Well i have been searching the net for pics of Ak Millers cadillac flathead powered 32 roadster...with no luck! all help appreciated. thanks Palle
Do a search for the El Caballo he used in the Panamerican race and you might come up with some links to his cars. If we keep this up at the top long enough, some of the guys who collect pictures of old hot rods may come through with what you need.
I'm looking this is one of his T roadsters,check out the feet position. The Rodders Journal#32 has a couple of photos of the 32 Miller roadster,pages 46 and 51.The car featured 42 48 chevy independent front suspension.I don't have the image on my computer files.
The way I understand it, Ak was as into sports cars as he was hot rods. Since he wasn't able to shell out the cash for a new Jag or Ferrari, he built as close as he could to it with junk parts and a lot of handwork and ingenuity.
If this is it, I found it here: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=119310#1 Thanks, Kurt EDIT: I think it's not what you're looking for, according to the text. The late Akton "Ak" Miller was involved in every aspect of hot-rodding. He helped start the SCTA, racing at Bonneville and the NHRA. He even competed in La Carrera Panamericana in his home-built "El Caballo," Olds-powered T. Inquisitive, energetic and humorous, Ak was unique. His '32 roadster was his daily transportation. We know the car had a Buick Straight 8 and that odd custom front pan hides the Chevy front suspension. In 1947 it was clocked at 106.25 at El Mirage.
Tim! thanks for bringing this one back from the death! xderelict thats one hell of a car that T! the fact i have a 32 roadster..i have some cad flat engines, and some cool cyclone speed parts, and that akton møller actually was born in this nabour hood, makes me interested in this particullar car. i used to have some pics, but cant find them. its probably 2-3 computers back! think i have some pics af this mille miglia racer thanks so far palle
Emilie, I can give you the phone number to his garage and someone there may be willing and able to ... Thanks, Kurt
wisenheimer! thanks for the nice pic! is it just me, or does this look like a cyclone caddyhead!? sure looks like the caddy bolt pattern. see my pic. please bring all the cad flat pics you have and kurt all help is appreciated! just dont hope its Ak's number lol! thanks palle
There is some never before seen footage in my new DVD taken durimng the very fist La Carrera Panamericana. My new DVD made it's debut during the recent Monterey Historics and my good friend Bob Bondurant did the forward and Hershel McGriff. When you click on this you can go to one of the teasers to see AK's rod. I have a lot more of his car on my blog as well. http://lacarrera2007.blogspot.com/2009/08/order-your-copy-of-best-lcp-hd-dvd-now.html
Hope this picture works? Car ran in the early 50's in Pan America road race. Was sponsored by Hot Rod magazine. Built and driven by Ak Miller. (my hero) Was 27T body and had INDIPENDANT front suspension!! Now some smart A will declare that un-TRADITIONAL and close this thread.
Max was a good friend of Mendel "Cookie" Ledington so what else would Max and Yam Oka put that Cad-La Salle? A fine set of Cad Cyclone Heads! Dean Batchelor incorrectly id's these heads as Edmunds in his American Hot Rods book that he wrote shorty before his passing. One can tell by the "Attractive Finning" that our heads carry.(click on the pic) I hadn't noticed this post before Palle, but Ak, used Stude independent front suspension on the front of that roadster. Pretty Hi-Tech for being around 46-48. Good liuck in your search, Kevin
Whoa hey! The indipendant front suspension Ak Miller used on "EL CABALLO" was designed and built by him. It basically was a ford I-Bean with a short section removed from center and ball joints added.
thanks guys! i havent found any pics of the roadster, but some info about AK in general. read this: http://www.hotrod.com/thehistoryof/hrdp_0606_ak_miller_history_best_hot_rodder/index.html Kevin your right, its cyclone heads. your also right they look far better than the edmunds. about AK using stude or chevy suspension, i am not an expert, but take a closer look at this picture, it might give an answer! the roadster was used to try different engine types. but please post pics if you got some. kevin you use to have some cool storys! ps: Kevin i'll give you and update on email! thanks -palle
Ak Miller is my hot rod hero. emiliedk had the right pic. It started out with the Buick straight 8 (famous story) was later fitted with the Caddy. According to the book: `32 Ford Deuce - The Official 75th Anniversary Edition
the El Caballo that was at the NHRA Museum was a 27 body on a narrowed 49 Ford chassis with and Olds engine and La Salle trans
I have some never before seen slides of AK Miller's roadster when he raced it in LCP taken by a friend of mine at the race if anyone is interested. There is also some never before footage of him racing in LCP in my latest DVD.
