PAFW Puzzle #1908 - Tom Davis' Olds-powered, Miller-Chassis, Ford-body Car

[RayTheRat]

Morton?

[Otto Puzzell]

Not Morton

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[pnegyesi]

Norton?

[Otto Puzzell]

Not Norton

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[Tom_I]

Williams?

[Otto Puzzell]

Not Williams

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[Tom_I]

How about Gibson?

[Otto Puzzell]

Not Gibson

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[D-type]

Davis?

[Otto Puzzell]

Yes!

Locked for D-type

[D-type]

Could it be a re-creation of a Miller by Chuck Davis using a Miller chassis and an Oldsmobile engine (because it is similar in overall shape to a Miller engine)?
Or have I misinterpreted what i found on the 'net?

[Otto Puzzell]

It started as a Miller chassis. It had an Oldsmobile engine; the reason for that selection may be as you stated; my source doesn't say. And somebody named Davis (not Chuck) was the owner-builder. As it was fitted with a non Oldsmobile, non-Miller body, a little more work needs to be done to complete the solution to the original puzzle challenge, which was:

...identify what the vehicle pictured was, what it had become as pictured here, and who was responsible.

Locked for D-type to have one more go. No guesses by others, please, until I have assessed and responded here to his next reply.

[D-type]

I'm clean out of ideas as to where to look, so please unlock it and let others have a stab at it.

[Otto Puzzell]

As you wish

Open to all

[RayTheRat]

It started as a Miller chassis. It had an Oldsmobile engine; the reason for that selection may be as you stated; my source doesn't say. And somebody named Davis (not Chuck) was the owner-builder. As it was fitted with a non Oldsmobile, non-Miller body, a little more work needs to be done to complete the solution to the original puzzle challenge, which was:

...identify what the vehicle pictured was, what it had become as pictured here, and who was responsible.

Locked for D-type to have one more go. No guesses by others, please, until I have assessed and responded here to his next reply.

and

To clarify, this car is known by the builder's name (the top half of his his head can be seen as he's working on this car in the picture) and Roadster.

This would lead one to believe that it's called "The Davis Roadster."  There was one of those in the 40s.  It belonged to a guy named Jack Davis.  But it went on to become the better-known Calori Roadster, flathead Ford powered in both incarnations. 

However, it had a 1929 Ford Model A roadster body, which is what the puzzle photo appears to have.  The only problem is that I haven't been able to find anything relating it to a Miller chassis, nor Olds straight-8 motor.

I dunno if that answers part of the puzzle or not.

[Otto Puzzell]

No sir. This is not the Jack Davis car.

[Tom_I]

I'm not absolutely sure about this, but on the basis of "know your puzzler", I can't help feeling that there's no coincidence that the Mohawk chief in Otto's clue was Thomas Davis, the dead comedy writer was Tom Davis, and the LA Dodgers outfielder Tommy Davis.

I'm not a betting man, but I'd wager that the builder's given name will also be a variant of Thomas.

I can't find the puzzle photo, but there's a likely looking Oldsmobile-engined car built by Tom Davis before WW2, used as a street rod, and also for racing at the dry lakes in the Mojave Desert in southern California.

The caption with the first photo says "The chassis was built by Herb Farrington using two side rails from a Miller Indy car. From there it was basically a shortened '29 Ford body with a long hood to cover the straight eight engine. The grille was made from standard grille work bought from Andrew's Hardware in Los Angeles. The Olds engine had a milled head, Winfield camshaft and Pierce-Arrow ignition. The car was never a contender for top speed, but it nevertheless offered a bit of variety; at the August 24, 1941 SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) meet at Muroc, the Olds was one of five non-Ford entries out of a total of 161".

[Otto Puzzell]

Tom_I, your sleuthing puts all others' to shame. YOu consistently take the same clues that are available to everyone, and use them to build toward the solution. That's worth two points, easy.

The caption for the puzzle photo reads:

Tom Davis's Olds powered street roadster undergoing a rebuild in '41. The chassis was originally built by Harry Miller and raced at Indy before the Model A body was narrowed and put on it. He is seen working on the dash.

Here's another (equally fuzzy) pic of the car:

[RayTheRat]

 

Outstanding work, Tom.  Ya done good!