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Mark Monroe

Wheel Horse at Indy 500

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Mark Monroe

I have a 1977 C 160 that was used by Mears racing that same year. I am rebuilding and repainting. I have bought another hood to replace the one that has the original Mears Gang sticker and a Bell Helmet sticker on it. I know this was a common thing back in the day because while I was in college I worked at a Wheel Horse dealer in Terre Haute Indiana and had to remove many stickers when we would get the tractors after the 500. Are these tractors special in any way?

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AMC RULES

Might find someone out there who just had to have it...  :confusion-shrug:

did it come with any documentation, maybe some photo's to prove it was actually there on race day?

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Achto

:text-yeahthat: If you wish to look for an added value, people will want documentation. :WRS:

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Racinbob

I'll be watching this closely. I lived just outside of South bend for 45 years, am a huge Indy 500 follower, was a big Rick Mears fan back then and a Wheel Horse nut since 1960 but this is the first time I've ever heard of something like this. The Wheel Horse/Indy days were in the 60's. That certainly doesn't mean it didn't happen. Post a picture of your original hood. I would think Terry could make you one. :)

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953 nut
48 minutes ago, Racinbob said:

The Wheel Horse/Indy days were in the 60's. That certainly doesn't mean it didn't happen

:confusion-confused:          I was thinking the same thing, could be the Mears Gang liked Wheel Horses and had their own, sure would be an interesting story to verify.

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KC9KAS

@Mark Monroe :WRS: Glad to have another member from "Southern Indiana"!

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DougC

Hello Mark and :text-welcomeconfetti:to the forum! I was at the time trials in 1971 and was riding around the infield and pit garages in a golf cart with my father and his ww2 Army Air Force buddy who was the Indiana  Budweiser Beer distributor and in charge of all the Bud. concessions. I remember seeing a few small tractors but didn't notice if they were Wheel Horse. When you go to the time trials and have the Bud beer distributor introduce you to all the drivers and crew chiefs and give you all the free Budweiser you want, I wasn't paying much attention to the tractors.....:lol:

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RedRider
1 hour ago, Racinbob said:

The Wheel Horse/Indy days were in the 60's. 

While the 1960s were sort of the heyday for Wheel Horse at the Indy 500, the company was involved with the race all the way into the early 1980s. Toro/Wheel Horse tractors were brought back to the speedway during the early 2000s as well, though more for promotional use than anything.

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roadapples

:WRS:

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ztnoo

The term "provenance" is what the vintage car and motorcycle collector crowd typically use when referring to the history of a vehicle. That term/technique is aggressively and proactively used to attempt to increase value and perceived worth. Sometimes that could mean the paper trail progression of who owned it, i.e. celebrities and public personalities. Sometimes it relates to events a vehicle won, or who drove or rode it, for that significant victory. It could even relate to proven production documentation of rare machines of which few were known to have been produced, or of which few have survived. Supporting evidence also can be dealerships, noted and respected mechanics and engineers documenting work on the vehicle, trips, and verified mileage, etc. etc. The bigger the paper trail, the better, generally speaking.

 

prov·e·nance

n.

1. Place of origin; derivation.
2.
a. The history of the ownership of an object, especially when documented or authenticated. Used of artworks, antiques, and books.
b. The records or documents authenticating such an object or the history of its ownership.

 

Probably one of the best examples of due diligence concerning provenance I can immediately think of is the ultra rare Ferrari 250 GTO. Only 39 were ever known to have been produced. Its considered one of the most artistic and iconic auto designs ever created. Because of this model's extreme rarity, these few machines have a paper trail that would make the property abstract of the 300 year old New England real estate property look like child's bedtime story book.

"When new, the GTO cost $18,000 in the United States, and buyers had to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari and his dealer for North America, Luigi Chinetti.

The last one which sold to an unidentified buyer in a private transaction in 2013 went for a cool $52 million. Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason reportedly purchased his 250 GTO in 1978 for mere bread crumbs in today's inflated economy at a paltry £35,000. Mason has recently received offers between $40 million and $50 million from prospective purchasers."

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-10-02/ferrari-gto-becomes-most-expensive-car-at-52-million

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_250_GTO

 

1962_Ferrari_250_GTO_34_2 a.jpg

 

The point I'm trying to make here is this: if you have a paper trail.......a transfer to the original dealer from the factory, a loan agreement or purchase agreement/transfer to Mears, Penske .........or whoever, pictures, signatures of important players at IMS, pictures and documentation of what happened involving this tractor at IMS and after the racing team was done with the tractor, and how you ended up with it, it significantly increases its potential value.

