1963 Watson Indy Roadster Roadster

1963 WATSON 'Agajanian Willard Battery Special'

Summary
Built by A.J. Watson for car owner J.C. Agajanian in 1960, the 252 cubic-inch Offenhauser-powered machine nicknamed 'Calhoun' won the 1963 Indianapolis 500 in the hands of Parnelli Jones. After finishing seventh in its debut with Lloyd Ruby in 1960, it was driven for the next four years by Jones, who led at some stage every year. After being the first ever to officially lap the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in excess of 150 mph in 1962, Parnelli led virtually all of the first 300 miles until brake failure caused him to fade to seventh at the finish. Starting from the pole again in 1963, he led for 167 of the 200 laps and won at a then-record average speed of 143.137 mph.

Description
In 1963, AJ Watson's design dominated the Indianapolis 500, winning four times between 1956 and 1962. The era also brought transition, as rear-engine-designed cars with sleeker aerodynamics emerged as a viable force. This was epitomized by what was considered the main battle at the 63 Indy: Parnelli Jones' 1960 Agajanian Willard Battery #98, powered by its Meyer-Drake Offenhauser engine versus Jim Clark's rear-engined Lotus-Ford: a novelty at the time, but a sign of things to come.

James qualified with a then-record 151.153 mph, earning the Agajanian #98 the pole position of Indy two years in a row. Clark expected this and was banking on the fact that the Agajanian would burn gas faster and require more pit stops during the race. This did indeed happen, but Jones was fortunate in that two of his three stops came under the yellow caution flag, costing Jones 10-20 seconds in total time versus the 50-60 he would have lost under customary racing conditions.

In one of the most contentious moments in Indy history, Jones' victory was tainted by the fact that the Agajanian #98 was accused of 'dropping oil' throughout the race. If this had been the case, the car should have received a black flag, disqualifying it from the race. Judges ruled that since no oil actually hit the track, no infraction occurred.

AJ Watson's 1600 lb, single-seat roadster was an exercise in elegant simplicity. Featuring a ladder frame, the roadster was 32' wide at the rear and 29' wide at the front. Four torsion bars were used, two in the front and two in the rear, and were alternately called '4-bars.' A crew member would adjust the torsion bar tension at each corner to increase or decrease roll stiffness.

The Meyer-Drake-Offenhauser engine was a double-overhead-cam, Hilborn fuel-injected 16 valves, 4 cylinder with a 252 cubic inch engine. The reduction of regulation maximum engine size from 270 cubic inches to 255 cubic inches, as mandated by the United States Auto Club (USAC), inspired Watson to develop a short-stroke 252 cubic inch power plant that generated more horsepower than the more customary 255 cubic inch, long-stroke counterpart.