Why would a 1970 Plymouth Superbird Hemi that normally sells for around $500,000 suddenly sell for $1.5 million? The ‘Bird wasn’t even exceptional quality. Simply, two bidders got into a war. When one bid $1.1 million, the other jumped to $1.5 million. War over! Add the buyer’s premium and this was a record breaking sale for a Superbird by large measure. Read all about it in the October 2022 issue of Sports Car Market magazine: www.sportscarmarket.com⎘.
Harry Miller’s cars won ten Indianapolis 500 events, and his engines dominated championship racing in the U.S. for decades, claiming 39 Indy 500 victories. When Johnny Rutherford took the checkered flag in the 1976 500, his McLaren/Offy became the last victor powered by a Miller-derived engine – 33 years after Harry Miller’s passing. Miller’s carburetors were the choice of racers in the teens and twenties, and he consulted with E.L. Cord on the front wheel drive Cord L-29. This is just a sample of Miller’s genius.
Fearing the legacy of Miller’s accomplishments would fade with time, industrialist David Vogel Uihlein, Sr. founded the Harry A. Miller Club⎘ in 1989. Knowing these machines were born to run, Uihlein also wanted track time for club members. They rented The Milwaukee Mile in 1995 for the first of what would be the annual “Millers at Milwaukee” event.
This is a fitting location, since Harry Miller was born in Menomonee, Wisconsin, and The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest continuously running automobile racetrack in the world, with the first contest taking place in 1903. Unlike other vintage events, Millers at Milwaukee is different: no competition, no concourse judging, no restricted paddock access – just the opportunity for comradery, education, and exercising these thoroughbreds. Any front-engine Indy Car is eligible, along with pre-World War II Grand Prix racers. David Uihlein passed away in 2010, but Harry Miller’s legacy is in good hands. That was evident at the Harry A. Miller Club’s 27th annual Millers at Milwaukee event on July 8th and 9th this year.
Kelly and I covered this event which is scheduled for the Winter 2022 issue of Linkage⎘ magazine.
Images © 2022 Tom & Kelly Glatch – All Rights Reserved
On a 98°F (36.6°C) evening in June, we photographed this unusual 1974 Mercury Montego MX Station Wagon for Collectible Automobile magazine. With 66,886 miles (107,642 km) on the odometer, this unrestored wagon is very well preserved. Look for this Mercury Montego in the February 2023 issue of Collectible Automobile⎘ magazine.
Images © 2022 Tom & Kelly Glatch – All Rights Reserved