Each Wheel Horse model, depending on condition (original or restored) will have a certain top dollar range attached to it......by someone who wants what you have, AND, is willing to pay for it.

Any provenance you can supply may increase the value, but only to a small group or handful of individuals, with a particular fascination with Rick Mears.

 

"Mears was raised in Bakersfield, California, and began his racing career in off-road racing. He switched to Indy Car racing in the late 1970s, making his debut for the small Art Sugai team, driving an Eagle-Offenhauser. His speed attracted the attention of Roger Penske. Although at the time Penske Racing had the services of Mario Andretti and Tom Sneva. Andretti was also racing in Formula One with Lotus at the time but Penske wanted another young driver who would focus exclusively on American racing. For 1978, Mears was offered a part-time ride in nine of the 18 championship races, filling in when Andretti was overseas. The arrangement also included a ride at the Indianapolis 500.

In his rookie appearance at Indy, Mears qualified on the front row, and was the first rookie to qualify over 200 mph. When the race began, Mears discovered his helmet was not strapped on tight enough and he had to pit to get it safely secured. He did not lead a lap and retired at 104 laps with a blown engine. He ended up sharing "Rookie of the Year" honors with Larry Rice. Two weeks later, at the Rex Mays 150, he won his first race. He added another win a month later at Atlanta and rounded off the year with his first road course win at Brands Hatch.

In 1979 the National Championship sanction changed from the USAC to CART. At Indianapolis he won his first "500", staying at the front of the field, taking advantage when Bobby Unser fell out of contention with mechanical trouble. Three wins and four second places in the eleven CART-eligible races won Mears his first championship. His worst finish in the season was seventh in Trenton's second heat."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Mears

 

Your chronology may roughly align with that era, but you are going to have to prove more than just relating a story. As far as I have researched, nothing is noted about Mears at Indy in 1977.

Hearsay is generally not admitted in court and recorded as part of a legal proceeding.

Hearsay about a particular Wheel Horse tractor's rumored history at Indy, probably won't make it of more value than it otherwise would be.

Unfortunately.

Of course, unless you can prove otherwise.

 

If you can prove by documentation what you claim, your tractor could potential be worth more than a run of the mill model 1977 C 160. Flip a Ben Franklin 50 cent coin or a Morgan silver dollar......if you have access to either.

My advice: if you can't substantiate your initial claim..................and it runs, and you can use it and service it... have the knowledge and capability to learn how to maintain the machine.........forget the questionable historical alleged associations with the Indy 500

C'est la vie.

Stories are a dime a dozen........

Edited by ztnoo
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roadapples

                 :text-yeahthat:

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ztnoo

ADDENDUM: chronological edit

 

"Yet Mears’ introduction to IMS gave no indication he would go on to such success at the legendary track. Driving a three-year old Eagle for Art Sugai, Mears failed to qualify for the 1977 Indianapolis 500. But his performances throughout 1976 and ’77 running a limited schedule of USAC Indy car races in second-tier equipment caught the eye of legendary team owner Roger Penske."

https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/history/people-of-ims/indianapolis-500-drivers/rick-mears

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Racinbob
21 hours ago, 953 nut said:

:confusion-confused:          I was thinking the same thing, could be the Mears Gang liked Wheel Horses and had their own, sure would be an interesting story to verify.

 

I've been searching Richard. i did find reference to the Mears Gang but no indication of a Wheel Horse.

 

20 hours ago, RedRider said:

While the 1960s were sort of the heyday for Wheel Horse at the Indy 500, the company was involved with the race all the way into the early 1980s. Toro/Wheel Horse tractors were brought back to the speedway during the early 2000s as well, though more for promotional use than anything.

 

In those years it was strictly promotional, like Chevy, Ford, Dewalt tools, etc. promoting their products.

 

:)

Edited by Racinbob
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ACman

I was a huge Rick Mears fan when I was a kid , and Indy car fan until his retirement . Then started watching NASCAR (Now it's hard watching it with the cookie cutter cars and rules) .  :dunno: Anyhow that would be some sort of memorabilia if you can prove it. Cool wall hanger for the man cave no matter what .

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WHX??
On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 10:14 AM, Mark Monroe said:

remove many stickers when we would get the tractors after the 500. Are these tractors special in any way?

 

Woulda been alot more special if you'd left the damn stickers on......:lol:

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