He returned the following year with a homebuilt car that failed to qualify. Of the great roadsters that watson built, none was more legendary and historic as the roadster nicknamed calhoun. Lyons the roadster era at indy is regarded in many racing circles as the golden years of the indy 500 with record attendance and a multitude of teams trying to qualify as one of the 33 that would make the memorial day classic. Watson and fred offenhauser are two legendary names associated with the indianapolis 500 names that, to indy faithful, are right there with foyt and unser. Indy roadsters bring the brickyard to pebble beach hemmings. Rodger ward qualified on the front row for the 1964 indy 500 and finished in second place. Really a companion book to the roaring roadster book with many of the same players. The classic indy roadster might well be americas most beloved race car. Activities on legends day honoring the roadster era presented by firestone include a roadster display and track laps by many roadsters. Another look at the indy roadster era macs motor city garage. Watson, the car first appeared at the 1963 indianapolis 500, driven by 1960 indy 500 winner jim rathmann. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Watson roadster tribute club public group facebook.
With the novel carhe built with fabricator quinn epperly,george salih is often credited as the pioneer of the laydown roadster. May 29, 2016 image stepby step build of the 1962 bryant special indy roadster from junker to jewel. Watson indy roadster recreation thats been specially built for action at bonneville speed week, where it claimed a world record of 181. Watson figured he could do better than kurtiss indywinning kk500c, so he did. Watsons indianapolis roadsters had risen to iconic status in american racing history. Aug 21, 20 one of 23 indianapolis roadsters built by watson, this car wearing the same livery as it did in the 1963 indy 500 has the distinction of never sustaining damage in competition.
And just to prove to mitch that i know a little bit about roadsters here is the sarkestarzian car that i did some of the restoration work on in the early 90s. Another project we started not to long ago november 27 2016 is this aj watson styled indy roadster project. Sep 01, 2011 the last roadster to qualify and run at indy which happened to be a watson roadster was driven by bobby grim in 1966. Pat flaherty handily won the 500 in a watson in 1956, and the company would build another 22 roadsters, earning an impressive record with six indianapolis victories in. Hurtubise reworked it during the offseason and changed the name to a hurtubise. In fact, watson roadsters won the indianapolis 500 six times in just nine years. If you fondly recall the era of the sportsman car owner, and the drivers who were hired for their ability, rather than how much money they could bring to the car owner, this book is for you.
In total, there were 23 indy roadsters created by a. The road to indy so that it would take center stage. A native of southern california, watson came to indianapolis in 1948 but. See more ideas about indy cars, indy car racing and race cars. Watsons roadster designs dominated the indianapolis 500, winning four times between 1956 and 1962. Watsonbuilt cars won the indianapolis 500 with pat flaherty 1956, rodger ward 1959 and 1962, jim rathmann 1960, parnelli jones 1963, and a. Watson figured he could do better than kurtiss indy winning kk500c, so he did. The sharknose is unusual, but every watson roadster wes pretty much handcrafted. The 10 greatest indy roadsters in history macs motor city garage. The quality of the book, however, makes it a coffeetable masterpiece and wallen crafted roaring roadsters. Bob sweikert drove zinks watsonmodified kurtis to victory at indy in 1955, and by 1956, the first true watson debuted and vastly improved upon the basic kurtis design. The two most prolific roadster builders were kurtiskraft and a. The 10 greatest indy roadsters in history macs motor city. When roadsters ruled the speedway by gary wayne 2001, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay.
Third in class at pebble beach went to the 1963 watson hopkins coral harbor special roadster owned by george t. Watson a threetime entrant in the indianapolis 500 beautifully restored by floyd and ron trevis one of the most authentic privately owned indy roadsters. Apr 08, 2015 the 1960 watson indianapolis roadster is just about the perfect example of the iconic american racer, indy roadsters were the dominant design between 1952 and 1965 on the race tracks of north america, and even all these years later theyre still the first thing many people think of when you mention the indy 500. His cars would win again in 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1963. Foyt is one of the brightest firecrackers to have ever lived. Watson was the most successful builder of frontengined race cars for the indy 500 during the fifties.
