Well, it seems these "connections" puzzles can and do have more than one solution. I've given "solved" points to each puzzler who linked both cars.
The solution I was going for is this:
Brickmaker Johan Heinrich Düsenberg emigrated to America in 1866. His wife Katrine Henigete Düsenberg, maiden name Naken, followed him 2 years later. At the age of 17 Fred Duesenberg founded a bike shop. His brother Augie ran a similar shop in Garner, Iowa. In 1902 Fred started a career as technical manager of development and as a test driver at the Rambler car factory. In 1910 Fred presented his first racing car. In 1913 the DUESENBERG MOTOR COMPANY was founded. Among other venues, Duesenberg cars raced in the Indianapolis 500.
The first effort to qualify a car at Indianapolis with a Rambler-descendant AMC powerplant began in 1968. Barney Navarro, an automotive engineer, inventor and builder, decided to build an Indy car that would use a 199 CID Rambler six cylinder engine. It all began when a customer of Navarro's wanted to build a six cylinder turbocharged Indy car. After evaluating the six's that where being built at the time the AMC engine was the one judged to be up to the task. The 199 has seven main bearings and eight counter weights as well as half inch head bolts.
One year into the project Navarro had the little Rambler engine set up to produce 550 horsepower! The carburetors were a source of trouble and eventually were replaced with a custom fuel injection system. The 199 proved to be very reliable during testing and suffered no internal problems. By the end of the program the little six was making 600 horsepower! Before the project ended AMC would become the backer of the car and give much needed factory support. The car may not have won the Indianapolis 500 but it helped to generate factory support within AMC and helped pave the way for the AMC V-8 Indy Car program that was to follow several years later.