Here are some very race photos taken during the 1954 La Carrera Panamericana including one of A.K. Miller in action. http://lacarrera2007.blogspot.com/2009/09/rare-la-carrera-panamericana-photos.html
My future brother in law has been rebuilding this car (the mille miglia racer) for the past 20 years. When it is done and I get his permission I will share some photos, but just note it is in good hands and should be done hopefully this year. He even got Ak's signature on the dash before he passed away.
Hello Palle, I have several thousand 40s era hot rod photos that I have borrowed and copied over the years. The photos I have posted came from the Danny ORegan collection. Dan had his own photo developing lab at home when he was a teenager, unfortunately it caught fire and the negatives and a lot of the photos were destroyed. The photos that did survive are some of the best hot rod photos from the 40s, they were mostly 5x7 prints which were unusual for the time. Danny was friends with SCTA Gophers Club members Johnny Ryan, Nelson Taylor and Jack Mickelson. He used to ride along with Jack to the Dry Lakes and hang out with the Gophers taking pictures of them. Taylor and Ryan had an engine rebuilding shop that for awhile was in a rented portion of the Miller Brothers Garage. I always thought it was strange that there were all these hot rodders working under one roof that were best friends and yet they belonged to different clubs. Ak Miller and his brothers belonged to the Road Runners. Back when I borrowed these photos home scanners were a rare item. I welded together a photo copy stand that held a 35mm camera perfectly level above the photo and then mounted flood lights on each side of the picture. I took light meter readings using a photo gray card The copies turned out pretty well but not nearly as nice as the originals were. You should have seen them, they were beautiful. They were not even in an album. Danny has since passed away but at the time he was living in Northern California, he came down to Southern California once in awhile to visit his son. I talked him into bringing his photos down but in order to get them I had to meet Danny in the middle of a golf course on the putting green. It was like some kind of drug deal, he handed me a leather satchel with about 400 loose 5X7 photos in it. It took me a week to photograph them and then I returned them to Dannys son and he got them back to his Dad in Northern California. I was really lucky to get my hands on these photos. I found several shots of Aks Roadster in Dannys collection. Unfortunately most of them are taken from a distance so there is not a lot of good detail. Photo 1. Johnny Ryan told me a story about this photo that shows Aks roadster with the strange aerodynamic front-end on it. He said at the time there was a popular hairdo, they made fun of Aks frontend because it reminded them of it. I forgot the name of the hairdo but I have the conversation on tape. This photo could be 1948 or later. It looks like it has a different hood on it then it did in 47. Photo 2. 1947, Aks #115B roadster is sitting off to the side of Randy Shinns roadster. This is one of the only pictures I have that shows the unusual independent front suspension on Aks roadster. Photo 3 shows Ak and Louise standing next to what is probably his 32 Roadster. It has a Road Runners plaque on the back so Im assuming this is his car. The trunk lid is still setup as a rumble seat which is unusual for a 40s era hot rod. Johnny Ryan said the first thing we did back then was to convert the rumble seats to trunks so you get to your tools and stuff. Photo 4 shows Aks #115B roadster. AK is in the dark shirt and the photo is marked Ak with an arrow pointing down to him, Photo 5, I scanned the same photo at a higher resolution and cropped out the car so you could see the three piece hood with the unique louver pattern. The photo is a little grainy but you can make out the louvers in it. Photo 6. I also wrote down what was on the back of every photo that I copied. This one said, Just before we left for Harpers 8-947 Across St. from Ack Millers Shop. Ed Axle Stewart is in the white hat. This picture would have been taken in Whittier. Photo 7. Is a close up cropped from number 6. Photo 8. I have copies of about 90% of the SCTA Programs from 1938 to 1951. I use them to help identify photos. This is from the May 25,1947 SCTA program. It lists Aks 32 Roadster with a Buick Straight 8. This was one really unusual 32 roadster! Photo 9. He is still running the Buick engine in the August 31. 