Vehicle Description
In 1989, Dan Gurney, president of AAR Inc., entered in an agreement
with former AAR consultant Philippe de Lespinay, for the assembly
of the two unused 1972 AAR-Eagle spare chassis, with leftover
components and engines from the very successful 1972-1973 works
cars of Bobby Unser and Jerry Grant.
After several years and many difficulties resolved along the way,
this agreement resulted in the production of two cars replicating
the two former works cars, effectively no longer existing as intact
original entities.
The last two chassis built in 1973 were 7229 and 7230, and were
never completed in the day. Gurney chose to decorate 7230 in the
famous Jerry Grant "Mystery Eagle" livery, while Philippe de
Lespinay decorated 7229 in the Bobby Unser Olsonite livery while
supervising the completion of both cars. This was achieved in 2012
and 7230 is now a part of the AAR museum in Santa Ana.
7229 is a NOS tub built in 1973, already partially assembled with
fuel cell, steering rack, front suspension and braking system. The
engine is a rare genuine AAR-Drake-Miller 2.6-liter (159 CI) "Twin
Pump" turbo unit with correct "works" forward tub mounts (customer
cars use side mounts) and correct Weismann 4-speed gearbox
(customer cars were fitted with the Hewland LG 400) and assorted
suspension components. All parts used to assemble the car are
original AAR stock components and were used on the Bobby Unser car
in 1972, replaced routinely after a given mileage regardless of
wear. The engine has a documented track record showing that it won
the 1974 "California 500" at Ontario Motor Speedway. Tires are
recent Avon radials with only mileage gathered during the
demonstrations of the 100th Anniversary of the "Indy 500" in 2016.
All fluids are fresh. A common Offy crankshaft-seal leak has been
dealt with a catch system, no other leaks exist.
After a first outing in 2012 revealed an engine problem, the car
was again, completely disassembled and carefully reassembled by
former TRD engineer Bill Losee and Philippe, the engine attended to
by Stewart and Tres Van Dyne, while the gearbox was rebuilt as new
by former Unser crew, Butch Wilson. This resulted in a fast, very
reliable and great handling car. It has had since several
successful outings at various venues and is presently in perfect
condition, while needing as sole requirement for any future use, a
fuel cell replacement. The fuel cell is very accessible and will be
manufactured by Aerotech in California from the factory AAR print.
The engine was properly pickled after each outing. The gearbox and
all other systems are functioning perfectly as designed.
"7229" was featured in the May 2016 issue of Road & Track as one of
the five "star cars" tested for an extensive story for the
important anniversary issue.
The car was improved after each run, making fueling and maintenance
a very easy process. It has reached a speed of over 200 mph at Auto
Club Speedway at only 2/3rd throttle, and has been successfully
driven by Kenton Koch, Aaron Lewis, Matthew Brabham and Philippe de
Lespinay at various venues.
7229 is now offered for sale for the first time. It comes with a
complete and freshly rebuilt starter cart and starter motor,
featuring a rare NOS armature and new brushes, a new spare set of
magnesium wheels, various servicing implements, approved methanol
fuel jugs and a complete instruction manual for safe and successful
operation.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Chassis
Chassis number: 7229
Aluminum monocoque with steel bulkheads, built by Phil
Remington.
Front suspension by profiled upper rocker arm and inboard Monroe
adjustable coil over shock absorbers. Lower wishbones support
cast-magnesium hub carriers.
Rear suspension by upper links, lower parallel arms and an
anti-sway bar, linked to cast-magnesium hub carriers, outboard
coil-over Monroe shock absorbers.
Schroeder rack & pinion steering.
A Goodyear 40-gallon rubber fuel cell sits inside left-side
pod.
Side water radiators feature enclosing bodywork.
The fiberglass nose supports a pair of aluminum wings and connects
to a cowl, the tub forming the car's body sides.
Liebeck designed Rear wing exclusively for AAR.
Cast magnesium wheel, 15" X 10" fronts, 15" X 14" rears, with Avon
radial tires.
Car weight: 1600 lbs dry.
Engine AAR-Drake-Miller Offenhauser 159 CI 4-cylinder IL
turbocharged engine.
Aluminum crankcase with steel block and aluminum cam boxes.
Gear driven twin overhead camshafts, 4 valves per cylinder.
Forged crankshaft with brass counterweights and five
bearing-supporting, bolted webs.
Pistons C&C machined from solid treated aluminum billet.
Drake tubular steel rods.
Twin-pump dry-sump scavenge system, camshaft driven external
pressure pump.
Mallory electronic magneto ignition system
Garrett turbocharger to inconel exhaust header.
Power is 650 HP at 7500 rpm on 55", up to 1000 HP at 9500 rpm on
70" of turbo pressure. The engine happily goes to 9500 rpm and
beyond.
Gearbox
Weismann 4-speed with built-in suspension brackets.
