I bought a plate off eBay that was advertised as an "Indy 500
Commemorative Plate - made in Japan." When I got it, I was stunned:
it's obviously from the 60's at best and in PERFECT shape!
It has a ring of cars on the edge and in the center there's a pacecar
(looks like a 63-65 Galaxy) leading 10 rows of 3 cars across the
start/finish line. At the "1:00" position is a blue car looks to be from
the '30's or so with a white "3" painted on it. The subtitle for this
car is "Blue Crown Special". At "3:00" is a red car from the '60's with
a white 60 painted inside a black-filled circle. Its subtitle is "STP
Turbine Special". At "5:00" is a pick car from the '30's with a white 1
painted on it, with a subtitle of "Boyle Maserati." At "7:00" is a pale
yellow car with a red 8 with 2 people inside (driver and mechanic) from
the '20's I'd guess. Subtitle: "Murphy Special." At "9:00" is a green
car with a yellow stripe running over the top center with a black 82
painted in a white-filled circle. It seems to be like the GPL cars and
it's called the "Lotus Ford." The last car, at "11:00" is a blue car
with a white 14 painted in a red-filled circle called the "Fuel
Injection Special." I'd guess it's from the '50's.
ALL the years I mentioned above are MY best guess: I have NO clue on the
history of these cars, but it sure is a conversation starter around
here!
It DOES have the tire with wings and 5 flags logo at 2, 4, 8 and 10
o'clock positions if that helps date it.
Gunner
