Shell Fiat

It's 2008. On the internet surfaced an auction on ebay of a 1959 Opel P1 Reckord. That car was a station wagon originally. But now shows modifications where the car was used for something unfamiliar to most all of us. Even the seller wasn't sure what it was for. The vehicle was body chopped and the drivetrain modified showing the use of a modified suspension and propulsion configuration. That car caused quite a stir. The title was "1959 Opel 376 MPG". This information pushed for more research. That research reveals information about several other vehicles. What a find! To mention a few, they were the 1959 Opel P1, a 1956 Austin Healey, a 1959 Fiat 600, a 1924 Chevrolet and a 1947 Studebaker. Why these? These were the record makers leading right up to the close of the Shell Mileage Marathon and the closing of the Wood River Shell refinery in Roxana, Illinois which brought the close to a yearly activity enjoyed for many years. 

Websites that share information about the car -                 

Opel -  http://www.race-cardrivers.com/Shell%20Opel.htm

           http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/05/01/big-oil-conspiracy-376-mpg-opel-uncovered/

             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZsumCk9Sk

 Fiat -   http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/05/26/big-oil-conspiracy-continues-244-mpg-fiat-600/

            http://green.autoblog.com/2007/07/31/1959-fiat-500-that-got-244mpg-in-1969-found-rusting-in-back-lot/

Chevrolet - http://www.wrrhm.org/pages/1924_chevrolet.htm

Studebaker - Greenshields with car from one of the past races

Austin Healey - none to report

Last updated 4-6-2012