The Gurney Eagle Santa Ana was the second Indy car design from Tony Southgate for Dan Gurney’s All American Racing. Named for AAR’s hometown, the Santa Ana was based on the wedge shape of the Lotus 56, with Brabham-style outboard front suspension.

The Santa Ana boasted numerous changes over the 1968 car, which had placed 1st, 2nd, and 4th at the Indy 500 with Bobby Unser, Dan Gurney, and New Zealander Denny Hulme, respectively. Southgate had lengthened the Eagle’s wheelbase 3.5 inches and stretched the body 17 inches, and the Santa Ana was the lowest and widest Eagle to date, with all-new chassis and bodywork, ventilated disc brakes, improved rollbar, and Gurney’s helical-toothed steering box. USAC rule changes also meant that wheels were wider: up from 8.5 to 10 inches in the front and from 9.5 to 14 inches in the rear.

The body was offset for the ovals, but little practice took place before the Indy 500 due to rain. A ram-air system was never completed, and several variations of the nose were built to help reduce lift at speed.

For the 1969 running of the Indianapolis 500, Unser, Gurney, and Hulme would return to the Brickyard looking to finish with similar results. The AAR Eagle offered here today would be Hulme’s entry in the 1969 event, bearing race number 42. It was powered by a 159-cubic inch DOHC turbo-charged Ford V-8 engine, which was capable of producing 800–900 brake horsepower. At the time, Hulme was one of motorsport’s finest drivers. Having won the 1967 Formula One World Championship along with two Can-Am Drivers Championships, both Hulme and his car for the 1969 race were not to be overlooked in that year’s field. Furthermore, Hulme and fellow Formula One World Champion Jack Brabham would be the only two non-Americans competing in the 1969 Indy 500.

After starting in 25th and 11th, respectively, Denny Hulme and Joe Leonard circulated in 2nd place at different times and at one point, Eagles were running 2, 3, 4, and 5. Leonard was chasing leader Mario Andretti when track debris holed his radiator, but crew chief Smokey Yunick lived up to his slogan, “The Best Damn Garage in Town,” and had Leonard back on the track in 14 minutes. Leonard finished 6th, but Hulme was less lucky: his clutch failed on lap 145, and he had to settle for 18th after a long stint in 2nd behind Andretti.

Denny Hulme was only entered for Indy, and this car, #704, is thought to be the one driven by Swede Savage in four races later that year. The 4-cam turbo Ford V-8 was replaced by a 318-cubic inch stock block V-8, which had served Gurney so well at Indy. In 1970, #704 was entered for Indy as the Eagle Ford of Bud Morley, of Denver, Colorado, but Morley failed to complete his driver’s test. The car next appeared in 1980, when it was raced in CART events by Dean Vetrock of Racine, Wisconsin, powered by a 355-cubic inch Chevrolet V-8. Vetrock sold #704 to Chuck Haines of St. Louis, Missouri, in the fall of 1981, and Haines later had Walter Goodwin restore it.

After Goodwin completed the restoration, its first event was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2007. The car was purchased from Chuck Haines by Doug Magnon for the Riverside International Automotive Museum shortly after it competed at Goodwood. It appeared at an HSR event at California Speedway in 2012 and has been used for exhibition laps at a number of events in the museum’s ownership. More recently, the car’s engine has been gone over once more by Walter Goodwin. It has proven to be steadfast and reliable in the museum’s ownership and is reported to be ready to return to the track.

While Doug Magnon passed away in February 2015, #704 was reunited with the other three 1969 Santa Ana cars in May 2015 at the Indianapolis Speedway to celebrate Dan Gurney’s 84th birthday. Eligible for any number of historic events, #704’s place in history seems assured. Bound to be competitive, it will always be a welcome sight – and sound – at any racetrack.