Miller-Ford-Offenhauser (1935) - Andy Granatelli

With the assistance of Preston Tucker, Harry Miller had a goal of building Indy Cars and racing them at the 500. Promotional help was provided by Henry Ford. The cars were front-wheel drive and powered by a Ford Flathead V8. Miller and Tucker completed nine cars for the 1935 Indianapolis 500. Only four of the cars were able to qualify for the race. None of those cars were able to finish the race as a design flaw in the steering eliminated all of the cars.

In 1948, Andy Granatelli purchased one of the Miller-Fords and refitted it with a 220 cubic inch Offenhauser motor. The driver that he had hired could not get the car up to speed so Granatelli decided to race the car himself. He never made it past qualifying. While navigating Turns #2 on his fourth and final qualifying lap, Granatelli blew out a right front tire. The car hit the wall and was severely damaged as it slid 300 yards down the track. Granaletti suffered a broken wrist.

The car was sold in crash condition. The new owner repaired the chassis but kept the bodywork as pristine as possible.


Vince Granatelli was able to talk about the current owner of the car into running the car around the race track during "Old Timers Days". This is a special event that is held in mid May in the weeks leading up to the 2015 Indianapolis 500. Here is a link of the car making a run in 2015.

tube.poal.co/watch?v=TdQkKVoIBYo