1911 National Model 40 Speedway Roadster

National built cars from 1900 to 1924 in Indianapolis, originally powered by electric motors. Electricity was phased out as a power source in 1906 when Arthur C. Newby became the company president. Newby was one of the four founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where National, driven by Joe Dawson and averaging 78.22 mph, won the 500-mile race in 1912 at an average speed of 78.72 mph. At the inaugural 500 race in 1911, the first 'brickyard' race, National fielded a three-car team, one of which finished seventh. National still holds the record as the largest engine to ever win the Indy 500 with a four-cylinder engine that displaced 490 cubic inches! A National won a 100-mile endurance race at the State Fairgrounds in 1905.

Despite winning road races in California, Illinois, and the Los Angeles-to-Phoenix Cactus Derby, management pulled out of racing at the end of 1912. National production continued through 1924.

This particular National wears Roadster coachwork. It is very similar to the car that won the 1912 Indianapolis 500. This roadster was discovered in a garage in Atlanta in the early 1950s. O.A. 'Ote' Corriher, a Landis, North Carolina, textile manufacturer and car collector, had it restored by the Allen Brothers, completed in 1957. Corriher displayed it in his museum for many years before he sold it to Harold Coker in 2004.

Mr. Coker treated the car to a full rebuild. It is finished in medium blue with a yellow chassis and running gear. The seats are upholstered in black buttoned leather, and there is a matching canvas top with a windscreen curtain. In the back is the fuel tank along with a slightly smaller oil tank. The brass lighting, head, side, and tail, is by Gray & Davis. The headlamps are fed by a Prest-O-Lite cylinder on the right running board, while the others are oil lamps. Instrumentation includes a pressure gauge and a dashboard clock. The engine is a T-head unit with cylinders cast in pairs. There is a dual ignition system, magneto and batter, and two sets of spark plugs. Tires are 34x4½ B.F. Goodrich Silvertown blackwalls on demountable rims. There are dual spare tires at the rear.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2015