph ..............Jimmy Murphy, Miller (94.484 mph, 1922)
100 mph ..............Peter DePaolo, Duesenberg (101.127 mph, 1925)
110 mph ..............Wilbur Shaw, Offenhauser (113.580 mph, 1937)
120 mph ..............Bill Holland, Offenhauser (121.327 mph, 1949)
130 mph ..............Bill Vukovich, Offenhauser (130.840 mph, 1954)
140 mph ..............Rodger Ward, Offenhauser (140.923 mph, 1962)
150 mph ..............Jim Clark, Ford (150.686 mph, 1965)
160 mph ..............Mark Donohue, Offenhauser (162.962 mph, 1972)
170 mph ..............Bobby Rahal, Cosworth (170.722 mph, 1986)
180 mph ..............Arie Luyendyk, Chevy Indy (185.981 mph, 1990)

 

Find a copy of Jack Fox's The Indianapolis 500. First published in 1967 and updated every year up to about '89. They're available in the used book market (try Abebooks.com) and less expensive than the Miller Dynasty. The book lists every participant plus most of the non qualifiers for every year. Includes engine, chassis, and start/finish positions.

 

Try this (if you have the time)
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500/history/stats/startinggrids/?year=1930
It's a year by year list of entries. Hit the "Race and all-time stats" link at the top and it takes you to a page where you can enter whatever year you want to search.

If you are looking specifically for Ford V8 flatheads, don't bother with anything after 1948.

 

You need to go through the Speedy Bills museum in Lincoln,Ne

 

Really? Roadtrip!

 

Yup- they were built in a VERY short amount of time. If they had even spent 15 min on a track, they would have been able to diagnose and fix the problem.