Beginning with pat flahertys indywinning john zink special in 1956, master racing mechanic and builder a. Painted vs unpainted, bill akin who owns 4 indy roadster 1 kurtis and 3 quinn epperlys has won the pebble beach concourse event i think 3 times with his roadsters and his cars are just as raced if it was chromed on race day its chrome on his cars, so not much chrome on any roadster it was painted and polished. This is a hardbound book measuring 11 inches in width and 8 12 inches in height, which is a little unwieldy for a normal bookshelf and contains 267 pages. During the winter of 196263, he built eight watson roadsters in a tiny shop in glendale, california, the most completed during a single year. Featuring a ladder frame, the roadster was 32 wide at the rear and 29 wide at the. The watson roadsters tnfs archive the autosport forums. Ive heard about a book called the watson years by gary wayne but havent seen any serious info about it. The 10 greatest indy roadsters in history macs motor. And dont forget to buy gordon whites, kurtis kraft book is. Expertly built from the ground up to an enthusiasts exacting requirements for use in historic racing, sprints and hill climbs.
Accurate and competitive reproduction of the parnelli jones 1963 indy 500winning watson agajanian willard battery special indy roadster, nicknamed calhoun. Foyt must have foreseen the historic meaning of foyts indy 500 win in 1964, which. Indy roadsters bring the brickyard to pebble beach. With the novel car he built with fabricator quinn epperly, george salih is often.
As it quickly proved, this very popular california phenomenon produced wheeltowheel action and some of the most famous drivers in american racing history. Foyt must have foreseen the historic meaning of foyts indy 500 win in 1964, which proved to be the final victory for a roadster. He returned the following year with a homebuilt car that failed to. A great book on the subject, and a required place on your library shelf. Following kuzmas design, almost all new roadsters and many earlier roadsters, after 56, started using left side oil tanks, but instead of using a big bulky fairing, they built streamline shaped tanks. Pagenaud now a top indy 500, indycar title contender an amazing man, the most impressive mechanic, engineer and.
Sleek frontengine cars called roadsters dominated the indy 500, and some 90 percent of them were built by five men. After building a few track roadsters for cra competition in the immediate postww2 years, abraham joseph watson began his association with aaa big cars in 1948 as the mechanic on conny weidells wiedell. A 1958 watson offenhauser which won the race of two worlds in monza, italy. The quality of the book, however, makes it a coffeetable masterpiece and wallen crafted roaring roadsters, the road to indy so that it would take center stage. Watson was one of the 500s great innovators with his roadsters through the late 1950s and mid1960s. Incredibly reliable, maintained regardless of cost and a hugely popular car at any race event or. Would like to see more pictures of the building process but maybe that is all that there is.
His cars won the indianapolis 500 six times between. It is closely based on the watson, just widened 4 in the front, 8 in the rear and stretched 10 in the cockpit to make it a two seater for the street. The 1960 watson indianapolis roadster is just about the perfect example of the iconic american racer, indy roadsters were the dominant design between 1952 and 1965 on the race tracks of north america, and even all these years later theyre still the first thing many people think of when you mention the indy 500. See more ideas about race cars, indy cars and indy car racing. The car, originally a watson roadster, was raced in 63 by eddie sachs. He won six 500s as a constructor and four as a chief mechanic. On my car story were in indianapolis in at the indianapolis motor speedway on 61215. Drivers in roadsters won every indianapolis 500 from 195364. Watson were among the most successful to race at indy. Watson made a total of 23 race cars during his career and this is number 21. The last roadster to qualify and run at indy which happened to be a watson roadster was driven by bobby grim in 1966.
A native of southern california, watson came to indianapolis in 1948 but missed the race. Aj watsons first rearengined car was an unashamed copy of the very quick late1963 vollstedt design. This is a hardbound book measuring 11 inches in width and 8. History of the roadster era at the indianapolis 500.
