Here's what I know... as an 11 yr old kid, after the original 455 Old's in the boat was fried when my dad's buddy shut it down from full throttle to nothing, while towing my dad on a ski kite (now known as hang-gliders), and river water came up through the exhaust and cooked the engine, my dad took me to Jasper's auto body repair on Lincoln Ave. in Cypress, Ca. where there was a wrecked race car. He was deciding if he would buy the motor. Kind of a memorable event for an 11 year old, you can imagine.
Here's what I was always told... The car crashed on lap 5 at Ontario Motor Speedway and was purchased by someone building a car who was only interested in the sophisticated (for that time) fire extinguisher system. My dad also always said it came out of an Unser Team car.
Here's what I've found on the internet... On Feb. 28, 1971 George Snider, driving an Eagle/Offenhauser, crashed on Lap #5 in the 1971 Miller High Life 500. Just as an aside, George Snider was the 1971 USAC Silver Crown Champion.
Now the obvious question... If this is what I think, why aren't I pursuing it? As previously stated the boat is in Blythe, Ca. and I'm writing this from my home in Clearwater, Fl. My dad passed away in early 1990's and now my 82 year old mom wants to sell it. I'd like to see her get a fair value.