IT'S MOTORHEAD SUNDAY
I know....I'm posting late but it's been a very busy day around here. Not to mention that it's the first day in a month where the temps have been above freezing. Lots of motorcycles out shaking off the winter dust.
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Today's offering is a 1911 National Indy Racer. Manufactured by the National Motor Vehicle Company. Only 3 Factory Team Cars were ever built.
ENGINE: "T" head, 4 cylinder, 460 cu.in. w/top speed of 100mph (est).
TRANSMISSION: 3-speed non-synchro with leather cone clutch.
FRAME & CHASSIS: Steel and wood
WHEELS: Wood
BODY: Aluminum
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HISTORY: National built cars from 1900 to 1924 in Indianapolis, originally powered by electric motors. Electricity was phased out in 1906. President Arthur C. Newby was one of the four founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where National won the 500 mile race in 1912 with an average speed of 78.2 mph. National still holds the record for the largest engine ever to win the Indy 500. That 4-cylinder engine displaced 490 cu. in.
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THIS CAR: is one of three team cars raced by the National factory in the 1911 Indy 500, where it finished 7th driven by Charlie Merz. The National team cars were "stock" cars with shortened frames, higher gearing and highly modified engines. In later years this car was converted to the "Cody Special," a further shortened car with narrowed bodywork that ran in the 1916 Santa Monica Road Races driven my movie stuntman Bill Cody. Its professional racing career ended in 1918 when, no longer competitive for any top racing series, it was driven by one of the "Speederettes" in the first women's professional racing series. It was founded in Northern California in the early 1950s and ended up in Indiana where it was modified into a touring car, its racing heritage known only to a few people. It was restored to its original racing configuration in 2011 to participate in the Centennial Celebration of the first Indy 500.
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BEST IN LARGE.
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