Cliff Durant commissioned Harry A. Miller to build the “Baby Chevrolet” in the spring of 1919. The original car, finished in early 1920, was first powered by a disappointing iron 4-cylinder Miller engine. Under Tommy Milton’s guardship, an 8-cylinder Duesenburg engine was installed in early fall of 1920. This combination also proved unsuccessful. On October 2, 1920, Milton ordered a new Miller engine, the design executed by Leo Gosseen. Milton raced the newly engined chassis with great success.
The original car was destroyed in a racing accident on September 17, 1922, in Kansas City, MO. Only the engine was salvageable. This car was built (2005-2010) by Bill Castle (from age 85-90) as an intellectual engineering fabrication challenge to duplicate the original car. It gave new life to the original 183 cubic-inch, double overhead cam 8-cylinder engine.
You may purchase a print in our dElegance 2013 online gallery.
