This 1975 midget race car is one of approximately 400 examples produced by Don Edmunds’ Autoresearch, Inc. of Anaheim, California, between 1963 and 1981. The car was driven by Barry Butterworth to victories in the 1976 and 1977 New Zealand Midget Championship seasons and was later piloted by Bev Griffis to a victory at a July 1986 race at the Indianapolis Speedrome, becoming the first female driver to win a USAC regional event. It was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation in December 1986 and subsequently incorporated into the IMS Museum collection, where it spent the past decade in their climate-controlled storage facility. The car is finished in yellow and red with a period livery and retains a 133ci Volkswagen flat-four with a methanol-injection system paired with a single-speed gearbox. The car has not run since it was donated to the museum and will need to be sorted prior to regular use. This Edmunds Autoreserch midget race car is now offered by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation in Indiana with period press coverage of Griffis’ 1986 victory and a bill of sale.
The fiberglass bodywork is fitted over a tubular steel frame, and it is finished in yellow and red with a livery from the 1986 USAC season. Features include a full roll cage and tubular bumpers around the back, sides, and nose.
Aluminum wheels of unequal width feature knock-off hubs and are mounted with a mix of Hoosier, M&H, and McCreary slicks. Braking is handled by four-wheel discs.
The cockpit features a single racing seat with an AJS harness. A four-spoke steering wheel fronts a panel with oil pressure and oil temperature gauges as well as an Autoresearch chassis plate. Total mileage is unknown.
The 133ci Volkswagen flat-four features a methanol-injection system and finned EMPI valve covers. It is linked to the rear wheels via a single-speed gearbox. The car has not been run since 1986 and will require sorting prior to use.
Located inside the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, the IMS Museum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that relies on the support of visitors, members, donors, and corporate partners to make possible their daily operations, exhibits, restoration and preservation initiatives, and educational programming. To learn more about the IMS Museum and the many ways you can show support, including their “Adopt-a-Car” program, please click here.
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