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Ex–Bobby Unser 1973 AAR Eagle-Chevrolet Indy Car

(All images from bringatrailer.com)

This 1973 AAR Eagle is one of four chassis built for use by AAR’s works team during the 1973 season.

Chassis 7302 is said to have been completed over the span of just five days after Bobby Unser’s crash in AAR’s primary competition chassis in testing ahead of the Texas World Speedway 200 on April 7, 1973. Under sponsorship by Olsonite, the car debuted on pole position with a then-world-record closed-course qualifying speed of 212.766 mph before suffering piston failure during the race. After being driven by Unser a week later at Trenton International Speedway, it served as a backup at Indianapolis before a crash at the Milwaukee Mile left its damaged tub shelved for the remainder of its time with AAR.

The tub was purchased in 1975 by magneto company owner Joe Hunt, who rebuilt the car and debuted it at the season finale in Phoenix. The car’s eight years with Hunt included an appearance at the 1981 Indianapolis 500 for which it was fitted with a 355ci Chevrolet V8 in place of its previous turbocharged Offenhauser engine. After surviving a practice-session crash, the car suffered a more severe accident during qualifying that injured driver and mechanic Phil Krueger and ended the bid for the Indy field.

The car was again repaired and returned for the 1982 season before being retired and changing hands several times, eventually spending several years with a Texas collector. In 2004, it was purchased by a Pennsylvania owner who prepared it for a hillclimbing career that included an overall victory at the 2011 Giants Despair Hillclimb.

The car was purchased in 2025 by Piloti, who subsequently commissioned a refurbishment that included a repaint in a white, red, and blue Olsonite Eagle livery, crack inspection, and overhauls of the suspension and cooling systems. Features include a Hewland LG600 five-speed manual transaxle, slotted and ventilated disc brakes, coilover suspension with inboard front dampers, staggered-width 15” wheels, a dual-plane rear wing with a Gurney flap, a single fuel cell, and a single seat upholstered in red and black. This Indy Eagle is now offered on dealer consignment at no reserve in North Salem, New York, with a spare Crower fuel injection assembly, gear sets, and a bill of sale.

The photo on the right is said to show this example with Bobby Unser aboard at Texas World Speedway in the car’s first start. Additional images from the car’s racing career are viewable in the photo gallery below along with a detailed summary of the car’s history.

The refurbishment performed between 2025 and 2026 by AJR Restorations in Tavares, Florida, included repairs to cracks in the nose area and damaged Dzus holes before a repaint in white and application of a livery replicating that worn by the car in its 1973 debut. Features include front winglets with dual planes, a low-profile windscreen, powder-coated side mirrors, a rearward-angled roll hoop, an intake snorkel, and a dual-plane rear wing with a Gurney flap.

Six-spoke wheels were refinished in black during the refurbishment that was completed in 2026 and are secured by hexagonal nuts. Avon slicks are mounted all around. Disc brakes incorporate slotted and cross-drilled rotors, The Brake Man calipers, dual master cylinders, and cooling ducts. The calipers were disassembled and cleaned during the refurbishment.

The cockpit houses a single seat with padded surfaces upholstered in black and red. Equipment includes a G-Force five-point harness, a right-hand shifter, and a drilled accelerator pedal.

The MOMO steering wheel sits ahead of a Smiths tachometer flanked by gauges monitoring oil temperature and coolant temperature. The car is not equipped with an odometer, and total mileage is unknown.

The 355ci Chevrolet V8 incorporates Edelbrock cylinder heads, a World Motown block, fuel injection with a Kinsler Jet Selector, dual Wizard Cooling radiators ahead of the rear wheels, and long-tube exhaust headers. The cooling system was refreshed during the 2025-2026 refurbishment, which also included fluid changes.

The car is equipped with a single fuel cell, consistent with the mid-1973 USAC rule change that limited cars to a 40-gallon fuel capacity instead of 75 gallons.

Power is sent to the rear wheels via a Hewland LG600 five-speed manual transaxle. Rose-joint suspension incorporates coilover shock absorbers with the front dampers mounted inboard as well as adjustable sway bars, the front of which can be adjusted from within the cockpit. The suspension system was overhauled during the 2025-2026 refurbishment, which also included crack-testing of the uprights and steering arms. The suspension and steering components were stripped and powder-coated or re-plated during the project.

A Joe Hunt Magnetos tag is affixed to the front of the chassis and is stamped with the number 7302, while an AAR decal bearing the same number is adhered inside the cockpit.

The car is shown above at Texas World Speedway in 1973.

Competition results for this chassis are reported to include:

  • 1973 Texas World 200 – 20th, DNF (with Bobby Unser)
  • 1973 Trentonian Split 300 Heat 1 – DNF (with Unser)
  • 1973 Trentonian Split 300 Heat 2 – DNF (with Unser)
  • 1973 Rex Mays Classic at Milwaukee – Practice crash (with Unser)
  • 1975 Phoenix 150 – 17th, DNF (with John Martin)
  • 1976 Indianapolis 500 – DNQ (with Rick Muther)
  • 1977 Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix – 11th (with Gary Bettenhausen)
  • 1981 Indianapolis 500 – Bump Day qualifying crash (with Phil Krueger)