All American Racers facility visit - 1967 Eagle F1 Restoration

astrochex · 01-06-2023, 09:46 AM

n the 2022 F1 topic, I had mentioned that I had the honor of visiting the All American Racers facility on a couple of occasions. The second occasion was to see the restoration of the the very famous 1967 Belgium GP winning Eagle (more on the car name later). The car was being readied for a run at Spa to commemorate the 35th anniversary of that historic victory. Needless to say, it is an exquisite machine, in detail and as a whole.

You may be wondering how a pedestrian like myself was given this rare opportunity, well it happened by chance through my work. I was with Boeing in Long Beach CA in an advanced design division. One of the projects was the Blended Wing Body (BWB), a concept for a highly efficient aircraft. The leader of that effort was Dr. Bob Liebeck a renowned aerodynamicist. It was at a design review, where I was taking notes that I recognized Mr. Gurney. I was stunned and did not have the gumption to approach him. Forward to a BWB flying scale model test at El Mirage that I went to with my dad. Mr. Gurney was there again. That time I did approach him and had a discussion that lead to the opportunity to visit AAR. He also signed the pamphlet for the flight test.

Enough blathering, here is the good stuff. The pictures should be self-explanatory. Enjoy.

At AAR

astrochex · 01-06-2023, 09:48 AM

I was also able to witness the subsequent shakedown at the Streets of Willow Springs. I kept my distance and enjoyed seeing and hearing the car in action. Not full song, but still glorious. Two of the images were taken by James Gurney as appropriately annotated.

The last bit is regarding an official designation for this particular car as various names had been floating around. I had been participating in such discussion on the AtlasF1 (now Autosport) forums. I thought why not go to the source and get the true answer. I sent the inquiry to Kathy Weida via email and a short while later I was blown away to get the following letter from Dan himself.

astrochex · 01-06-2023, 10:00 AM

Post script is that the car now resides at the Revs Institute. It was at Amelia Island last year as part of the Eagle group.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Thanks for sharing.

KNS · 01-06-2023, 10:13 AM

What a treat that must have been!

Steve F · 01-06-2023, 10:26 AM

Awesome!!!

herr_oberst · 01-06-2023, 10:29 AM

Wow. I'd never stop talking about that day to the point that I'd probably just be permanently insufferable. You are a very lucky man.

CurtEgerer · CurtEgerer's Garage

Wow. That is awesome. The Gurney-Weslake: the most beautiful engine ever built.

zakthor · zakthor's Garage

My favorite racecar. What a treasure.

The curves of the exhaust...

3rd_gear_Ted · 3rd_gear_Ted's Garage

I knew Evelyn Fritz, Dan's personal secretary who probably typed that letter.
She was the 2nd "Evi" in his life along with his wife.
Hanging with Swede Savage was awesome. Those were the days
# 30 was the Porsche car for the only American F1 win.

astrochex · 01-06-2023, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Wow. I'd never stop talking about that day to the point that I'd probably just be permanently insufferable. You are a very lucky man.

Thanks, I know.

I have short video of the car at the Streets of Willow. I will look for it and post it.

Captain Ahab Jr · Captain Ahab Jr's Garage

Wow, thanks for posting Paul, you won't forget your visit in a hurry, one of my all time favourite F1 cars, one of the prettiest too!

John Rogers · 01-07-2023, 08:01 PM

Years ago before my wife died and we had her 1987 930 Turbo we went to Dan's shop and he wasn't there but we had a great tour by his secretary who at that time drove a yellow 914! They were cutting a huge foam block for a funny car body mold to be made. We watched from a distance as the cutting was by laser and close to a thousands of an inch! Got to see his haulers and other things and it was great zooming down I90 with about 50 Porsches doing 100 MPH in the passing lane!
John

Doug E · 01-08-2023, 06:33 AM

Wow, what a story Paul, thanks for sharing. And that letter is fantastic, speaks to the type of person he was that he'd take the time to respond.

Hope you don't mind but thought I'd add some pics of the car as it is displayed at the Revs Institute. I took these this past September when I visited. If anyone is ever in Naples FL and has the chance to visit I highly recommend it, you will not be disappointed!

Doug E · 01-08-2023, 06:35 AM

Finishing up my pics since I couldn't put them all in one reply ...

Mike Andrew · 01-08-2023, 08:07 AM

Very cool experience for you and one to treasure, as I sense that you do. Thanks for posting it.

Road America Historic weekend last year had his cars as the featured marque and an incredible display in the paddock. It was quite busy with a lot of people looking and snapping photos.

They don't make guys like Gurney anymore.

t6dpilot · t6dpilot's Garage

One of the most beautiful formula cars ever constructed. The little shop that maintains my 510 race car has a Gurney Eagle in the que. Really cool to see.