Powered by a Roush-built 725 horsepower four-cam Turbo Ford engine, Indy Car owner Mike Moss loves nothing more than to FLY LIKE A (GURNEY) EAGLE!
Michael “Mike” Moss has elevated multi-tasking to an art form! An HSR & SVRA Historic sportscar racer, Mike has three vintage Indy 500 open-wheelers. While his favorite is the 1969 (Olsonite #42) Gurney Santa Ana Eagle formerly driven by Denny “the Bear” Hulme at the 1969 Indy 500 and later by Swede Savage, Mike also owns the ex-Gordon Johncock, Ford-engined (naturally-aspirated) 1966 Gerhardt 66 (#49) and ex-Bill Vukovich 1969 Mongoose, powered by a Turbo-Offy.
A member of the Sarasota Café Racers, Moss is the guiding force behind TEAM ZORA USA which will be campaigning his ’57 Corvette Fuelie in 1000 Miglia events in the USA and Italy in 2024-2025. Formed to celebrate America’s Sports Car and honor the legacy of its first Chief Engineer, Zora Arkus-Duntov, he will co-drive the Fuel Injection Corvette with RM Motorsports’ Bud Bennett.
While the Corvette is being prepared for 1,000-mile road events, the Gurney Eagle’s Ford quad-cam engine was going through a complete overhaul and dyno testing at Roush. According to Roush’s Ron Sharp, the Eagle’s 2.65-liter/162 cubic inch four-cam, 32-valve turbocharged V-8 is putting out an un-stressed 725 horsepower.
The 1969 Gurney Eagle was designed by Tony Southgate who, prior to joining Dan Gurney’s AAR in 1967, had spent time at Lola working on the iconic T-70, later switching to Brabham. Southgate incorporated the basic Lotus 56 wedge design and Brabham front suspension in the Eagle, also known as the Santa Ana Eagle, referencing the AAR’s location, Santa Ana, CA.
Over a period of years and owners, this Eagle was powered by Gurney-Weslake stock-block Ford and small-block Chevy engines in addition an original Turbo quad-cam Ford that is currently supplying power. In 2006 it was restored to its original 1969 Indy debut condition, complete with Olsonite #42 livery. Mike Moss added it to his collection in August 2016, being the high-bidder at the RM Sotheby auction at Monterey. Moss has driven the Eagle in historic races and this year committed to a full engine overhaul at Roush. Looking like the day Denny Hulme drove it in the 1969 Indy 500, it remains a work of art created by an American racing legend: Dan Gurney.
“It’s almost too beautiful to race and as much as I love to FLY LIKE A (GURNEY) EAGLE! I think it may be time to ‘clip its wings’ and put it on display so the public can see and appreciate it as much as I have,” said Moss.
To learn more about FLY LIKE A (GURNEY) EAGLE! And AAR, please visit, https://www.oldracingcars.com/eagle/69/