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Mike Mosley's car at the 1968 Indy 500


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#1 Allen Brown

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Posted 15 July 2005 - 17:47

I'm just working through the 1968 Indy 500 field and have hit a problem. Max Mosley drove the #90 Leader Card 'Watson-Offy', a car orginally entered for George Snider and also driven by Chuck Hulse after Snider gave it up. I had always assumed this was a 1968 Eagle, like teammate Bobby Unser's #3 car, but I can see from the pictures that it isn't.

Here's a link to the picture on indy500.com.

The Clymer yearbook has messed up its description, calling it a Finley. I'm sure it's not a Finley.

I guess it could be the #90 'Watson-Ford' driven earlier in 1968 by Snider and maybe the same as the #90 'Watson-Ford' driven by Hurtubise, McElreath and Parsons during 1968. But the Indy 500 car has a turbo Offy.

So what is it? Anyone know?

Allen

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#2 HDonaldCapps

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Posted 15 July 2005 - 18:28

Apparently Mike Mosley in one of those "Eagles" that may or may not have been an "Eagle." Watson either fabricated a new car or heavily modified an existing Eagle. The original entry may have been for a "Finley" and with things being what they were at that time with the Clymer operation, it never got corrected or verified in the first place. I am a long way a way from my notes and materials, but I think we huddled over this one before at some point....

#3 Allen Brown

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Posted 15 July 2005 - 19:53

Oh yes, sorry, I meant Max's elder brother Mike. And uncle of Silvio.

I don't see any earlier Eagle 'missing' as early as 1968. Leader Card did have a 1967 Eagle but that would be the #79 Eagle-Ford garaged next door to Unser's car. All the other 1966 and 1967 cars are accounted for.

Could Leader Card really have been using a Watson-buit chassis as late as 1968? Maybe so - I see a #87 Leader card entry of a 'Watson-Ford' was being practiced by Dempsey Wilson and was only pulled out of the line very, very late on the Monday. Mosley had managed 162.499 mph, compared with 171 mph for the top two turbines, which was a respectable time given that Snider had failed to break 160. Both the #87 and the #90 were entered as Ford V8s althrough the #90 seems to have had an Offy turbo no later than when Hulse crashed it.

I'm sure the Finley thing is a red herring - Clymer must have read across the wrong line and picked up the #94 Finely immediately below it.

Allen

#4 T54

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Posted 16 July 2005 - 04:34

It was one of the rebuilt 1966 Watsons with the pointed nose, like the one Roger Ward failed to qualify. Look at the tub, it's exactly the same. There were two of them if I recall. Mike finished in 8th place, 3 laps down.
It IS listed as a "Zecol-Lubaid Watson-Offenhauser" in my Indy books.

Mike later DID race an A.J. Watson-modified '68 Eagle, in 1970 to be precise, and boy did HE go fast with that thing... winning his first race in Trenton with the "old" car sponsored by CG Murphy's.

T54

#5 Gerr

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Posted 16 July 2005 - 05:06

Allen,
It's a Watson monocoque. The last three or so Clymer yearbooks have a lot of errors in the picture captions, unfortunately.
Regarding the engine switcheroo: Early in 1968 (reported in AW, March 30) Herb Porter was assigned by Goodyear to maintain and develop the Turbo-Offys of Bobby Unser, McCluskey and Johncock. Maybe they were putting some eggs in other baskets as this was about the same time that the first scandal with the Shelby-Wallis turbines (Goodyear's "pet" project) hit the fan. At Indy those turbines were withdrawn. It's probable that GY and Porter wanted to get some more Goodyear teams into the show and maybe made some Offy T/Cs available.



The daily trackside reports have a lot of useful info
http://www.indy500.c...tats/trackside/
Have a look at the entry list.

#6 Allen Brown

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Posted 16 July 2005 - 10:33

Hi Gerr

So glad you're here!

