1962 Miller 1600cc B Sports Racer

History

Don Miller, an engineer for Northrop Aircraft, constructed approximately 40 H-Modified race cars in California during the late 1950s and early to mid-1960s. All were different, and were built to various specs. Many were powered by Crosley engines, and some had Fiat transmissions (front engine cars) and brakes. Some were sold as kits and finished by their new owners. 

Miller’s front engine cars were raced in the H-Modified class in SCCA. The later, mid-engine cars, ran as D Sports Racers. 

The early history of this Miller is currently unknown. However, we do know that in the Spring of 1999 the Miller was donated by its prior owner, Terry Hefty, for a fund raising event in Colorado. In attendance at the auction were Bob and Diane Alder. A few glasses of wine into the evening, and with some fun urging from several women drivers in attendance, Diane decided that now was the right time to start her racing career. She and Bob made the high bid for the Miller and won it! Just two weeks later Diane and the Miller were at the Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing (“RMVR”) Spring Driver’s School. Both successfully completed the school, and Diane would go on to race the Miller around the U.S. for nearly the next 25 years.

At the end of 1999, Bob and Diane’s first season with the car, the Miller was involved in a shunt. Thankfully, Diane was not hurt.  The left front was damaged, necessitating a complete stripping of the car down to the bare frame for proper repairs. The bodywork and paint were also redone and many small improvements were made. Since that restoration, the car has been exceedingly reliable and fun to drive. 

In February of 2004, the Alders and Team Terrific Racing took the Miller all the way to New Zealand and ran it in the Southern Festival of Speed. For the story, and a feeling for this grand adventure, please go to Team Terrific Southern Festival of Speed. 

When the team returned to the U.S., Diane went on to race the Miller for the next 14 years, racking up an incredible record of over 100 races. 

Everything was going along fine until 2018. It was then that the Miller suffered a freak roll over accident. The really crazy part was that the incident did not occur while racing on the track. The stranded Miller was being towed back to the pits, with Diane still strapped in it, when it rolled over. Thankfully Diane was not hurt, but the Miller was. The incident was even captured by video.

The incident broke some of the fiberglass, pushed the roll bar down, bent the trailing arms, and broke both rear uprights. Seeing as the car had been racing for 18 years at that point, the decision was made for another full ground up restoration. 

After the repairs the Miller was only raced on a test day at Pueblo, and one weekend at LaJunta in 2021.  In 2022 and 2023 Diane didn’t race, and came to the conclusion it was time to hang up her helmet.  Alas, the decision was made to sell the car. 

In 2024 Tom Taff purchased the Miller. Tom bought the Miller as a second car to run while his other sports racer was awaiting a new engine. Tom successfully raced the Miller with CVAR throughout the summer of 2024. The new engine has now arrived for Tom’s other car, so the Miller is now available for purchase. 

Description

The Miller is powered by a 1600 c.c. Ford. The engine was freshly rebuilt by Total Precision Engines in Ft. Collins, Colorado during the 2018 restoration of the car. The rebuild included a new Cortina block, Scat crankshaft, and Rally cam. The engine is bolted to a Hewland Mk 8- 4spd gearbox. The car’s power is driven through CV joints instead of rubber donuts for safety and reliability. 

The 2018 restoration also included a full rebuild of the frame by J.D. McDermott’s Front Range Motorsports. This included a completely new rear chassis section and roll bar. All new aluminum panels were also installed and riveted to the chassis. The fiberglass repair to the nose of the bodywork was done by Vic Cooper. 

Further work, just completed in 2024, includes the following:

4 New Spax adjustable shocks installed. 

Replaced U-joint on steering rack.

Installed quick disconnect hub for steering wheel.

Replaced brake and clutch masters.

Replaced flex hoses and clutch slave cylinder.

Rebuilt the LD 19 calipers with new seals (stainless pistons installed).

Oil system: Relocated oil filter, and replaced oil tank and all hoses.

Replaced and relocated the oil cooler for better air flow.

Installed new coolant expansion tank and relocated hoses.

Relocated new oil sensors.

Installed new Pertronix ignition coil.

Replaced Tachometer, and installed pod for better view for driver.

Installed new oil pressure and water temperature gauges.

Installed new ATL fuel cell tank and bladder. 

Installed new fuel hoses, filter and Pierburg pump. 

Installed a fuse for the fuel pump. 

Installed new wiring for new gauges. 

Installed new, larger, Braile battery.

Repositioned original battery to rear of cockpit to power cool shirt.

Removed exhaust header and had it ceramic coated.

Drilled axle lock nuts and secured with safety wire.

Replaced the Revolution wheels with new Panasport wheels. 

Installed new set of Hoosier Formula Ford tires per CVAR regs.

Corner balance and alignment.

Lowered ride height to improve suspension geometry. 

The Miller comes with three large boxes of spares including but not limited to:

Uprights

CV axles

Gears for longer tracks

Other useful bits

The Miller will come with a 2025 CVAR annual tech, dyno report, receipts, extensive records, and logbooks back to 1976.

This is an amazing buy at just $27,500. Run with the historic sports racer class for a small fraction of the cost of a Lotus 23, Elva Mk7, Merlyn Mk6, etc. For this kind of price you can use the car as a fun track day car, or a practice car, a driver’s school car or a full-on historic race car – all of which have been done with this Miller. You can race it across the U.S. as well as in exotic locations like New Zealand. All this for $27,500 plus the reliability of a Formula Ford engine, but with Webers and even more performance. Just look at the work and parts recently installed on the car. The parts alone are worth more than the price.

Someone is going to have an awful lot of fun in a beautiful, well-prepared, historic under 2 liter sports racer for a small price. 

All vehicle descriptions are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. Corrections, and supplemental information, are always welcome. Buyers are responsible for confirming vehicle histories, condition, and authenticity to their own satisfaction prior to purchase. Motorsports Market is not the owner of the vehicle and assumes no liability for errors and omissions.

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Photos

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