A Chance Meeting with a Gurney Eagle Mk 2

After some work in Muncie, Indiana, in February 2014, I was on my way homeward through the Indianapolis Airport when I came across this gem of a race car in the airport lobby. It was on temporary display from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

A few years earlier, I was lucky enough to see Gurney-Eagle chassis 101 at Griot's Garage in Tacoma.

Chassis 101 was fitted with a four-cylinder engine (2.7-liter Coventry Climax), because the intended 3-liter V-12 was not ready in time.

Iver Johnson Model 87 Truss Bridge Roadster--Part 1

It took longer than expected, but I have returned another old bicycle to use. This Iver Johnson dates from about 1922.

Over the years it saw a lot of use, and its 28-inch tires and wheels were replaced with 26-inchers.

The crank set had suffered much, resulting in the left crank arm being a hopelessly loose fit on its three-sided taper and the fasteners badly damaged to point where only pliers would work.
I set to finding the necessary parts, which took a few years, but I got a break about a year ago when a better crank set and sprocket came my way. Putting it back on 28-inch wheels turned into the biggest challenge, but success smiled eventually.

I'll write a separate post later about the wheels. The short story is that the machine once again rides on US-made 28-inch tires, but the rear hub is a three-speed Sturmey-Archer with coaster brake. Surprisingly, a 1940s S-A quadrant shifter threaded directly onto the indicator rod

that came with the modern S-A hub AWC(II), and the two work perfectly together, despite more than 70 years between them.