Topic: Ubb37 1947 Novi Supercharged V8

[mekubb]

What is the name of this racer and when was it made ?

[mekubb]

Any ideas amongst the experts for this cool racer ?

[Hiawatha]

Kurtis Novi Indianapolis 500 ?

[WayneB]

1947 Novi Governor Mobil Special

[sixtee5cuda]

The driver is Bud Winfield.  As stated, it is a 1947 Novi Supercharged V8 Indy car.

[mekubb]

The driver is Bud Winfield.  As stated, it is a 1947 Novi Supercharged V8 Indy car.

Sixtee5cuda has given the most complete and therefore correct answer, my source calls it Novi Supercharged V8 from 1947 as well. A point for you.

[D-type]

Ahem!

The 1947 Governer Mobil Special  had a Kurtis chassis and a V8 Novi engine.  Hence both Hiawatha and WayneB are arguably more correct than your source.  The confusion arises because over the years, many writers have called the Novi-engined cars "Novis" regardless of their correct names or what chassis they had

[WayneB]

Thanks D-Type.

I was going off what the cars official entry name was for the 1947 Indy 500

I guess the speedway must have got the name wrong.

[Otto Puzzell]

Winfield was not the driver in the race. Though he tried to qualify (he was the team's mechanic), he spun the car. The Novi V8 was built to Winfield's design by Winfield and Leo Goosen at Fred Offenhauser's shop, in the old Miller plant the latter had bought.

It's possible the puzzle photo was taken at Bonneville. After the 1947 Indy 500, Mobil sponsored the car in some record runs there, where it turned some circular laps. On August 21 1947, Marv Jenkins (Ab Jenkins' son) took to the circle track twice, the first time out he averaged 183.6 mph and the second run was 175.4.  Note the missing "Governor" livery, which the cars featured at Indy.

Judging by the hood bumps, the puzzle car is the Cliff Bergere car that DNF'd at Indy with a burned piston.

[mekubb]

Thanks gentlemen for all your input. My source calls it a Novi Supercharged V8 from 1947 with Bud Winfield as the driver, so I assumed this was right. Apparently you can't always believe what you read...

[Otto Puzzell]

I suppose it could be Bud, before his qualifying attempt, or perhaps during testing. The only photo I can find of the car at Bonneville shows it with a cobbled-up roof and fairing, but with the Mobil Special livery (no "Governor") on the side.

So, my input is largely conjecture.  

[RayTheRat]

The surface on which the puzzle car is sitting sure looks like the surface of the salt flats.  There's also the appearance of a non-linear (circle) track in the background.  On one website, the puzzle car is posted just above a post about Ab Jenkins and the Mormon Meteor.  And the driver in the photo looks (to me, and it's hard to tell with the goggles) like Ab Jenkins (attached).  I know that Marv ran the car for a coupla laps, but it's possible that Ab tested it, too.  I can't put my fingers on a photo of Marv at the moment.  For what it's worth.

[RayTheRat]

One more.  This is the "cobbled up roof and fairing" (I think) that Otto mentioned.  It might be a later version of the car (if it is the same car) with Marv at the wheel.

[Otto Puzzell]

The surface on which the puzzle car is sitting sure looks like the surface of the salt flats.  There's also the appearance of a non-linear (circle) track in the background.  On one website, the puzzle car is posted just above a post about Ab Jenkins and the Mormon Meteor.  And the driver in the photo looks (to me, and it's hard to tell with the goggles) like Ab Jenkins (attached).  I know that Marv ran the car for a coupla laps, but it's possible that Ab tested it, too.  I can't put my fingers on a photo of Marv at the moment.  For what it's worth.

Ab did try the car, but got spooked.

[RayTheRat]

The surface on which the puzzle car is sitting sure looks like the surface of the salt flats.  There's also the appearance of a non-linear (circle) track in the background.  On one website, the puzzle car is posted just above a post about Ab Jenkins and the Mormon Meteor.  And the driver in the photo looks (to me, and it's hard to tell with the goggles) like Ab Jenkins (attached).  I know that Marv ran the car for a coupla laps, but it's possible that Ab tested it, too.  I can't put my fingers on a photo of Marv at the moment.  For what it's worth.

Ab did try the car, but got spooked.

Wow!  That's almost unheard of.  Matter of fact, I'd never heard of Ab being "spooked" by or "afraid" of any car.  'Course I dunno how many Indy cars he drove over his career of record-setting.