1947 program The Buick engine was listed with a stock head , stock intake and a Winfield cam. The program listed a little story about Ak. According to Johnny Ryan these guys spent more time in the garage screwing with each other than they did working on customers cars. It sounded like they really had a good time working together. The results sheet for this meet shows Ak only running 107.52 m.p.h. Photo 10. One month later and aAk is running a Cad engine. He moved from the B Class to the larger C Class. The cars carry the same number for the entire season which makes it nice when you are trying to identify the years of these photos. The September 21, 1947 program list Aks roadster with a 37 Cad engine, Edmunds heads, HotPot manifold, Windfield cam and a 21 Nash ignition . The results sheet show his speed at 119.52 m.p.h. These programs are the neatest tool for doing research! Photo 11. The October 19, 1947 shows he changed the intake to his Own Spl and the ignition to stock he bumped his speed up to 125.69 m.p.h., third fastest C Class Roadster. For the 1948 season Ak was issued #34. I dont think I have any photos of his car from that year but I might have. There are photos that I have borrowed and scanned that are stored on Zip Discs that I have not looked at in years. The April 24-25, 1948 program lists it as a D Class (over 350 ci) Roadster Akton Bonnono Miller 37 Cad, Edmunds heads, Coldpot Intake, Winfield Cam and Kissel Kar ignition. He ran 120.16 m.p.h. June 5-6, 1948 he ran 120.48 m.p.h. Photo 12 The July 17-18, 1948 program shows the engine as a 353 ci 37 Cad, filled Cad heads, 4-hole intake, Winfield cam and Fierce Sparrow igntion He ran 118.57 m.p.h. Starting with the August 28-29, 1948 program they started listing the frame and the body. I had assumed the Cad engine was in the 32 Roadster but the program shows #34 with a 29A frame and a Dodge body. Now Im not sure if the 32 had the Cad engine in it or not? Did he install the Cad engine in the 32 in late 47 or was he running a different car with a Cad in it. Im going to bed, you owe me one night of my life, Jerry
I did some research and he did enter two different Roadsters in 1948. Entries 1-100 are listed in the front of the program. When I saw the #34 Dodge Roadster of Ak Miller I did not look any further, this morning I found the '32 Roadster with the Cad listed with the rest of the Road Runner members Photo 13 and 14. April 4-25, 1948 SCTA program the results sheet gives a speed for the Dodge bodied roadster but not the '32. He only entered the Dodge Roadster at the June, July and August meets . September, 1948 SCTA program. Both the Dodge Roadster and the '32 Roadster are entered, I do not have a results sheet so I do not know if he ran the '32 roadster or not? October, 1948, He only entered the Dodge Roadster. I would guess he probably did not run the '32 Roadster in 1948. The '32 became his driver and the Dodge bodied roadster became his race car. The June 11-12, 1949, Ak is running#13 and it is entered as a "D" Roadster" I found a photo of #13 in the Johnny Ryan collection. The car ran 132.74 m.p.h at El Mirage. The Bonneville results sheet has #13 running 123.62 m.p.h. Many of Johnny Ryans photo were in poor condition. Some of these photos were brought in by customers and stuck on the wall of Taylor and Ryan Engine Rebuilding. They are full of greasy finger prints, tears, pin holes and were faded from the light. See attached photo #15 Im pretty sure this photo was taken on the way to the first Bonneville in 1949. Attach photo #16 shows the pickup and roadster at Bonneville. I zoomed in of the back of the pickup cab and I can just make out the extra beltline of a 34 Pickup cab. How would you like to tow a bellytank from California to Bonneville behind a 32 Roadster? I get so pissed off when someone says they need to install