I had no idea that Watson had the ability to build monocoques as early as 1968. I knew he built Lightning-copy monocoques in 1977 and 1978 but I thought his 1960s rear-engned cars were developments of his original Vollstedt copy spaceframe.

Over on Trackforum, where I posted an identical thread with identical embarrassing error, Indyjrc made some interesting observations:

Originally posted by indyjrc
Allen, I believe that this car was built by A.J. Watson. Look closely at the nose. You will notice that there are actually two holes in the nose and they approximate the same type nose on the original Watson roadsters. Also, notice that the rear radius rods go through the bodywork instead of being attached to the outside of a tub (which was the practice at the time). This tells me that the car is a likely a tube frame car similar to the Brabhams (and the Hawks and Mongooses) of the day. This is also the type of construction that Watson had the most experience with. And it kind of rules out Finley as the builder because I think he was already building monocoque tubs by this time. There were a lot of tube frame rear engined cars that were built in the late 1960s and this is likely Watson's variation of one of them. Most of these tube frame cars ended up using Eagle uprights (because they were so readily available; I think that even the Brabhams used them) on the corners. Also, the shape of the nose cutout in front of the front wheels appears to be the same as the Mongooses so Watson probably adapted that part of the body to his car as well. Someone here may know for sure but I believe that this car was built by A.J. Watson. The nose just confirms it for me.

I then looked at Mosley's 1969 car and it looks very much the same. I had it down as an Eagle as well (Hungness says "new Eagle") but the picture shows the same square section as the 1968 car and the same rear radius rods. Could this be a Eagle-based car built again by Watson or do you think it was actually an Eagle. I have given up on my ability to identify early Eagles since Fines pointed out that Simpson's Rafaela "Eagle" doesn't actually look like an Eagle.

Allen

#7 Allen Brown

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Posted 16 July 2005 - 11:13

I just read the 1968 Daily Reports.

The #87 car turned up on day 1 of Indy practice but had #90 on the side. So it's the #87 that Snider spins on 3 May, after which he takes out the "real" #90 for a shake down.

The #87 in the Daily Reports entry list is a Watson-Ford with the #90 a Watson-Offy. Clymer's version of the entry list has both as Fords.

There's then no sign of the #87 as Snider busies himself with the #90. After he gives up, Hulse's accident in the #90 is Sunday 19 May. On 21 May, Rutherford and Hurt give the #90 a try then Mosley gets his first run on 22 May. Then, on Sunday 26 May, what should have been the last day of qualifying, the #87 is mentioned again. As any car in line at 6:00 pm that day was given another shot on the Monday, I guess Watson decided to push it into line.

It looks like the #90 was Watson's main car, maybe one of his own cars but with a Offy turbo in the back for the first time. The #87 appears to have been an old Ford V8 backup car and was very little used.

I'll go and read 1969 too...

#8 T54

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Posted 16 July 2005 - 14:26

I had no idea that Watson had the ability to build monocoques as early as 1968.


Try 1966. Not only he HAD the ability but he DID build two of the most beautiful Indy cars ever.

It looks like the #90 was Watson's main car, maybe one of his own cars but with a Offy turbo in the back for the first time.


Yes indeed, one of the two, modified, 1966 Watson cars...

It was one of the rebuilt 1966 Watsons with the pointed nose, like the one Roger Ward failed to qualify. Look at the tub, it's exactly the same. There were two of them if I recall. Mike finished in 8th place, 3 laps down.



This is one of the two 1966 cars, as it stands today, restored as it last ran:

Posted Image

:|

T54

#9 Arthur Anderson

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Posted 16 July 2005 - 15:36

Watson built those two chassis for the 1965 '500', for which Rodger Ward did not qualify--apparently the car just would not handle for him, stuffed it into the wall, then a couple of blown engines, the last on "bump day" on the front stretch.

