Classic American – September 2019

ouvrecutting.

C: LARRYHOUGHTON

Lo

PIC

became dubbed the Junk or Junkyard Formula.

Prior to this, Indy cars were expensive, highly

developed, supercharged 91.5cu in maximum

(1.5 litres) single-seater thoroughbreds running

on exotic fuels. Now they would be two-seaters,

with ariding mechanic and the maximum

engine size was increased to 366cu in (6.0-litres)

un-supercharged. This was to encourage the

use of stock block engines. It worked, and a

whole raft of new cars entered the great race.

In 1935 HenryFord wantedapiece of the pie

andcommissioned Miller and his new business

partner,PrestonTucker ,tobuild him10race

cars using Ford’slatest flathead V8. The Fords

were expected to win straight out of the box,

but due to lack of time and testing, they all failed

miserably with minor problems. The project was

canned, but all 10 cars still exist today.And at

leas titgave Larryhis ch oice of engine.

He says: “One day,Iwould like to build a

proper Miller engine, but for thisIdecided to

use aFord flathead V8.Iinitially boughta337cu

in fromHungary, butthen foundIcouldn’tget

spares forit. Ithen boughtasmaller version

from Romania, but that was no good either.So

Iwent to Royal Kustoms (featured inCAIssue

329) and they built meabored and stroked

293cu in engine with Motor City heads and

Stromberg 97 carbs which is good for 160-170

reliable horsepower,mated toaFord T5 five-

speed gearbox. They were really helpful and did

asuperbjob.”

The box chassis is made from laser-cut steel

plates, meticulously welded, ground and filled

so that it appears seamless. The rear axle is

VolvoAmazon, the wire wheels are Bentley and

the brass front lights are C.A.V., but just about

everything else has been made from scratch.

The leaf spring-mounted front and rear axles

incorporate friction dampers but instead of

using the traditional Andre Hartford design,

Larrycleverly made his own using Honda CB100

clutch plates and springs withahydraulic

cylinder which could be screw adjusted to

increase the oil pressure and hence the friction

on the plates. For the front axle he madeaWatts

linkage governed byaset of gears, while the

rear incorporatesaPanhard rod. Instead of the

steering column runninginside the car straight

to the front, this one turns 90 degrees just below

the wood rimmed steering wheel and into a

beautifully made gearbox. The shaft then runs

down the outside of the car to the front axle,

giving more cockpit room. The superstructure

framework to carrythe bodywork is made of

square sectionsteel.

It’snow time to introduce Larry’sfriendTony

Taysom, who built the sculptured tankand seat

unit on Son ofaGun.He’salsohelped Larrywith

this car.Hebuilt awooden buck and then, with

immenseskillwithanEnglish wheelandaboxful

of hammers, he handcrafted thealuminium

bodywork inanumber of easyremovable

sections. Thisincludesafullunder body for

streamlining. There arenofloorboards in the car,

just two machinedfoot rests. Larrysays: “Miller

used todo this .It’smore aerodynamic.Youcan

make the cockpitsmaller but with plentyof

room.”

Larrymachined all the finned brakes fromsolid

with cast iron liners and FordTransitcylinders.

Everylittl edetail, including the hubs, the

bracketry, thehandb rake, thepedals, the bonnet

clamps, the wheel spinners and the rear lights,

is areal delight. The brass radiator grille slats

were rolled and machined and the steel cowl was

hand formed. “That took absolutely ages,” recalls

Larry. Eventhebrass ram’shead hood ornament

was hand-made. “A friend carved it out of clay,

then we madeasilicone mould and had it cast.”

The gorgeous roll and tuck, brown leather seat

was stitched by Scott Lloyd of Bournemouth and

the voluptuous paint was applied by Elite Panel

Craft ofWilton. The “digital readout” electronic

speedo was made byacleve rfrien dofLarry

usin gthree nixie tubes which were used in 1950s

aircraft. Each glass tube, which looks like an old

radio valve and contains wire mesh filaments,

lights up orange in the shape ofanumber.The

cream-faced, period-looking Smiths gauges, set

into an engine-turned dash are also electronic

and were supplied by Digital Speedos.

Finally,wecome to the fuel filler cap which is

bove:Watts link

ears.PIC: LARRY

OUGHTON

Bare

chassis.

Hubs, brakes.

PIC: LARRYHOUGHTON

AAA ove:

speedo.PIC: LARRY

HH

Car in progress.

36 classic-american.com