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Indianapolis 500 Motor Race "Behind the Checkered Flag" Bill Holland 68434 (1949)

1949 · Short film · 27 min

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Synopsis

This early 1950s color educational film about the components of the 1949 winning Indy 500 car was sponsored by Socony-Vacuum (now part of ExxonMobil). 1949, Bill Holland has just won his first Indianapolis 500 and receives his trophy. Car owner Lou Moore joins him for photos (:20-:54). Lou Moore’s mailbox is shown at his North Hollywood, CA machine shop. Lou and an employee work among tools and car parts. A 350+ horsepower 4-cylinder engine is shown (:55-2:20). The highway is full of 1940s cars (2:21-2:34). Lou puts on a helmet and takes a race car for a run. The four-cylinder engine and its camshafts and valves are shown. A diagram shown all of its parts and how it works. The pistons, bearings, and crankshaft are shown (2:35-6:10). The race car’s drag link steering mechanism is shown. An early 1950s convertible rounds a corner; its dashboard and steering wheel shown up close (6:11-6:45). The engine is mounted backwards as its power is linked to the front wheels. The gears are shown. Lou practices in his race car, shown from the front. The front brakes are on the differential housing. A torsion bar provides the spring action on the front end. The chassis frame is shown (6:46-8:52). The race car has oversized tires. The Socony-Vacuum sponsored finished #7 car is shown (8:53-9:27). Lou Moore works at his drafting table (9:28). Race track footages is shown of spinning cars, cars bursting into flames, and cars hitting the track wall are shown (9:45-10:12). Bill and Lou look over…

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Details

Running time
27 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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