a small block Chevy in there hot rod so they can drive it. These guys didnt seem to have a problem driving flatheads. The September 24-25, 1949 program lists #13 as a "C" Lakester. This is going to break the Cad guys hearts. The engine was a 1939 Ford 244 ci Flathead V8, Evans heads, Evans, intake and Smith cam. Here is strange twist, the body is listed as a '27T. Is this a different roadster or a body swap? The results sheet lists it as a "D" Roadster with a speed of 130.81 m.p.h. The October 22-23, 1949, #13 is listed as a "C" Lakester and now has a Ford 1939 276 ci Flathead Ford, Evans heads, Evans Intake, Weber cam and Mag ignition. Speed 140.62 m.p.h. It helps to have friends that once worked for Earl Evans and then setup an engine rebuilding shop in your garage. Weber was also a member of the Gophers. I would doubt seriously if Ak had to pay anything for his speed equipment or machine work. May 6-7, 1950 Ak is entered as #10 C Modified Roadster. The programs stopped listing the engine details, it just says Merc 274 speed was 150.50 m.p.h. What do you want a bet he learned how to mix nitro over the winter break. September 23-24, 1950 engine listed as a 296 ci Merc See attachment #15 July 7-8. 1951 Ak Miller entered as #15 C Modified Roadster 40 Merc engine. Hot rod Magazine December, 1954 Bonneville results. Akton Miller, #38D D Modified Roadster, Olds engine, 169.17 m.p.h. Jerry
I found some more Ak MIller info for you. Years ago I started keeping a data base of hot rod articles that interested me. If I see an article that is historically important or related to building vintage hot rods I enter a reference to it into the data base. I searched “Miller” and came up with the entries below. Besides being an amateur hot rod historian I am also psychic, I know what your thinking right now and the answer is yes, I do not have a life! Actually it is really fun tracking down info for fellow people that share the same passion for hot rod history as I do. Jerry April 1951 Hot Rod Magazine Ak Miller in the Taylor and Ryan modified 135.28 mph at Daytona Beach. Pg.19 Nov, 1951 Hot Rod Magazine Akton Miller Missile hot rod of the month engine by Taylor and Ryan Set Bonneville B modified roadster record 158.2775 and C record 172.04375 two five-gallon Jeep fuel cans for gas tanks June 1952 Pic Magazine Ak Miller (need) This Pic Magazine was for sale on ebay and I was outbid. It had a hot rod article with Ak Miller in it. Oct 1952 Hot Rod Magazine Miller and Taylor shattered old mark by 12 mph in “B” Class modified roadster with a F4 cam. (add) pg. 13 May, 1953 Honk Magazine Why a hot ignition, by Ak Miller. Pg. 14 June 1954 Hot Rod Magazine Picture Ak Miller's 32 olds powered racing Wally Parks 29 pg.45 　 Oct, 1954 Hot Rod Magazine Ak Miller picture of ’32 roadster front suspension pg.55 Jan, 1955 Hot Rod Magazine Ak Miller’s Caballo. Pg. 18 Sept, 1991 Street Rodder magazine Ak Miller talks about Pierre Bertrand, Clay Smith and Ed Winfield. and his '32 roadster. pg. 122. Oct, 1999 Rod & Custom The Ak Miller story. pg. 72
Great post Jerry! The Miller's Missile feature was in the Nov. '51 Hot Rod March '51 There is also a good interview with Ak in "Hot Rod History book 2" and a chapter on Ak in "Heroes of Hot Rodding"
These two guys, Flathead Fever, and Jimmy B, are goldmines of information...have been in personal communication with Flathead Fever, restored the Mitchell Roadster and working on an incredible Deuce roadster, these are the kinds of people that keep the past alive and passed on to others...THANKS, BOTH OF YOU!!
Threads like this are why I like the HAMB. Who gives a ... over bias versus radials. These pioneers took on the world, any surface any time. Left, right, stop, go, they did it all. Gary
wow Jerry! thanks a lot..thats one awesome story! thanks a lot! sorry about the lost sleep..i owe you a cold one! i didnt see the this thread was brought back to live again, but at 0600 this morning i woke up, and was thinking about this thread..and its from 07! very strange! also thanks to Jimmy! you guys should consider getting married! it is legal here!!ha ha cant wait to see some photos of your brother inlaw's old racer! -palle
The Jalopy Journal
