Pete05
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- Melbourne, Australia
Following the example set by his colleagues Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren, American racer Dan Gurney set up shop for himself in 1964 under the All American Racers (AAR) banner. Among his partners were Carroll Shelby and the Goodyear tyre company. In it's first full season, AAR served as an entrant, fielding a Lotus 38 in the Indy 500 for example. There were much bigger plans for 1966; a Grand Prix and USAC (Indy) campaign with cars of their own design and construction. Gurney decided to call his car 'Eagle' after the bald eagle, the national bird of the United States.
To design the new Eagle, Gurney hired Len Terry, who had been responsible for the 1965 Indy 500 winning Lotus 38. The talented designer had left Lotus shortly before due to a conflict with Colin Chapman. Gurney also obtained the services of British engine guru Harry Weslake. Next to Weslake's engine shop in Rye, England, a subsidiary was established using the 'Anglo American Racers' name. A rule change, which saw the maximum allowed displacement in Formula 1 double to 3 litres in 1966, made life a lot easier for Gurney and Terry; they could now use one basic design for both the Grand Prix and Indy Eagles.
Terry used the same basic design of the highly successful Lotus for the new Eagle F1 and Indy car, which were known as the Mark 1 and Mark 2 respectively. Since then the F1 machine has been referred to as the T1G but Gurney is adamant that that was never an official type designation. Just like the 1965 Indy winner, the Eagle featured a fully enclosed monocoque constructed from sheets of aluminium. The chassis extended all the way to the back, cradling the engine and supporting the suspension. The design's most striking feature was the beak-shaped nose that clearly resembled the eagle the machine was named after.
The first Mark 1 chassis was ready in May of 1966, which was well ahead of the planned V12 engine under development at Weslake. To keep up the momentum, the new car was fitted with a readily available Coventry Climax four cylinder engine, which displaced just under 2.8 litres. While down on power compared to the larger engine rivals, the Mark 1 Eagle performed remarkably well. Gurney placed it 5th at the high-speed French GP in only it's second outing. The tall American repeated that point-scoring feat in Mexico later in the year. Compatriots Phil Hill and Bob Bondurant did not fair that well behind the wheel of the four cylinder Eagle.
Meanwhile, cylinder-head specialist turned engine builder, Harry Weslake, slaved away at his finest creation yet. The result was a sophisticated V12 with twin overhead camshafts actuating four valves per cylinder. It's twelve headers curved upwards and fed four long exhausts that added further to the visual appeal of the Formula 1 Eagle. Weslake's target figure was a very ambitious 500 bhp at 12,000 rpm but at his first outing Gurney had to make do with an already impressive 364 bhp at 10,000 rpm. By the Spring of 1967 the output had increased to around 420 bhp, making it one of the most powerful engines on the grid. This was very welcome as the sturdy Eagle was one of the field's heavier cars.
The V12 must have certainly appealed to the local crowd during its Italian GP debut at Monza. Reliability woes made it a difficult debut for the new machine. There was no easy fix and it was not until March of 1967 that the V12 Eagle could really make an impression. Fitted with an updated version of the engine, Gurney drove the car to its maiden victory in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. A second V12 engined Eagle was placed a lowly tenth by Richie Ginther. In the hands of the likes of Ginther, Hill and Italian Ludovico Scarfiotti, the first two Weslake engined Eagles nevertheless had a difficult season.
Addressing the weight issues, Terry had developed a very special version of the F1 Eagle for Gurney to race in 1967. The fourth Mark 1 chassis built, it was constructed from mostly exotic metals. The aluminium of the monocoque skins was replaced by magnesium and titanium was used for many of the suspension parts and also the exhaust system. This was not free of risks as magnesium is very volatile. Gurney, reportedly, refused to use seatbelts in the lightweight Eagle as he preferred to be thrown out of the car to being burned in case he was ever involved in an accident.
The lightest Eagle yet had a difficult debut at the Dutch GP in June of 1967 due to fuel injection problems. There was none of that at the subsequent Belgian GP at Spa Francorchamps. Gurney took an historic victory; it was the first GP win for an American car since Jimmy Murphy won the 1921 French GP in a Duesenberg. He set new records for the fastest lap and race average in the process. A second GP win slipped through his fingers when a broken universal joint forced Gurney to retire from a 42 second lead on the penultimate lap of the German GP at the Nurburgring.
Unfortunately from there on it was downhill for All American Racers F1 effort. Numerous reliability issues prevented the Eagle from scoring many more points and early in the 1968 season the funds had dried up.
The Eagle Mark 1 remains as one of the most beautiful looking and sounding Grand Prix cars ever constructed. It was one of the 'clean' designs before F1 machines became be-winged, rolling billboards.
All four cars have survived their career unscathed and are accounted for today. Fortunately they are all in full running order and demonstrated at special occasions.
ENGINE
Configuration
Gurney-Weslake Type 58, 60 degree V12
Location
Mid, longitudinally mounted
Weight
175 kg / 385.8 lbs
Construction
Aluminium alloy block and heads
Displacement
2997 cc / 182.9 cu in
Bore / Stroke
72.8 mm (2.9")/ 60.3 mm (2.4")
Compression
12.0:1
Valvetrain
4 valves per cylinder, DOHC
Fuel feed
Lucas Fuel Injection
Aspiration
Naturally Aspirated
Power
390 bhp / 291 kW @ 10,500 rpm
DRIVETRAIN
Chassis
Aluminium/Titanium-magnesium monocoque with non-stressed engine
Front suspension
Lower wishbones, top rockers, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Rear suspension
Lower wishbones, top links, twin trailing arms, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Steering
Rack and pinion
Brakes
Discs, all-round
Gearbox
Hewland DG300 5 speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Weight
544 kg / 1199.3 lbs
Length
4115 mm / 162"
Width
1880 mm / 74"
Height
914 mm / 36"
Wheelbase
2451 mm / 96.5"
Track (F/R)
F: 1549 mm / 61"
R: 1549 mm / 61"
http://www.grandprixhistory.org/eagle67.htm
http://www.roadandtrack.com/salon-1967-all-american-racers-eagle-weslake-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Mk1
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/118/Eagle-Mark-1-Weslake.html
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