1929 Mimille Race Car

Mimille is a front-wheel drive racecar of unknown origin. The engine is a Ford Model A with a Cyclone head and Winfield carburetors. The front axle follows closely with the Miller design with a DeDion axle and four-quarter elliptic springs. CV joints (constant-velocity) of Cornelius Van Ranst's origin are a departure from Miller. The chassis is an old rear engine chassis modified with a special curved rear axle to lower the seat of the driver. The engine is from 1929; the CV joints were designed in 1928 or 1929. For the chassis, there is only speculation, however; the body seems to belong to the chassis. One theory would be to associate Harry Miller with the chassis in 1923/24 when he was working with Indy cars. It could have been an experiment to verify his ideas, made at a low cost with a Model T engine. The chassis was discarded and, at the end of the 1920s, rescued by an unknown Samaritan.

Between 1924 and 1929, Harry Miller designed and constructed 15 front-wheel drive cars in the United States. Another front-wheel drive, of a different design, was made by Hamlin. This particular example, made in the twenties, was one of the total production of 17 front-wheel drive race cars in America.

This vehicle has a front axle and suspension in similar fashion to those used by Miller, with a DeDion axle and 4-quarter elliptical springs. However, there are several design differences from the Harry Miller Indy cars, including the CV joints used in this car. The CV joints are similar in design to the ones found on the Cord L29, which were created by Van Ranst when he was working on the new FWD Cord in Harry Miller's shop. A patent for the CV joints was filled in August of 1929.

Millers's first Front Wheel Drive car had a curved DeDion axle. All of his cars that followed were straight. The DeDion axle on this car is curved.