15 replies to this topic

[brickyard]

Hi,

anyone knows what Maserati Les Anderson drove in 1947 at Indy and Milwaukee?
It was the #58 Kennedy Tank Special and it had an Offy engine.

Thanks

 

[Michael Ferner]

It was not a Maserati, but a simple American ladder-frame special. By the looks of it, some V8RI bodywork was used in the construction - the team that built this car apparently had connections to the owners of '4503' which was more or less "de-constructed" at the same time in broadly the same location (Pacific Northwest). I think I have more on this, I'll have a look around in my stuff.

As an aside, this is another example of wrong information from a certain book that is regarded as the "official bible" of the Indy 500, and keeps turning up again and again. It's like a zombie!

[brickyard]

Hi Michael,

 

thanks for your answer.

Eight years have passed since you came to that conclusion. I'm trying to find some more about the car hopping new informations could emerge.What ladder-frame constructor could have been? From scratch or from a wrecked old car? Many questions remain

Also the topic is wrong and I cannot change it: it's 1947 not 1948.

Edited by brickyard, 26 March 2018 - 19:12.

[Michael Ferner]

Heaven knows where that frame came from. It could've been scratch built, or from a passenger car, or a racing car. I honestly don't know, and if not for a serendipitous discovery we are quite likely never to find out.

[D-Type]

Have you thought of posting this on Trackforum  http://www.trackforu...104-s-Nostalgia ?   They are very Indy-focussed and have some knowledgeable members. 

Edited by D-Type, 26 March 2018 - 20:18.

[brickyard]

Have you thought of posting this on Trackforum  http://www.trackforu...104-s-Nostalgia ?   They are very Indy-focussed and have some knowledgeable members. 

I've already done that D-Type. Regards.

[Rupertlt1]

Not sure if this is the same car or later version?

 

The Indianapolis News, Tues 4 May 1948, Page 26:

Anderson's new Kennedy Tank Special was built in eight months

in his Portland (Ore.) garage. He installed his rebuilt 270-cubic-

inch Offenhauser engine in a new frame under a sleek new body

and supplied other vital parts from his large inventory. "In fact,"

Anderson said, "I believe I could build an entire race car out of

the spare parts I have accumulated."

The car stands 34½ inches high and is nearly 14 feet long.

With a few minor changes, Anderson can convert it into a dirt-

track competitor and within 2 hours he can switch engines for

racing on half mile strips.

 

RGDS RLT

[Rupertlt1]

Chicago Tribune, Thurs 21 Nov 2002, Page 6-1

Story's father, Tom, was a respected craftsman

who ran body shops for Ford, Lincoln and Cadillac

dealerships in Portland for more than 20 years. Tom

Story was no stranger to high-performance cars,

having built Les Anderson's Offenhauser-powered

Kennedy Tank Special that ran at the 1948 Indi-

anapolis 500 (the transmission failed) and numer-

ous hot rods and dirt track roadsters.

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 27 March 2018 - 00:38.

[Rupertlt1]

The Tipton Daily Tribune, (Tipton, Indiana) Monday 19 May 1947, Page 4

Les Anderson of Portland

Ore., carded an average speed of

118.425 in his own car, a Maser-

atti (sic) chassis powered by an Of-

fenhauser engine.

 

Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky) Thurs 29 May 1947, Page 11

The Kennedy Tank Special

which will be driven in the 500 mile

Memorial Day automobile race at

Indianapolis Friday, is owned by

W.E. Kennedy, owner of the South-

ern Tank & Manufacturing com-

pany here and is a frequent visitor

to Owensboro. Les Anderson, West

Coast and Canadian dirt tracks

champion will drive the Kennedy

Special, which is powered by an

Offenhouser (sic) four-cylinder engine

and will start from the third

row pole position. Anderson will be

making his first appearance in the

500 mile race.

 

Statesman Journal, (Salem, Oregon) Sunday 15 Jun 1947, Page 12

Leading the list of veteran driv-

ers due for the whirls around the

freshly treated five-eights mile

oval is Les Anderson of Portland

who will be herding his Offen-

hauser-powered Mesaratti (sic) Special,

the same buggy in which he fin-

ished 11th at Indianapolis. 

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 27 March 2018 - 02:28.

[brickyard]

Thanks Rupert.

 

great article finds.

So It wasn't a "pure" Maserati at all.

[Rupertlt1]

Begs the question does the 1947 car turn up again here?

 

http://www.statsf1.c...erati-8ctf.aspx

 

RGDS RLT

[Michael Ferner]

Ahh, no. That list is shite, to begin with.

[Vitesse2]

Ahh, no. That list is shite, to begin with.

Yes. Quite an achievement to have six 8CTFs at Indy in 1950 when Maserati only built three!

[brickyard]

Begs the question does the 1947 car turn up again here?

 

http://www.statsf1.c...erati-8ctf.aspx

 

RGDS RLT

No Rupert!!!!!!! Forget that site. Listen to Michael

[Rupertlt1]

Whoa, I only asked! RGDS RLT

[Tom Glowacki]

Yes. Quite an achievement to have six 8CTFs at Indy in 1950 when Maserati only built three!

 

 

That would not bother anybody in 2018!