Description
THIS VEHICLE IS TO BE AUCTIONED AT GOODWOOD MEMBERS MEETING 19TH APRIL
** 1932 McDowell Ford Special Sprint Car**
Registration no. not registered
Chassis no. to be advised
• Designed and built by Indianapolis Hall of Fame inductees Myron Stevens and Harry Miller
• Comprehensively restored between 2011 and 2015
• Rebuilt using Harry Miller's original chassis blueprints
• Original 1932 McDowell 4-port overhead-valve cylinder head on a Ford Model B engine block
• Features rare 20" Dayton wire wheels with Dayton knockoffs
• Running and described by the vendor as 'ready to race'
• Eligible for a wide variety of international events
This 1932 McDowell Ford Special is an important piece of American automobile racing heritage, designed and built by Indianapolis Hall of Fame inductees Myron Stevens and Harry Miller. "I designed and built my own hammers," Stevens once said. "The wood handles had to be just right, and I went to the forge and made my own heads, so the weight and balance were perfect for me." Clearly, Myron Stevens was no ordinary engineer, and he applied these exacting principles to the craft of building racing cars. Stevens made bodies for numerous Indianapolis 500 winners throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
The man Stevens worked for, Harry Miller, was similarly impressive. Described by noted automotive historian Griffith Borgeson as "the greatest creative figure in the history of the American racing car", Miller built cars that won the Indianapolis 500 on no fewer than nine occasions. He was also involved in the development of the very first marine outboard motor; pioneered the use of aluminium alloys in engine design; and was the first to employ Helmholtz resonators in carburettor design.
This Ford sprint car was meticulously restored between 2011 and 2015, following an earlier restoration in the late 1990s. The nut-and-bolt rebuild was completed with thorough attention to detail, using period-correct components throughout. The chassis was recreated from Harry Miller's original blueprint drawings by Dennis Webb, while the bodywork remains Myron Stevens' original craftsmanship. The 1932 Ford Model B block is fitted with a McDowell overhead-valve cylinder head and has been completely rebuilt. It has been in the car since 1932, when it replaced the original 1925 Model T engine.
Other notable features include rare liquid cooled carburettors; a side-drive Scintilla magneto; 1925 Chrysler front axle (original); ball-bearing rear axle with locked differential (for dirt-track racing); hydraulic brakes (replacing the mechanical originals); and a 1939 Ford transmission. These spectacularly fast cars would have been tow-started in period, but this one has been fitted with an electric starter for greatly enhanced convenience and safety. For the last 10 years this car has been on display at the vendor's home, safely enclosed within a glass viewing space.
This Ford-based Sprint Car embodies the raw, purposeful engineering of early dirt-track racing in the USA, a time when mechanical simplicity and driver skill were paramount. As such it represents a significant piece of American automobile racing history and would grace any important private collection.