Floyd Clymer's 1967 and 1968 500-Mile Race Yearbooks suffered, I believe, from his failing health in those years, the '68 Yearbook also having been delayed many, many months (early summer of 1969) by major flooding in Los Angeles where I believe he was living at the time. IIRC, Clymer died in late 1969. I suspect that the rather poor quality of his last two Yearbooks stemmed as much from his declining health as anything else.

I had the privilege of being introduced to Clymer, in 1965, through Lee Norquest, a cousin of my father's, who was a bit of a "hero" to me as a teenager and young adult, due to Lee's passionate interest in the 500, and the Novi's. I found Clymer to be an interesting character, filled with stories of antique cars (Clymer was the pioneer of books, both historical and technical) on antique cars in the US, having begun working from his own extensive memories (he was one of the youngest automobile dealers--if not THE youngest--having become an "agent" for several makes of cars, in his small hometown in the mountains of Colorado at the age of 12!).


Art

#10 Allen Brown

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Posted 16 July 2005 - 16:44

So the 1969 Mosley car was actually a 1966 chassis? The picture T54 posted matches Mosley's 1969 car right down to the position of the stickers. Where was that picture taken? Can you tell me who owns the car now?

But Art says these were 1965 cars - so we go back another year. Is that right? There is a picture in Wallen (p336) of "new cars being built at Watson's shop" for 1966 and they do appear to be monocoques. In 1965, Wallen says (p289) "Watson was revising his Vollstedt-inspired car", implying it remained a spaceframe.

So let me see if I've got this right. Ward can't get the 1965 car into the race. In 1966, maybe with new cars, Hulse qualifies the #12 but Rodee crashes the #92. In 1967 (same cars?), Mosley wrecks and Pedro gets bumped. In 1968 (same cars again?) Mosley just gets the #90 into the race. Then in 1969 (same cars yet again?) they are on the pace for much of the month; Bob Veith crashes #79 but Mosley comfortably qualifies his #90. These cars seem to get quicker as the years go by!

So am I right to think of the 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969 AJ Watson entries as 1966 monocoque Watson? Or are they 1965 spaceframes? Or am I still wrong?

Allen

#11 Gerr

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Posted 17 July 2005 - 06:30

Allen,
Re: the 1968 Watson Ford-to Offy switcheroo again. Have a look at page 20 in the Clymer Yearbook. The photo of Mosley spinning #90 shows clearly the engine cover designed/made for a Ford stretched over the Offy and related plumbing.

Re: the other stuff. Watson built two monocoques for '65 (I think Wallen's caption is misleading), but I am pretty sure the '67 car(s) were a new design.
One more car to consider....Ralph Liguori wrecked Walter Flynn's #35 early ('65-66) Watson- Ford at Indy,1967...pics in the yearbook, IIRC.

#12 T54

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Posted 18 July 2005 - 01:45

Allen,
Now you are going to actually force me into calling A.J. ... :)
I will let you know in a couple of days.
The 1965 cars were I BELIEVE, tube-frame cars. The 1966 were, I BELIEVE, monocoque. However and at my age, memory can be cloudy so now is time for actual checking.

Can you tell me who owns the car now?


I will also tell you that.

T54

#13 Allen Brown

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Posted 18 July 2005 - 09:32

Originally posted by T54
Allen,
Now you are going to actually force me into calling A.J. ... :)
I will let you know in a couple of days.
The 1965 cars were I BELIEVE, tube-frame cars. The 1966 were, I BELIEVE, monocoque. However and at my age, memory can be cloudy so now is time for actual checking ...

Philippe

That is an excellent idea! I'm sure AJ has been asked many times about his roadsters but I wonder how many times he's been asked about his early rear-engined cars.

I know he didn't number his cars but it would be great if he was able to tell us how many he built, when, and to what design. He might also be able to help us disentangle the Watsons that were Watson-built from the Watsons that were originally Eagles and - maybe - the Watsons that were originally Gerhardts.

