1954 LeMans Vintage Info

The Barney Oldfield "GOLDEN SUBMARINE" Missing ....in Chicago?

The Golden Submarine (the sexier of the two bandied about sobriquets, the other being the Golden Egg) was a legendary racer as famous for its design as for its performances. Built by Harry Miller and Barney Oldfield in 1917, it was designed with driver protection in mind, featuring an ahead of its time roll-cage, and debuted at the Chicago Board Speedway.

Harry Miller beside the safety-first Golden Egg

Barney Oldfield with his ubiquitous cigar

But that revolutionary safety design came at a price. The car was so much heavier than it's competitors, that after some fair-to-middlin success and an aborted Indianapolis 500 attempt, the Submarine dived into the depths of forgotten history. No one knows its final disposition.

Now, thanks to the wonderful world of digital newspaper fracking, we can search and gather clues as to what became of this iconic creation. 

 It's ironic that this car made it's debut in Chicago, because that was probably its final resting place. According to news reports, 

The fabulous "Golden Submarine",  that stunning closed-cabin cruiser of the dirt, had crawled home like a King salmon in its last bit of life, to its birthplace. And then it disappeared for good, probably cut up for a bomber in the scrap war-drives a decade and change later. I like to think that majestic chunk of metal was girding some valiant B-17, arcing across the skies, protecting its charges like it did Barney on the tracks.

The 1977 Dodge BAJA BRUTE DESERT Dog

This is one that'd I'd buy with no haggling, a real-life rendition of the "Baja Brute", an MPC model from 1977. Love the color scheme, the stance and the lines, even though it's only 5 inches tall!