An expensive custom-made race car built in 1917 by Harry Miller that would help change the shape of things to come in American auto racing. The Golden Submarine carried an unimaginable ticket price of $15,000 at its completion. Its gold color was the result of a combination of lacquer and bronze dust. The Golden Submarine never won the Indy 500, though it ran in 1919, pulling out with engine trouble; but its designs foreshadowed the future of American racing. Miller’s design would dominate Indy for over 30 years.
This car was raced at the Indianapolis 500 in 1948, sporting no less than six wheels. The four wheels at the back were driven by two axles connected by a universal joint, making the Pat Clancy Special a four-wheel drive car. Powered by a Meyer-Drake engine and driven by Billy DeVore the car was still running at the end and was classified 12th. It remains the only six-wheeled car to complete the Indianapolis 500. The car was converted to a conventional four-wheeler and won races in 1949 and 1950 with Jimmy Davies driving.
There is a movie called THE BIG WHEEL starring Mickey Rooney filmed in 1949 that contains good footage of both midgets and the Indy 500. You can see it on Turner Classic from time to time.
Now HERE was an usual race car - a Supermodified, where the chassis builders were ALLOWED to innovate. This car never ran in any event from what I understand, sanctioned or unsanctioned, because it was simply too DAMN FAST. The only driver with any balls enough to test the thing was none other than Tim Richmond, who went on to fame in other racing.
The car had three wheels/tires on the right side, and only one on the left, thereby getting past the “race car must have four tires” rule. The center right wheel, and the left wheel, were the drive wheels, and the right front and right rear worked in opposite directions to steer the car. You can just see the left-side tire above the injectors on the motor.
Wonder if there’s any video of this thing being tested…?
Another creative Supermodified, this time from Bill Port, Armond Holley, and Bill Hite (looks like Gene Lee Gibson shook the car down, but wrecked it):
Rear engined, no suspension at all according to Armond Holley, Jr.:
"Well we kicked around the idea of a very light non-suspension RE car. It was just BS-ing , but he got on the phone with Bill Hite. After a lot of phone conversations Hite thought the idea had some merit and considering the tires and wings available why not? So he drew up some plans and submitted them to Port, who bought the project.
The car was absolutely unique. Completely rigid, the right rear had a U joint on it so as to allow camber adjustments. Both front spindles had camber, caster and height adjusters (for load adjustment) and zero scrub radius built into them (most guys don?t even know what it is)! Lightness remember no power steering. The whole project less engine was designed and built by Hite.
Gene Lee Gibson was selected to do the driving, while Bill and I and a couple Leahy boys (one is in the picture I think) were the pit crew.
Trouble the first night as the Leahy?s not familiar with zero scrub inadvertently put the wheels on backwards and the brake calipers tore out both front tire valves.
Also later it was discovered that the rigid driveshaft was too long and put undo pressure on the rear main and the engine burned a bearing.
There was a learning curve with the chassis as to air pressures and wedge so these mishaps during the first couple nites track performance was not spectacular. Bill was subjected to a lot of ridicule at Myles Engines (they did his machine work) as ?bouncy bouncy?. However, we finally got it dialed in and Gene Lee was going for the lead in the feature when he was forced off the number two turn into the backstretch guard rail at Lorain County and crashed the right front section of the frame.
All these incidents convinced Port that the car was jinxed. He was a very superstitious person. So he abandoned the project and stripped the car and gave me the frame. I salvaged the frame by cutting most of the brackets and non-suspension items off and made it into a mini outlaw racecar using a 750cc Kawasaki engine and won a championship with it!
Those were the days when unhampered by rules guys would try all sorts of things and I think we have lost some of that.
When RE cars were outlawed, Port had Hite build him a roadster with 4 wheel independent suspension. He was disatisfied with and it turned it over to Jerry Mong for analysis and re-work. Unfortunately it never really worked out to Ports’ satisfaction. So he sold the chassis to my bucks down brother who tried using a turbo-charged SB with gasoline (silly guy) and had Bob “Hunter” (Al Woods) drive it. It might have been a success had he used alcohol as Woods really liked the car as long as it didn’t overheat! He kept it inactive for a few years and then scrapped it to build a mini-outlaw car using a two-stroke engine.
Armond Holley was scheduled to be the original driver of this car. He drove down to Hites shop in Alabama and towed the car back up to Port. They tested the car for a full day at Oswego and it was quite bouncy. Bill was very uneasy about the car, Dad said he thought we get get it figured out, and my stepmom would rather he not drive it. Dad and Port did a little brainstorming and decided to have Gene Lee shake it down the first season, and if anything could be made of it, Dad would drive it the following year. Bill called my Father and told him Gene Lee wrecked the car pretty hard and that the car is unsafe and he was scrapping it. Dad was pretty mad that Bill wouldnt want to fix it cause he thought the car could be really good, but he also knew that thats how Bill was, he valued his drivers safety above all else. "
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