Thanks

Allen

#14 T54

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Posted 18 July 2005 - 14:33

The Eagles are easy to spot because the Clymer's Indy year books always called them by what they were PRIOR to later alterations.

T54

#15 Allen Brown

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Posted 18 July 2005 - 19:48

Originally posted by T54
The Eagles are easy to spot because the Clymer's Indy year books always called them by what they were PRIOR to later alterations.

T54

True, but Hungness sometimes omits the full history of a Watson-entered car in his fill-in 1969-72 book. His identification of the 1969 car as a "New Eagle" looks highly suspect given what we now know. And as Clymer screws up on that very same car in the 1968 book ("New Finley"), we don't have anything to go on. I agree that it now looks most likely to be a Watson-built car as it resembles the 1966 car so closely but the possibility remains that it was built on a 1966 Gerhardt with Watson bodywork mods.

Allen

#16 T54

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Posted 18 July 2005 - 22:36

OK, here is the info I have gathered so far with my nose on the ground looking for serious truffles ( I have not spoken to A.J. yet, I will let you know what he can remember):

From all the docs I gathered: two new monocoque chassis were built for the 1965 Indy 500. Yes, monocoque. These chassis had a front tubular subframe which held part of the front suspension. The cars were quite large and a bit on the heavy side, exceeding the minimum weight by nearly 200lbs. They were extremely beautiful cars, superbly built. A superb slot car body of this car in the 1/24 scale was crafted by Lloyd Asbury of Lancer and used in RTR cars by the company BZ (Beck & Zimmerman). Today this is a rare toy...

Ward did not qualify his after a month of frustrating tries. He crashed his # 2 Moog Parts-entered car on the day before the last day of qualifying and that was it. Don Branson qualified his # 4 Wynn's Spl. at 155.501, fast time for the second day of qualifying (pole was AJ Foyt in a T34 Lotus at 161 and change). He completed 197 laps and was 8th.

Comes 1966 and it APPEARS that only Chuck Hulse qualified his car, the # 12 Leader Cards, while the other Watson was present, bearing the # 86, also sponsored by Leader Cards. It never made the race and appears to have had no qualifying attempt. The cars were little changed from the year before except for new paint and the repaired tub for the ex-Ward car.

Comes 1967 and Mike Mosley is now at the wheel of one the Leader Cards machine. He properly destroys it on May 7th, apparently for good. He will hit the wall again on May 20th in another car. No Watson will start the race.

In 1968, the # 90 car driven by George Snider, then by Mike Mosley and almost certainly mistakenly listed in Clymer's '68 Indy year book as a "new Finley" is simply the Watson car he crashed in 1967, completely rebuilt from the original tub, possibly the very one also crashed by Ward in 1965. The other car is driven by my pal Ziggy Snider (one the nicest and most competent race car drivers I have ever met) then tried by Chuck Hulse, assisted by Steve Stapp, son of Babe Stapp. It just does not have the speed.

Close observation shows the changes made on Mosley's car: relocation of the lower radius rods at the back, relocation of the top radius rods up front, the original locating holes still present on the tub. The windshield and filler caps are the same, a new nose fitted. The 4-cam Ford is replaced by a turbo-159 Offy. The funny thing is that A.J. Watson is the chief mechanic on the car, as a picture on page 175 clearly confirms... Mosley qualifies 27th at 162.499 and does 197 laps at 146.786, taking the flag in 8th place. The car is white, blue and red with Zecol Lubaid sponsorship.

In 1969, the second original unmodified car comes back driven by Fairchild who promptly spins his # 51 entry. The car looks identical to its 1965 beginnings. Mike Mosley's # 90 car is now a modified 1968 Eagle... in 1970 and 1971, he will drive the ex-Bobby Unser 1968 winner.
Again, no Watson will make the show. It does not appear that a Watson-built car ever ran again but of course A.J. will be the chief mechanic on Indy cars as late as the early 1990's.

