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 the build. Shafts are gauged. Parts are polished. Rods, bearings, camshaft covers, carburetors, wheel splines are checked, and final adjustments made. The #7 car is loaded onto a trailer (10:13-12:25). The entry gate to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is shown. Indy winner Wilbur Shaw drives a 1950s Oldsmobile convertible around the track at 75 mph, using the same pattern race car drivers use (12:26-15:36). Pit crews prepare the cars for speed trial qualifications. Multiple Mobileoil logos are shown, including one on Don Lee’s car. Pat Clancy is shown in his #57 car and other cars take the track (15:37-18:06). A meeting for owners, drivers, and pit crew members is held before the 1949 race. A 1940s school bus arrives. People wait in long traffic lines days before the gates open. They sleep in cars and play games along the roadside. A carnival sets up to entertain them as they wait (18:07-19:05). The gates open and the stands begin to fill. Some bring raised platforms to sit on in the free parking areas. The Purdue Marching Band uses the track, as it has since 1919. The pit crews make final adjustments and the cars are rolled to the track (19:06-20:52). The pace car enters the track, followed by the racers. The race announcer is heard as portions of the race are shown, including Bill Holland’s win and trophy presentation (20:53-27:08).

We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com