Image stepby step build of the 1962 bryant special. Image stepby step build of the 1962 bryant special indy roadster from junker to jewel. The five great indy roadster builders from 1950 to 1960. This is one of the last of the watson roadsters that raced at indy in the late 50s and early 60s. The 1963 season saw for the first time, leader card racers organized into three teams under a. Watson served as a navigator in the eighty army air force during world war ii.
Crashed heavily in practice but came back to qualified 11th. As we remember it now, the fifties were a golden age at the indianapolis motor speedway. If you collect books on indy car builder a must have. Fiberglass 64 watson roadster body posted in production 124 vintage cars. Another very good book on watson roadsters is the book indianapolis roadsters 19521964 by joe scalzo. I know this is a 2 scale body but i wanted to post here because there are more viewers. This was the car that elmer george raced at indy in 623 and mel kenyon later crashed at langhorne. The following year he built a indy roadster of his own design.
Apr 16, 2016 in a few short years the entire indy 500 field was made up of roadsters, rendering the old upright cars obsolete. Watson built 23 indy roadsters including the cars that won the 500 in 195960, 1962 and 1963. Fourtime indianapolis 500 champion anthony joseph a. Dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of the a. The 1957 kurtisoffenhauser roadster presented here was originally built for j. Image stepby step build of the 1962 bryant special indy. May 23, 2012 the following year he built a indy roadster of his own design. Aj watsons 1600 lb, singleseat roadster was an exercise in elegant simplicity. This is a beautifully restored, very correct watson roadster, and.
In 1956, watson built his first indy roadster from scratch. Duke donaldson who remained the owner throughout its fouryear history covering 1957 to 1961. A most unique insight into the world of championship auto racing in general, and aj watson, and his indy 500 roadsters in particular. Offenhauser engine, in a laydown position to lower the car. Watsons roadsters won americas great race in 1959 and 1960 with the two chassis shown here. Watson was an air force navigator, then attended g. Foyt was the last driver to wheel a roadster into victory lane at indy. Rodger ward won 18 races driving watson cars a native of southern california, watson came to indianapolis in 1948 but missed the race. For a complete list of pebble beach concours delegance winners, visit. Jun, 2015 on my car story were in indianapolis in at the indianapolis motor speedway on 61215. The last roadster to make the race was built and driven by jim hurtubise in the 1968 race and dropped out early. It was entered for the 500 by ebb rose whose mechanic was the late herb porter in 1963continue reading.
Watson s roadster designs dominated the indianapolis 500, winning four times between 1956 and 1962. In 1962, old calhoun was the first to qualify at greater than 150 mph, and in 1963 the red, white, and blue watsonoffy carried parnelli to his only indy 500 win. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then a. Eleven of foyts 67 career indy car victories came in either watson or watsontrevis roadsters, including his. This was an era of transition, as rearengined cars with sleeker aerodynamics emerged, epitomized in 1963 by the battle between the races eventu. Rodger ward with watson as crew chief made up one team, don branson with his crew chief jud philips made up a. The watson roadster offered here was built in 1960 for pete salemi and nick rini, business partners from cleveland, ohio.
This is a beautifully restored, very correct watson roadster, and it should bring big bucks at auction. Watson may 8, 1924 may 12, 2014 was a car builder and chief mechanic from 1949 through 1984 in the indianapolis 500, winning the race six times as a car builder. Some pavement midgets roadsters were built and raced into the early 1970s but never were dominant. The roadster era had really ended the splitsecond foyt crossed the finish. Best of all, construction of this straightline recordsetter was done with help from a. The cooper of jack brabham in 1961, mickey thompsons buick specials in 1962, and colin chapmans lotus in 1963 obsoleted the roadsters, just as the roadsters had put the old uprights to pasture a decade earlier. In 1955 he modified a kurtis kk500c which ended up winning the 500. Mar 19, 20 kuzma used this same oil tank and fairing design on two new 1956 cars that he built. Another look at the indy roadster era macs motor city. Jul 20, 2002 the watson roadsters posted in tnfs archive.