The picture shown earlier in this thread is of the car as it stands today after yet another round of paint, a new nose, a new rear cowl, and the 1969 Zecol colors used by Mosley on his Eagle. Meaning that the car probably attempted a qualif attempt, possibly with Mosley, but did not have the ponies or the handling and was left to rot until saved by its restorer. Justin Melling, "the painter Geek", apparently applied the paint on the car, and possibly did more. You can contact him and ask him for details on ownership at his E-mail address.

He describes his efforts:
"This is a 1966 A.J.Watson Indy-car (in fact it is a '65...), restored to the specs it ran in 1969 (see above for details since the car apparently made no attempt in qualifying) By Race Car Restorations in Speedway, Indiana. It was driven by Mike Mosley, and turned the first ever laps at Michigan International Speedway. All I had to duplicate the original paintwork was an old broken piece of the car,(which happened to have all three colors AND about 7 sponsor stickers/lettering), and 5 or 6 black and white pictures.
We had the colours hand mixed to match by Finish Master in Indianapolis, and had the small stickers duplicated. Last I heard it was in a "personal collection" somewhere in St. Louis.
All of the lettering that had originally been hand painted was redone the same way. Including the drivers name, mechanics name, the #90, and the Zecol Lubaid logo.(not by me)"

I hope this helps.
Regards,

T54

#17 Gerr

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Posted 18 July 2005 - 22:44

Allen,
Gerhardt ? Where did that come from? Why would that be a possibility? Check that pic of Mosely spinning.....not any kind of Gerhardt (or Eagle).

Checked some of the old magazines:

PHR, June '66. Pic of Grant King assembling a 1966 Watson monocoque.

MT, June '66. "AJ Watson has built two new monocoques like the one shown at right in the photo and has updated his '64 and '65 cars."

HRM, June '66 on Watson's new cars "They'll be monocoque shells with tubular steel bulkhead members, as were last year's cars."
There is a drawing of the new Watson by Larry Shinoda with the caption " Two cars from AJ Watson shop will have two inches less wheelbase, more aerodynamic bodies than in '65"

A notable difference looking at pics of the 1965 and 66 Watson, is the outboard spring/shock on the front suspension on the latter.

C/D, June '67 on Watson. "This year he is trying a pair of monocoque chassis with de Dion rear suspensions, assigned to Pedro Rodriguez and Bobby Unser."

#18 Allen Brown

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Posted 18 July 2005 - 23:39

Gerr

I just like to rule everything out, one at a time. Too methodical for my own good some times! Leader Card had bought a pair of Gerhardts for Branson in 1966. As the Watson entries get more competitive in 1968 and 1969 than they were in 1966 and 1967, I wanted to look into the possibility that the original cars had been abandoned in place of a very highly modified something else. Thanks for pointing out the picture of Mosley spinning - I can now happily rule out the Gerhardts as being a factor.

Philippe - I can add a few comments to your chronology of Watsons.

Branson's 1965 car had been destroyed in a tyre testing accident at Indy in late June or early July. An old 1964 car was brought back out for Bob Mathouser later in the season.

In 1966, Chuck Rodee was killed during practice in the #92 Leader Card Watson. There's a picture on p345 of Wallen and it has a distinct family resemblance. I don't have an entry list for 1966 but I had assumed that was the second Leader Card team car. Two other Watsons were used by Hulse, #12 in the race and #86 just in practice. Walter J. Flynn entered Ralph Liguori in a #35 Watson-Ford, the same one that Gerr mentioned earlier that he wrecked in 1967. Presumably this was a second hand car, so a 1965?

In 1967, Leader Card entered four cars: #90 for Pedro Rodriguez (bumped), #91 for Mike Mosley (crashed three times, the last on 19 May putting him out of qualifying), #6 for Bobby Unser and #86 as Unser's backup (but it ran in practice as #6 also - see Daily Report 6 May etc). Neither Rodriguez or Mosley feature amongst the quicker drivers and Rodriguez' qualifying time of 162.4 mph was representative of his speed during the month. Unser's #6 was a 1967 Eagle but I don't know what his #86 was.

