1967 Gurney Eagle

[t walgamuth]

It is on the cover of Vintage Motorsport this edition. The associated article has a rich array of pictures.

Apparently Gurney got a good sponsorship from Goodyear and built this chassis with extensive magnesium and titanium. I believe they may have said it was 400# lighter than the eagles which look the same but are made from steel and aluminum. The racing weight was not that much heavier than a Formula Ford. The bundle of snakes on the top of the engine is made from Titanium.

Gurney was quite a guy, able to drive with the best and attract people and sponsorship to allow the construction of such an advanced car.

A really lovely looking car too.

As an Architect I am always looking at things. As Peter Egan said, "I don't think I have ever bought something that is actually ugly".

I'd say that too but I sure did like my old Del Long built YC-3 Lotus 7 replica. It is not the best on beauty but it is so purposeful it still looks pretty great!

Salute to the magical 67 Eagle.

[Marty Nygard]

In the early 90's when I was racing an H Prod Bugeye at Gateway a stranger showed up in the class towing through from California. The only thing I remember about him or the car was the titanium exhaust made by the Gurney team. It was beautiful but, as with most HP cars, a little like lipstick on a pig.

[RussMcB]

http://vintagemotorsport.com/2021/01...now-available/

[sccadsr31]

When SCCA was at Indy in 2017 I visited with my childhood and life long friend Jerry Weeks-Baker who is a world renowned metal smith and fabricator. At the time he was building replacement radiators for the Gurney cars. He showed my friend Jim Lepetich and me how he was making the header tanks. They are made flat and each of the holes for the radiator tubes is a different distance in the flat state, he then uses a shrinking tool to bend the curve and fit the tubes. When he is finished it is an exact copy of the original, made in the same configuration and a perfect replica of the original.
He was working from original Eagle drawings.
Amazing stuff!

I'm able to visit with Jerry about every 18 months and could easily say for months.

[R. Pare]

Jerry does some incredible work. A visit to his shop is a must if you have a friend who is a friend of his.

[Rick Kirchner]

I read in a previous article that Dan was happy to stop driving that car. He said they got the rivit spacing wrong and that if he hit something it would just unzip.

[Hawke]

In the early 90's when I was racing an H Prod Bugeye at Gateway a stranger showed up in the class towing through from California. The only thing I remember about him or the car was the titanium exhaust made by the Gurney team. It was beautiful but, as with most HP cars, a little like lipstick on a pig.

It may be beautiful, but I had the luck of sitting behind this car in pit lane at Phillip Island many years ago, while waiting for our practice session. Those four exhausts are just the perfect height to pump smelly idle exhaust straight into your face.

[t walgamuth]

I read in a previous article that Dan was happy to stop driving that car. He said they got the rivit spacing wrong and that if he hit something it would just unzip.

He was also very aware of the fact that in a crash and burn the Titanium would not go out. He called that light eagle Ronson for the cigarette lighter.

[Jerry Kehoe]

Pete Wilkins made the Ti exhaust headers. Bahner said they were sand bent and there was perfect clearance between every tube, according to Marc Pete was magical doing sand bending which most certainly is nearly a long lost art these days. Between Pete , Remington, and a host of geniuses at AAR they fabricated unbelievable things.

[tstrong]

He was also very aware of the fact that in a crash and burn the Titanium would not go out. He called that light eagle Ronson for the cigarette lighter.

I think you mean the Magnesium may not go out. Todd

[t walgamuth]

Well, yes, Magnesium does burn too but it looks like Titanium is pretty dangerous too if the fire is hot enough.

https://www.quora.com/Does-titanium-burn-Why