Unique V16 Miller In Monterey Auction

While we're on the whole Monterey weekend thing, here's another car that popped up onto my radar: A V16–powered Miller from the 1931 Indianapolis 500. Sure, any old race car is something I'm going to notice, but a Miller? Yeah baby. And not just any Miller, but a V16, the only one Harry Miller ever built.

Harry Arminius Miller is a bit of an obscure figure today, but in pre-war American racing, he was like a cross between Colin Chapman and Merlin the Magician. He was known primarily as an engine man (and as a side note, just what the hell is it about Armenians and engines? I swear, every Armenia I have ever met is a hot-rodder and engine builder of the first order, and I've never figured out why), but could also crank out the chassis innovations when the need arose.

The particular case of the V16 Indy racer we have here, we're talking about a 303 cu. in. dual overhead-cam plant that puts out an estimated 300 hp. That power got to the bricks via a three-speed Miller transmission, and there was a DeDion suspension front and rear, and the whole she-bang had a wheelbase of 105".

Miller was primarily known for his straights, usually sixes and eights, although the straight four he came up with was one of the finest engines ever made: The Offenhauser (that would be THE Fred Offenhauser, who had worked with Miller for years).

Anyway, the V16 here came to life this way: It started with a 1930 Cord passenger car. Miller & Co. had been the guys to figure out the Cord front drive system. So Cord paid Harry $1,000 per month and gave him a new Cord Brougham Sedan. Not bad scratch, back when a house cost around $1500. Harry liked the way the Cord looked, but was less than thrilled with the straight-eight Lycoming engine.

So Harry decided that what needed to be done was for him to build a better engine for the Cord, one that would make it into the most powerful passenger car built in America. So he comes up with a new mill that's 303 cubic inch, 45-degree V16 cranking out 300 horsepower.

Naturally, the engine was designed from scratch and was a clean sheet of paper design. It featured a barrel-type aluminum crankcase, four cylinder blocks with integral heads, each with a group of four cylinders. There were dual overhead camshafts running two valves per cylinder. And sitting on top were eight of the latest design Miller-Adamson carburetors feeding downdraft intake ports located on top of the blocks, each serving two cylinders.

For reasons that are still a mystery today, the engine never made it into Harry's Cord, but rather it ended up in the racer you see here.

Driven by Shorty Cantlon with Duke Smale was the riding mechanic the V16 started 26th in the 1931 Indy with a 110.372 mph qualifying speed. Turns out that Cantlon was a bit of a stormer, charging to fourth place by the end of lap 10. By lap 40 he was 3rd but soon had to two lengthy pit stops to change all 16 spark plugs that kept fouling. He was running in 7th on lap 88 when a connecting rod broke and that was that. He ended up 27th in the official score.

Despite the lack of success at the 500, this car definitely falls into the "bitchin'" category. RM Auctions estimated the Miller would sell for between $600,000-$1,000,000 US. Maybe it's a sign of the time, but the car sold for the low end of that spectrum: $600,000

Source: SpeedTV, photos from RM Auctions.