In 1968, I agree we have two Leader Cards Watsons, one #90 now with an Offy turbo and a #87 backup Ford V8. We also have Navarro's 1964 Watson making its first Indy appearance.

In 1969, Mosley's back with a #90 "Watson-Offy' and a #79 'Watson-Offy'. He uses both of these during the month, with the "old" #90 (as the Daily Reports call it) typically faster than the "new" #90. It's not clear which #90 he qualifies but after he gets one #90 in the race, Bob Veith makes two attempts on the final day in, according to the Daily Reports, #79. I wonder which one Veith had got? The posed picture of Mosley's car after his qualifying run looks more Watson than Eagle to me. Are you sure that's an Eagle?

The Minnesota Serendipity Watson first appears in 1969.

In 1970 - sorry, I really didn't want to bring up 1970 - does anyone know what the #90 is that Veith's pictured practicing in Hungness (p102)? My photocopy is too indistinct.

Allen

#19 T54

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Posted 19 July 2005 - 02:17

Are you sure that's an Eagle?


Before I answer any of the other comments, absolutely YES. It WAS the 1968 ex-Bobby Unser's Indy 500-winning mount car purchased by CG. Murphy's. That car ran in 1969 and 1970 in Mike Mosley's hands and was very fast. Even in 1970 it looked almost like a standard Eagle, just with added wings. Now understand that he also drove but discarded the Watson bearing the same number...

For the surviving car, it is absolutely NOT a car that Fred Gerhardt built but one of the 1966 modified cars. There is no single doubt since upon close observation, all the basic elements are there, check the lower radius rods, the position of the fuel caps and numerous small details.

Chuck Rodee was killed in the #92 Leader Cards, but the unmodified 1965 car was hardly damaged. It was a usual case of basal fracture at a time when driver protection was hardly in the cards.
Speaking of cards, there is another picture of one of the 1965 non-upgraded Leader Cards Watsons driven by Bobby U on page 356 of the same book. This one apparently at IRP in 1966, meaning that the 1965 cars stayed as they were and were upstaged by two new cars with modified (and better) suspension. This car could well be the repaired and repainted Rodee car.

For the rest, I need to get back into my office and check my old documents.
Regards,

T54

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#20 T54

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Posted 19 July 2005 - 03:12

OK, I checked. There were two cars buiil in 1965, two more with revised suspension in 1966. After that it's all the same cars rebuilt after various wall encounters. Greatest hour of these machines is when Johnny Rutherford won the Atlanta race in 1965 using the very car that Ward could not qualify at Indy. It was his first Championship Trail win.

T54

#21 Gerr

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Posted 19 July 2005 - 04:51

An interesting pic from Jon K. Reynolds of Lothar Motshenbacher mit Watson at St. Jovite, 1968.
Ford engined and with the narrow "hairpin" rollbar of the '65/66 cars.
http://members.aol.c...reyn/motssj.jpg

#22 Allen Brown

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Posted 19 July 2005 - 07:34

Originally posted by T54

Before I answer any of the other comments, absolutely YES. It WAS the 1968 ex-Bobby Unser's Indy 500-winning mount car purchased by CG. Murphy's. That car ran in 1969 and 1970 in Mike Mosley's hands and was very fast. Even in 1970 it looked almost like a standard Eagle, just with added wings. Now understand that he also drove but discarded the Watson bearing the same number...

I completely agree that he drove that car in 1970 and that it was Bobby's 1968 winner but the two pictures in Hungness of Mosley's 1969 and 1970 cars (p32 and p93) don't appear to show the same car. The 1970 picture looks like a 1968 Eagle to me and the caption says it was a 1968 Eagle but it says "not at track in '69". And the 1969 picture looks more like a Watson to me.

I know I'm new to this category and making the odd mistake, but can you take another look?

