Last Novi

I search photo's (if possible colors),information and video of Last Novi raced at Indy 1966.Thanks for now,Regards,Fabrizio T. contact at fatasso@aliceposta.it

Sorry, no photos... Greg Weld was the driver and If I recall, he crashed it in practice and the car was a DNS.

I remember being at the speedway one practice day in 1966. I was sitting on the front straight and watched that Novi come off the 4th turn. When it got about a third of the way down the straight, you could actually see the car suddenly pick up speed. It was fun to watch and hear.

(I did a little bit of looking around with Google, but didn't find very much)

There's a B&W photo of the car being towed away in Rick Popely's "Indianapolis 500 Chronicle". It's fairly similar in appearance to Bobby Unser's 1965 car, but there are some noticeable differences. The nose is canted forward, the entire body is more squarish, the cowl is higher, the windshield is smaller, and there's a big rectangular scoop over the tail and two small semicircular ones on the bonnet . The wheels were also different, sort of similar to those used on Parnelli Jones' car. The paint scheme is almost identical to Unser's in 1965 (bright red with bare metal side tanks), except that the number is white on a black disc.

Contact the photo shop at the Indy hall of fame. They have a photo of every car ever entered, and can find it in a flash.

Fabrizio: Here is the last Novi: It is Greg Weld in the final Novi, the four-wheel-drive, with it's 837 bhp supercharged engine. This is the 1966 Version. Note the snake head nose. Greg Weld was only 22 years old here. Very brave man!
research Willem Oosthoek-picture lent site Willem Oosthoek.

Thank you very much for interest and information dear friends!Greetings from Italy,Fabrizio T.

Sorry ,Jerry.The link of willem oosthoek is?Thank again,Fabrizio T.

Great picture, Jerry!

The nose of the car is radically different in your picture than it was when the accident occurred. In profile, the nose was more of a thicker chisel shape with the sharp edge at the top. Also, the silver piece ahead of the front wheel was not there (intentionally, not by accident damage). The damage appeared to be confined to the right side of the car and didn't appear to be very extensive, so I'm wondering if the car was repaired and reconfigured into the arrangement shown in Jerry's photo, or if his photo was taken early in the month before modifications were made.

That car was tried with two different nose cones that year, the longnose as pictured didn't work wo well, hence was replaced.

As for the damage after the last crash, remember: it took place at the last day of qualifying so time to repair the car properly was very limited. The more while the supply of spare parts within the team wasn't that big, the car was a one off and had no sister cars of which parts could be borrowed.


Henri

This car is a beautiful Novi ever built,my favorite.Thanks,Fabrizio.

Originally posted by Fabrizio T.
This car is a beautiful Novi ever built,my favorite.Thanks,Fabrizio.

May I humbly siggest you to have a good look on the 1963 cars of Jim Hurtubise and Bobby Unser as well as the 1956 car of Paul Russo?

I know, there's a difference in taste but you are actually the first I''ve heard about who think that's the most beautiful Novi ever built.
And I ceratainly corresponded and spoke with a number of people about those cars!

Grazie


henri

Originally posted by Fabrizio T.
This car is a beautiful Novi ever built,my favorite.Thanks,Fabrizio.

Fabrizio,

A tidbit of more info on how this car was actually built:

It wasn't supposed to be built to begin with since the Granatelli brothers had in mind to enter their turbine powered car in 1966 already. But during the manufacturing of the chassis of that car, something went wrong and it was damaged. As a backup plan, the Grantellis then rushed out the Novi one more time and tried to give it the kind of weight distribution (percentagewise that is!) of the planned turbine car, hence the unusal boxshape next to the cockpit which stored the radiator.
(The Novi was much heavier than the anticipated Turbine car was supposed to be but weight distribution over front and rear axle was believed to be about similar.)

Story goes that though not fast enough for the race, the team still learned a lot about sorting out how to make a car with independent suspension all around handle properly. I have heard a report that the lessons that they learned with the Novi were of so much value to them that it helped them to make the 1967 Turbine the demon on the track it eventually was. Not necessarily that the Novi handled so well but a lot about what didn't work well on independently suspension cars was learned with the Novi and thus being blind alleys the team avoided to try with the Turbine.

As from what I deducted, the Granatellis were still serious with the engine and still believed it had a future though it had taken a step back because the promising turbine was given a higher priority. When that plan backfired they got stuck with a "dead end street" car which had little chance to succeed and had hardly been developed at all.

As for its looks, well, let's say it was "different". To my knowledge, you are one of very few people who seem to like it. Even Andy Granatelli himself called the car a monstrosity everyone would laugh about and because of it about him. But it did serve a purpose that was almost vindicated by Parnelli Jones one year later.


Henri

Dear Henry,thank you very much for your precious information.Yes,I like others Novi car,Paul Russo
Novi 1956,Novi 1961(granatelli new ownership)and new granatelli novi 1965,but my favorite is greg weld car....Best Wishes from Italy,Fabrizio.
P.S.
Novi web site?

Originally posted by Jerry Entin

Fabrizio: Here is the last Novi: It is Greg Weld in the final Novi, the four-wheel-drive, with it's 837 bhp supercharged engine. This is the 1966 Version.

Fantastic, different, lovely.

Fabrizio enjoy the sounds of thr Novi sadly too short.

http://www.milleroffy.com/index.htm

I seem to recall reading in Mr. Granatelli's autobiography, "They Call Me Mr. 500" that the Novi enginge had originally been installed into the 1967 Turbine chassis, and was considered a backup if the Turbine failed.

800+hp in the '67 4wd, indepedent suspension, mid engined chassis....

Best,

Ross

Originally posted by rl1856
I seem to recall reading in Mr. Granatelli's autobiography, "They Call Me Mr. 500" that the Novi enginge had originally been installed into the 1967 Turbine chassis, and was considered a backup if the Turbine failed.

800+hp in the '67 4wd, indepedent suspension, mid engined chassis....

Best,

Ross

And a left side weight bias out of this world and not seen yet at Indy!

More serious: When thinking about the construction of the Side-by-Side car and the Novi, I think that it would have been difficult. Even the last built Roadsters (the 1962 Kurtis 500K's) had something of an offset engine already but not as extreme as the Side-by-by side should have had. And even the 500K Roadsters had a bodywork style that made them look as pregnant whales already becouse of covering the left side cylinder bank. A side-by-side likely should have had the engine hanging outside beyond the outer edges of the left wheels.
Maybe it could be done, I don't know. But having seen the 1967 Paxton and having seen a Novi V8, I think they would have been difficult to match.....


Henri