Allen

#23 T54

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Posted 20 July 2005 - 04:51

I completely agree that he drove that car in 1970 and that it was Bobby's 1968 winner but the two pictures in Hungness of Mosley's 1969 and 1970 cars (p32 and p93) don't appear to show the same car. The 1970 picture looks like a 1968 Eagle to me and the caption says it was a 1968 Eagle but it says "not at track in '69". And the 1969 picture looks more like a Watson to me.


Correct. In 1969 he drove the modified 1966 Watson. In 1970 and 1971 he drove the ex-Unser Eagle.
Regards,

T54 :)


#24 brickyard

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Posted 29 July 2005 - 23:32

Hi Allen,

according to L’Automobile, July 1968:

- “Mike Mosley started with the Watson monocoque with a Turbo Offy that Pedro Rodriguez didn’t qualify last year”



and L’Automobile , July 1969.

- “Again to Mike Mosley, AJ Watson has improved his car. It’s an aluminium monocoque, with rear revised suspension where the attachement points were placed lower to reduce the rear wheels geometry... and used a turbo Offy...”



I think this confirms that the car was in fact a Watson, and I agree that we are talking about the same chassis for 68 and 69.

Hope this would help somehow

#25 fines

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Posted 24 September 2005 - 14:56

My stand on Watson/Leader Cards - unfortunately, only from memory as I'm away from my records - Allen, you'll get another copy of my database as soon as I'm online again, I've made LOTS of progress, albeit mainly on roadsters and dirt cars! :lol: :

1964 - two tubeframe cars, one Ford one Offy. Apparently, Ward raced Offy at Trenton, then Ford for rest of year; Branson in Offy

1965 - two monocoque cars (Allen, I'm surprised you never noticed!), both Fords, for Ward and Branson. Branson's car is totalled in testing in summer, one of the '64 cars is sold (sorry, can't remember who bought it atm, but it apparently became the Navarro), the other '64 (I believe the Ford one) was fitted with a reverse-torque Offy and run a few times as third or fourth car - the team even had a Ford-engined roadster!!! :eek:

Now you have to remember that Leader Cards was essentially two teams, A. J. Watson and Jud Phillips - both were the best of buddies going back to the fourties, when they built their first champ car together, and later their dirt cars and roadsters had many features in common.

1966 - two Gerhardt-Fords for Phillips/Branson (#4 and 91), the remaining '65 car for Hulse (#12), and two new monocoques with the reverse Offy (in photos it almost looks like a supercharged Offy! :o) for Rodee (#92) and as a spare for Hulse (#86), later raced by Bobby Unser. IIRC, Mathouser drove the '64 car at Phoenix as #90. At the end of the year, Bobby U. changed to Phillips as a replacement for Branson :cry:.

1967 - a new Eagle Ford (#6) and (presumably) one of the '66 Gerhardts (#86) for Phillips/Unser, and two new Ford cars (perhaps the '66 cars rebuilt? I can't check now) for Rodríguez and Mosley (#90 and 91). I don't have any good pictures, but these '67 cars appeared to look exactly like the '68 Mosley car, twin nostrils and everything, so I'm assuming there were no new cars from A. J. until the modified '68 Eagle appeared. At least one of the cars was fitted with a TCO in '68, but now the memory gets fuzzy. It's strange how much detail you recall, but then you forget something important and put egg on your face! So long for now, it'll be a few weeks till I'm online again, but then fully armed! :cool:

#26 Tom Glowacki

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Posted 24 September 2005 - 16:02

The 1964 Ford engined car went to Navarro and had the AMC straight 6 installed. (Funny, the one in my '74 Gremlin never struck me as exactly Indy material), and I've read someplace that the Offy powered Branson car is somewhere in the rafters in Watson's shop.

#27 fines

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Posted 15 October 2005 - 14:29

CORRECTION: for "reverse-torque Offy" in my previous post read "desmodromic-valve-gear Offy"!!! :blush: