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SOCIETY OF LAND SPEED RACING HISTORIANS
NEWSLETTER 72 - August 14, 2008
Editor: Richard Parks [email protected]
President's Corner: By Jim Miller (1-818-846-5139)

Click On All Images For Larger View

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President's Corner: By Jim Miller (1-818-846-5139)
  In another week I'm off to the Holy Grail of Land Speed Racing that we all call Bonneville. The great thing about the place is you see just about every iteration of vehicles. I'm lucky because I get to inspect them and see how many solutions there are to solving the same problem. I'm partial to Lakesters and Streamliners because they're scratch built and don't use production car bodies like the other classes. Liners are my favorite so that's the subject for this week. 

Great cover illustration of the Cooper Land Speed Car at Montlhery France where it broke 12 International Records.

JMC_193” Great cover illustration of the Cooper Land Speed Car at Montlhery France where it broke 12 International Records.

 Rear view of the Cooper Record Car from 1951.  It looks like version 1 of the Mercedes-Benz Record car from 1937.

 JMC_197: Rear view of the Cooper Record Car from 1951. It looks like version 1 of the Mercedes-Benz Record car from 1937.

Side view of the Mercedes-Benz Record car version 2 from January 1938.  Tell me the tail doesn't look like Chet Herbert's

JMC_196:Side view of the Mercedes-Benz Record car version 2 from January 1938. Tell me the tail doesn't look like Chet Herbert's Beast IV from '53.

This is the patented design used on the Eberhorst-Porsche designed Auto Union T22 Type C Record Car from 1938.  It's

JMC_195: This is the patented design used on the Eberhorst-Porsche designed Auto Union T22 Type C Record Car from 1938. It's called ground effects. Imagine traveling 267mph on a public highway with 360." This car did it.

Ferdi Lehder and George Von Opel built this NSU powered  "Kompressor" speedwagen and broke 17 records with it and

JMC_194: Ferdi Lehder and George Von Opel built this NSU powered "Kompressor" speedwagen and broke 17 records with it and a 13 year old design concept.

The first picture today is the cover of Auto Speed and Sport, Volume 1, number 2, from February 1952 (JMC_193).  It was published by Trend, Inc that later became known as Petersen Publishing Company. It features a great illustration by Reynold Brown of a Cooper buzzing around Montlhery, a car and track that I've mentioned before.

Inside was a rear shot of the car (JMC_197). As usual one has to look through the whole mag and surprise, surprise, on page 18 I found a car that puts the little Cooper to shame. It's called the NSU "Kompressor." I'll backtrack a little here. Almost every post war streamliner that ran at the salt was was influanced by one car, The Mercedes-Benz W125R (JMC_196) from '37-'38. Goldie Gardner copied it for his little M.G., Dean Batchelor copied the M.G. when he designed the So-Cal Liner down to the lightning bolt on the side, and then the City of Burbank and the Shadof Special. Kenz & Leslie ditto, also the little Cooper. Look at the rear of Herbert's "Beasts" and the tail's a bookmatch. Naturally there are exceptions. Cobb's ride influanced LeBlanc, another M.G., Burke's "Golden Commode" and the Go Carts like "Orangecrate."
  Ferdi Lehder and George Von Opel who built the "Kompressor" followed a different path. George was involved with LSR in the late '20's with a rocket powered car with negative lift wings. Ferdi raced motorcycles and formula cars. They were a good match. Their car's concept was inspired by M-B's rival, Auto Union.

Study JMC_195 for a moment and then look at JMC_194. See the influence. The two brains behind the Auto-Union design were Eberan Eberhorst and Ferdinand Porsche. Besides inventing "Ground Force" on race cars some of their other work included the Benz before Mercedes, Volkswagen, BMWs, Tiger Tank, Cicitalia, Renault and Astin Martin. Opel and Lehder went as far as having the car engineered by the Braunschweig School of Technology. They pulled off their dream big time. As a comparison we'll use the Cooper and the Kompressor. Both were powered by peanut engines, with a 350cc motor the Cooper best speed was 92 mph while the Kom's was 132mph. With a 500cc motor the Cooper ran 99mph while our heros rig ran 162mph. Quite a differance. Looks like it pays to look at everybody that's gone before and steal from the best as going fast is what it's all about. As a parting thought think about this. In the early days some cars were going real fast with low tech and not a bunch of HP like today. They had big tires and a thing called torque. Today we have small tires, lots of rpm and horsepower. What happened to the stump pulling

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Editorial: What to do with stuff...
   The subject has recently come up about what to do with possessions inherited from racers who have passed away. Jim Miller and I have devoted a few newsletters to this topic, because it is vital that we save as much of our heritage as we can, even if we don't know what to do with it all, at the time. Sometimes the artifacts are left to the widow or children and they call us because in the wallet of the deceased is a note that says, "If I die, call Jack and tell him to bring over his friends and make you an offer on all my Ford parts." Or, some of the car guys will drop by and speak to the spouses while their husbands are still alive and say, "If you ever need a hand, want an offer, or just need advice on what to do with all the car stuff when Igor passes on, just let me know." Sometimes the word will just get passed around by the women at the reunions and one of them will tell their friends, "Edith, when my dear Nestor passed away, Jack came by and offered to help. He moved the boxes into the garage and gave me his card and offered to buy the stuff. He gave me a list of names to call and said if I got a better offer, to take it. I called, but Jack's offer was the most fair. If your Heinrich should ever pass on, you can trust Jack to give you a fair offer." Many times you will see the guys make a pact and promise to buy up the artifacts and parts and tell their wives to expect a garage sale after the Memorial. In a way, if the family and children don't want the treasures, having your deceased husband's friends over can be a great relief and another way to get rid of unwanted artifacts, make some money, have a patio party and free up some garage storage space. Another way is to talk to a car museum and ask them if they would like to auction off the possessions to help them with their fundraising efforts. A widow may not get any money, but there could be huge tax savings from the donated goods. 
   Now here's another wrinkle. For many hot rodders, the value is in the part and if the part is not usuable, if it is degraded or out of fashion, there isn't much value. But what if the stuff comes from a well-known person, then it isn't just the car part, programs, photographs, timing tags or other racing memorabilia, but all of the possessions that have value. What do you do then. Collectors will want to own anything that a more famous celebrity left behind. Should you throw out linen, dishes, kitchen and bathroom objects or let people know that they are available. The problem is two-fold. If you toss out the stuff, down the road people will wonder why you didn't make it available to the public, who value keepsakes, even those that aren't racing parts. But if you do make the material available, another problem arises, which is identification. How does the public know that this pillow case belonged to the person they idolized or was simply something that you tossed into the pile? I wouldn't mind having a pillow that George Washington slept on at Mount Vernon, but how can I know for certain that it belonged to him. A part that one buys from a fellow racer's widow is valuable as a part for your racecar, and the price is comparable to what you would have to pay for it at a speed shop. But a collector's item that has added value because the person who owned it was well-known has an extra value to it. And it doesn't have to be car related. That set of plates or coffee maker is valuable to the collector separately from what you would pay at a store, because the personal possessions of a famous person are limited in number. That is, there are millions of teapots, but only one teapot owned by Gene Autry, Ak Miller, Randy Shinn, Carroll Shelby, Parnelli Jones, Rodger Ward, Danny Oakes or Wally Parks. But how do we know that it was owned by a celebrity. It comes down to detective work and a word that we call provenance.
   Provenance means that "the object has a history and a trail leading from the current owner back to the original owner or maker." That's why it is so important to make a photographic record of what's in your home, garage, office and workshop. It's also important to give a copy to your insurance agent to store. It is vital to caption all your photographs, for who will know the names of the people in the pictures when you are gone? The next thing is to photograph everything showing the room, house, outside. This shows that the object was where it was supposed to have been. You should leave a record of the object, like this; "Hood ornament, May '39, Muroc, from Orville "Snuffy" Welchel. He gave it to my dad in 1953 as a gift. I inherited it when my dad passed away on Sept 2, 2002, been in my possession ever since."  If you can, you interview a friend of Snuffy's and ask him to initial or sign his name, date it and say briefly, "Yup, that was Snuffy's, all right. Signed Big Bertha Leadfoot." Next, let the racing fraternity know what you have years in advance of whatever decision you will someday make on disposing of your treasures. We all have an idea of where the original stuff is, so that when fakes come on the market we just know that something's wrong. Lastly, after all this documentation and cross documentation, it is your word and the word and integrity of everyone who helped you to create a provenance. If your word has been exceptional and people have always felt they could trust you, then your John Henry on the provenance will be believed and accepted. That means that once you set your sights on this goal, you have to be completely honest and forthcoming. This is something that I have to do, since my brother and I lost our father and we have a house and garage full of objects, which we know people will want to have as a souvenir, so we have to get busy with our provenance and documentation. Then we will donate this hoard of collectibles to the Motorsports Museum to be auctioned off to support their causes.

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 I am sorry to send out this mass email but I just can't email each of you individually as I am just devastated. David Daniels was killed in a MC accident last night (August 6th). My daughter Diana flew down this morning to be with me. He was a donor so they did all of this today. We are having him cremated and then shipped to Marysville, OH where he always told me if something happened to him that was where he wanted to be and I have a open plot next to his grandmother up there. I plan on graveside services in Marysville on Saturday morning the 6th of September. I hope you all will include me in your thoughts and prayers as Diana and I really need them. Thanks, Eileen Daniels
   Dear Eileen: Our thoughts and prayers go out to your whole family at this time. 

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Richard: Do you have a BIO of Bud Meyer? Stokes
   Doug: In this issue of the Newsletter I have a phone interview with Bud, part of the legendary Meyer racing family, but I don't have a bio on him. When I called last year to do a story, Bud informed me that Ken Berg in Orange County had recorded his life story and that of the other Meyers. Rather than duplicate the effort, I called and talked to Ken to confirm that he has done a bio on Bud and many other people that are related to or have worked for the Meyers and the Meyer/Drake Company. Definitely, we do not want to lose Bud without having a history of his family and himself. The Meyers are far too important to leave out of our racing traditions and biographies.

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Can you guys help Frank Oddo? Going to Bonneville? Karen Davis. "Does anybody recognize this Bonneville participant circa 1972-74? If so, please send me your best recollection of the entry and or owner name, class or number.  Thanks, Frank Oddo"
   Karen and Frank: The photographs that you sent wouldn't transfer to this screen when I tried to do a forward or a copy and paste, so I can't put them into the SLSRH Newsletter. However, from what I could tell, the lady is Paula Murphy and you should send the photographs to her and see if she can verify that. STP and Andy Granatelli were sponsoring her at a number of events, including Bonneville at this time. The color of the car is Bean Bandit yellow, but I think STP also used that color. Send her the photos and ask her if this was her attempt to set a record at Bonneville. If it isn't Paula, then if you can send me photos that I can download, I will use those in the next issue of the newsletter and see if our readers can help you.

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Members: Bill Groak sends invitations to the media every so often whenever the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum has an open house, a new exhibit or a twilight cruise night.

Don Cameron with Raquel Welch

On August 27 there will be a new exhibit honoring Trophy Queens, followed by the Twilight cruise, which is on the last Wednesday of the month rather than on the first Wednesday in September, due to the conflict with the Los Angeles County Fair. The Cruise is open to the public, free of charge, but only journalists and media people are invited to the preview of the opening of the Trophy Queen exhibit.

 If you are a historian, writer, free lance photographer and would like to cover the opening exhibit, let me know and I will contact Bill and ask him if you can attend. These events occur about every other month and are excellent opportunities to cover, write about or photograph interesting new exhibits and events. The photo shows Don Cameron and Raquel Tejada, later to become Raquel Welch.

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I had a nice phone conversation with Bud Meyer. Bud's celebrating his 90th birthday this month and will have a birthday party at the Petersen Automotive Museum at the end of this month. Bud comes from a family of hot rodders and racers who were at the forefront of racing during the 20th century. It is pretty hard to find an area that the Meyer family did not involve themselves in. Bud's grandfather and father (Eddie) were born in Metz, in Alsace/Lorraine, which according to who won the wars at that time could have been in Germany or France. His two uncles were Lou and Harry. The three Meyer brothers raced cars and had their own shop, working on cars. Eddie raced cars and according to Bud, was racing out at Banning the day Lou won Indy for the first time. Bud was twelve and his uncle Harry was just 24 months older than he was and they grew up together, more as equals than as uncle and nephew. Bud and Harry were climbing in the trees when it was announced on the loudspeakers that Lou Meyer won the Indy 500. Things were much simpler then and everybody knew everybody else. There was none of this hoopla and star celebrity nonsense that we have today. Bud's uncles and father only made it to the 8th or 9th grades before they had to go to work. But in the 1930's, an 8th grade education would have been equivalent to a high school diploma today. Bud was born in 1918, in Redlands and lived in Huntington Park before moving to the Hollywood area. 90 years later his memory is still sharp. Around 1938 he joined the Throttler's car club and at the dry lakes he took the record that had belonged to Eldon Haws, running about 114 mph. An argument over that caused Bud to leave the Throttlers and join the Road Runners car club with Paul Schiefer, Wally Parks, the Miller Brothers and Vic Edelbrock Sr. He and his uncle Harry were injured in an accident at the dry lakes. Bud went through high school, but then went to work immediately afterwards. This was during the Great Depression and he remembers the despair, poverty and soup kitchens. The Meyers were fortunate in that they could make a living from their racing and their mechanical repair skills. Bud remembers going to the Twin Barrels Drive-In on Beverly Blvd, between La Brea and Fairfax. It was a favorite hangout for many of the racers who lived in the Hollywood area. He raced Tommy Lee, in Lee's swift roadster and beat him. He also hung out at Danny Oakes Shop, which was near another favorite hang-out for the kids, called Deloris' Drive-In, located near Spalding and La Cienega. Bud was friends with Robert Stack, the actor who played Eliot Ness in the TV series, The Untouchables. Bud remembers Stack as a quiet and personable young man, who loved to go racing at the dry lakes or go boat racing. The first race that he and Stack were at was at Murray Dam, in San Diego, in 1940. Stack came from a well-to-do family, but he was accepted as a typical hot rodder. Al Jepson built the race cars for Stack. Jepson was a real hot-head and crackerjack sprint car driver. Bud's father lived to be 89, his uncles lived to be 90 and 91. Happy birthday Bud and many more.

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Bob Jennings really missed the mark in his piece about my late friend Quin Epperly. He also missed the fact that Quin was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in May of this year. He also missed the mark with his description of Quin's involvement with the Salih "Laydown" Roadster. George Salih developed the laydown engine placement and designed the car. George and Howard Gilbert built the chassis and fitted it with the full range of components made by Halibrand Engineering for Indy cars. Quin was contracted to build the body work. Sponsorship of the car was by Sandy Belond and the dollar amount quoted by Sandy and Sam Hanks had a vast difference. One stated $3,000 and the other $5,000. George Salih was the shop forman at the Meyer Drake engine plant. I never heard Quin take credit for the design and fabrication of the complete car. Race car construction was very different in the fifties as there were several small operations building cars as compared to today's cars that roll off of assembly lines! This car was the last car to win back-to-back 500's. The same car was entered in 1957 and 1958. The Al Unser driven Johnny Lightning cars of 1970 and 1971 were two very different cars. Quin did do the complete design and fabrication on the Lindsay Hopkins Autolite car which has been restored by, and still in the possession of, Bill Akin of Nashville. Bob Falcon
   Bob: The short bio by Bob Jennings came from the internet. The Gold Coast Roadster and Racing Club in Santa Barbara County held their annual election of Honorees for their Gas-Up and Dry Lakes Hall of Fame. Quin Epperly was one of their honorees and there was no mention by the GCRR club about why Quin was selected or what his land speed credentials were. I simply researched Quin as well as I could with the sources on the internet, and as you have pointed out, they weren't very suitable. I know that Jack Mendenhall always spoke highly of Quin's abilities, but he never told me to what connection Epperly had with straightline racing. Perhaps you can tell us. Eventually the GCRR Club will produce a program and let us know Quin's background in land speed racing.

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There's an addition to the 11th annual Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance, a special route for antiques (cars built before 1916). Click here to see the map of the route; http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/img/pdfs/2008_Tour_and_Veteran_Tour_Maps_Combined.pdf. There will be great photo opportunities along Scenic Road and at the Carmel Mission. Jeff Green

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Just posted on the "News" page on our Road Runners website: August Road Runners Meeting, 8/12/08 - (Follow up) - We had a great turn out for our Bonneville Bon Voyage dinner gathering at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Riverside. It was a very nice evening and great social event for Club members and their families. The food was good and no one left hungry. Attending were - Reese Adams, Bill and Veronica Anderson, Wendel Burns and daughter Sarah, Mark and Julie Cavender, Dave Consalvo, Jerry and Susan Cornelison, Mike Ferguson, Buddy Fitzgerel, Terry Geer, Bill and Dianne Harris, John and Nancy Julis, Jim and Susan Kitchen, Willie and Pam Martin, Jack and Pat Masson, (prospective member) Pat and Kat McSwain and their two children, Pat and Delia Riley and Mark and Gwen Saxlund. Many thanks to Jack Masson for organizing this event. Our Road Runners members racing at Speedweek this year are: Harris & Wester #675 XXO/FALT (Bill Harris, Dale Wester and Richard Ross), Jim Kitchen #3076 C/STR (Jim Kitchen) & Campbell Racing #7008 A/PP (Casey Campbell & Tim Campbell). A possible entry is the McRat Racing Diesel Truck (prospective member Pat McSwain) if the truck is ready by next week. Several members will be attending as event volunteers and spectators. Pat Riley will be working in Tech doing inspections and Delia Riley will be assisting Judy Sights (Gear Grinders) with driver safety gear checks. Club Members attending as spectators will be Buddy Fitzgerel, Mike Retzlaff and Ty O'Neal. (Sorry if I missed anyone - E-mail me and let me know if I did.) We wish all our racers the best of luck for a safe meet and new records! (posted Aug 13, 2008) http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners/news.htm. New addition to the "Weather Report" links on the Road Runners homepage: I have added a "48 hr Observation" link to the Bonneville Weather section, just like the link we have had for El Mirage. The Observations provide an almost "real time" read on weather conditions. At Bonneville, the readings are posted every 20 minutes and are read at the Wendover Airfield. At El Mirage, the reading are posted hourly and are read at the El Mirage Airfield just south of the lake. You can now look at Bonneville and El Mirage weather for "10 Day Forecasts," "Severe Weather" reports and "48 hr. Observations." Jerry Cornelison

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Editor: Burke LeSage sent me a nice program about the SEMA Hall of Fame. As I retyped it I noticed some names from the dry lakes and land speed racing that stand out. SEMA, or the Specialty Equipment Market Association was formed in the 1960's to protect the interest of speed equipment manufacturers from legislation and unfair press reports. They do a fantastic job, even today, in protecting the hot rodders, custom car, racing and street performance fans. At one time their name was Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, but changed their name to give a more wholesome public image. Look at some of the names and you will see a land speed origin; Burke LeSage, Andy Granatelli, Pete Chapouris, Stuart Hilborn, Ray Brock, Lou Baney, Ray Brown, Carl Olson, Vic Edelbrock Jr, Dean Moon, Keith Black, Bill Stroppe, Jim Deist, Mickey Thompson, Ted Halibrand, Alex Xydias, Sandy Belond, Robert E. Petersen, Kenny Harman, Wally Parks, Ed Iskenderian, Louis Senter, Harry Weber, Vic Edelbrock, Sr, Phil Weiand, Roy Richter, Ed Winfield and Paul Schiefer. That's a pretty fair list.
2008; Raymond Bleiweis, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Corky Coker, Robert Cook
2007; Russ Deane, Ron Funfar, Nate Shelton
2006; Steve Bolio, Dick Maxwell, Rick Rollins
2005; Paul “Scooter” Brothers, Herb Fishel, Burke LeSage
2004; Bob Keller, John Simmons, Charlie VanCleve, Jim Wirth
2003; Brian Appelgate, Bob McJannett, Marvin Rifchin, Bob Vandergriff
2002; Amy Faulk, Harry Hibler, Arnold Kuhns, Ray Lipper
2001; Don Alderson, Andy Granatelli, Jim McFarland
2000; Jim Borre, Ronald Coleman, P.G. “Red” Roberts
1999; Pete Chapouris, Bob Patteri, Steve Woomer, Dick Moroso
1998; Joe Amato, Bill Hays, John Scafidi, Sr.
1997; Chuck Blum, Robert Cahill, Dennis Holding, Don Prudhomme
1996; Jim Kerr, Stuart Hilborn, Dick VanCleve
1995; Louis Borick, Boyd Coddington, Walter “Butch” Lahmann, Joan Weiand
1994; Don “Bud” Barnett, Ray Brock, Dave McClelland
1993; Bob Airheart, Angelo Giampetroni, Dick Martin, Dick Wells
1992; Lou Baney, Murray Diamond, Harvey Goldberg, Joe Pisano
1991; Ray Brown, Carl Olson, Vince Piggins, Alan Reed
1990; Dan Borre, Dick Day, George Elliott
1989; Vic Edelbrock, Jr., Don Raleigh
1988; Howard Douglass, Dean Moon, Bill Simpson
1987; Bob Hedman, Ben Sigman, Don Smith
1986; Keith Black, Sheldon Konblett, Carroll Shelby, Thurston Warn
1985; Stan Hiltz, Els Lohn, Bill Stroppe, Linda Vaughn
1984; Jim Deist, George Foote, Bill Smith, Mickey Thompson
1983; Dick Cepek, Ted Halibrand, Jerry Light, Tom Shedden
1982; Tom Babcox, Donna Imrie Foulger, Leo Kagan, Alex Xydias
1981; John Bartlett, Sandy Belond, Harvey J. Crane, Jr., Jack Harris, C.J. “Pappy” Hart, Robert E. Petersen, Bob Spar, Jim Vaughn
1980; Chuck Bobins, Don Garlits, Joe Hrudka
1979; Jack Goldstein, Kenny Harman, Wally Parks
1978; Jack Hart, George Hurst, Ed Iskenderian, Boots Mallory, Louis Senter, Harry Weber
1977; Vic Edelbrock, Sr.
1976; Willie Garner
1975; Phil Weiand
1974; Ed Elliott, Roy Richter
1973; Zora Arkus-Duntov
1972; Roy Leslie
1971; Ed Winfield
1970; Honest Charley Card 
1969; Paul Schiefer

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This note is to advise you of a new 36hp Challenge class for the upcoming year. Due to numerous requests, we are adding a Karmann Ghia category to the National 36hp Land Speed Record Challenge in 2009. All the basic guidelines for the Challenge will remain the same with only the word bug being changed to Ghia to differentiate any records set. Any speed recorded by Ghia bodied cars will "NOT" qualify as Bug records but will be seperate in all areas. I also hope this may help bring a few of you out off the fence and allow you to run the Ghias you already own without having to acquire another Volkswagen. Ghias are aerodynamically more efficient (I am still looking for Coefficient of Drag specs for Ghias should anyone have that information!) than bugs and should result in speeds at least 5 miles per hour faster than bugs with the same 36hp motor. The sanctioning bodies overseeing the events will not recognize seperate Ghia records! These categories will be for 36hp Challenge recognition only and I will provide a vintage trophy for the fastest 36hp Ghia bodied speed in 2009.
   Ghia guidelines will be added when the 2009 information is posted at the end of the year. The SCTA/BNI's 60th Annual Bonneville Speedweek begins in less than one week and salt conditions as of today are excellent. If you are coming out for a visit please contact me so we can get together Sunday or Monday (I will be leaving the salt Monday afternoon) and would like the opportunity to get acquainted and introduce you to other 36hp Challengers who will be on the salt. Britt, the California half of Team Ireland (yes, next year we expect to change the name to the International 36hp Land Speed Record Challenge) will be there along with the Iowa boys from Cedar Rapids, Tom Bruch and Carter Kuderle. Likewise, the September World of Speed event is on schedule and we have about seventeen folks planning on attending our Thursday evening get-together. Please let me know if you might be joining us.
   I have recently been in contact with a new 36hp Challenger from east coast who is assembling an old family bug to compete in East Coast Timing Association events and would like to welcome the LaChance family to the Challenge. Are any of you Texas Challengers ready to do Goliad yet? I would welcome any input on the addition of Ghias to the Challenge and would encourage everyone receiving this email to contact me and let me know how your 36hp racer is progressing. 2009 looks like it could be the penultimate (thats a popular F1 term) year for the Challenge with many cars finally coming together. Hopefully one of those entries will be yours. Again, please communicate with me about any Challenge questions you have or news of your racer we can share. Burly Burlile

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I know, for a fact, that he (new Dry Lakes Hall of Famer Quin Epperly) did the body restoration of the Mormon Meteor a few years before he crossed the finish line. I was with him when he and Marvin Jenkins made the deal, after Marv had repossessed the car from the State of Utah. They (Utah) really did not care for it well and after a parade they parked it on the open trailer in a truck wash rack. The body work was very early aluminum and not very strong. It was full of dents from people leaning on it while it was on display in the State House. The header pipes were jammed with waste candy wrappers and everything else that was imaginable. Quin and Marv were friends from the Winfield V8 (now NOVI) days. Marv was Lew Welch's pilot. Quin also did a lot of the work on Breedlove's three wheel jet car. Bob Falcon
   Bob: I visited with Marv and Nona Jenkins at their home in St George, Utah a few years ago and he gave me a tour of the basement where he kept the Mormon Meteor and it is an impressive car. Marv lives down the street from my cousin, so when I'm in town I try and say hello to Marv and Nona. Nona was a beauty queen and is a very lovely lady and both of the Jenkins are very hospitable. Marv was very disappointed in the conduct of the Governor's office in storing the Mormon Meteor outside in the rain, where the water corroded the magnesium in the engine. He made every attempt to resolve the issue and was met by silence. This is strange, because usually people in the Rocky Mountain areas are so easy to work with. He finally got a lawyer and that solved the problem as the State relinquished possession. I don't think it was an ownership problem as much as it was a "possession is 9/10ths of the law," sort of problem. Marv brought the Mormon Meteor to St George and students from Dixie College worked on it, along with other hot rodders and restored the car to better than new. It's very expensive to exhibit and so the car rarely leaves the basement unless there is a towage or rental fee involved. I have Ab Jenkins book, "The Salt of the Earth," and it is a wonderful little booklet. Marv was a pilot for Lew Welch and flew Welch in and out of Lew's ranch in the area north of Solvang, in the Santa Barbara County area.

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Utah Salt Flats Racing Association - http://www.saltflats.com. This website shows the organization of the USFRA and the races that they hold at Bonneville. A first class site and newsletter.

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The Bonneville 200 MPH Club - http://www.bonneville200mph.org. This website is well done and has a fine history of the 200 mph club, which for men and women in the 1930's, '40's and '50's was an unheard of speed. Based on those that have earned their way into the club, it still is an unheard of speed. To make it into this club, you have to set a record over 200mph. If the record is 700 mph, you can go 699mph and still not qualify for membership. Even the records in the classes close to 200mph are not easy to break. Those are often smaller engine displacements and it can take years, even a lifetime to break such a record. There are also 300 and 400 MPH clubs, but they are part of the 200 MPH Club. The following article was written by Greg Sharp, curator for the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, in Pomona, California.
The Forming of the Bonneville 200 Mile Per Hour Club, By Greg Sharp (1981) To an outsider, it would appear that straightaway speed trials driving couldn’t be easier. No curves or turns to worry about, no flag waving starter to watch before you start down the drag strip, and no competitor beside you to watch. Just “stab it and steer it. "Yet it’s quite the opposite. The salt surface tends to be slippery at best. With any significant amount of horsepower, even the best handling vehicle can be a handful. Then there is the unique aspect of Bonneville racing that finds 600 or 700 horsepower tied into an ancient ford chassis designed for 65 horsepower. There is the vibration and the fighting to keep the rear end connected to the salt by only two tiny patches of treadless rubber, from swapping places with the front end. It’s a thrill that few people will ever experience. Dean Batchelor, designer and driver of the first successful hot rod streamliner, the So-Cal Special decided that something should be done to honor our hot rod heroes. As Dean recalls, “It was sometime in May 1953. Lou Kimzey (then magazine’s managing editor) and I were having lunch in the Copper Skillet in Glendale, California, when we thought of the idea. We were talking about the Indianapolis 100 mph club and Lou brought up the Gulf Oil Club for boat drivers. But there was nothing like this for hot rodders. Anywhere. I’m not sure which one of us thought up the original idea, but by the time we’d finished our coffee and dessert, we had formulated the original premise of the Bonneville 200 MPH Club. We went back to our office at Hop Up magazine and presented the idea to our publisher Bill Quinn. Bill liked the idea and said he would sponsor the club. Hop Up magazine was to furnish T-shirts, decals, membership cards and anything else we could think of as long as it did not make the club sponsorship prohibitively expensive.” Batchelor made the announcement of the club’s inception in his editorial in the June 1953 edition of Hop Up. It was entitled simply “200 Mile Per Hour Club.” Following are excerpts from that piece.
“It’s about time our small group of record holders and go-fast boys at the dry lakes and Bonneville are given the recognition they deserve. For many years now the emphasis on automotive competition in this country has been on track racing, big cars, sprint cars, midgets, stock cars, modified stocks and even jalopies. While all this was going on, a small group of enthusiastic amateurs in Southern California was plugging away at their own type of competition on the hot, dusty, dry lakes. In 1949 this group arranged to sponsor a meet on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Through the work of the SCTA, the Bonneville Speedway Committee, the newspapers and automotive magazines, this group now has national recognition. But only among the rabid followers of the sports. One car that emerged from this group has gone on to break an International speed record that had stood for 15 years. That car was the Hill and Davis streamliner. We feel sure, as do many others, that more will follow shortly. It would seem to me that an International speed record would mean as much, or more, to a company in its advertising campaign than points gained from running dirt tracks all season. Don’t misunderstand me on this point, I’m not trying to belittle race car drivers, their cars, or mechanics that take care of them. It is just my opinion that the achievements of men who can take a production engine, hop it up, and build a body around the chassis and then turn the fabulous speeds these men do, have been long underrated. The plan we have may never put any cash in the pockets of the men who drive these extremely fast cars, but will possibly (I hope) add some prestige to their accomplishments. The Champion Spark Plug Co. sponsors a club at the Indianapolis Speedway which allows as members: anyone who has driven the entire 500 mile race, without relief, at an average speed of over 100 mph, whether he wins or not. The Gulf Oil Co. has a 100 mph club for drivers of boats who have averaged 100 mph or better on a two way run, over a measured mile, on water.
Now Hop Up magazine takes pleasure in announcing our 200 mph club. The sole requisite for membership, and the only way to get in, is to drive a car two ways over a measured mile at a clocked speed of 200 mph or better. It is not necessary to set a record to qualify, (this was amended and you now have to break a record) and the time has to be certified by either the AAA or the SCTA. The limitations of membership, such as admitting foreign drivers who come to Bonneville or record runs made in Europe, will be left up to the members themselves. Once a member has qualified, he is in for life.” Speeds in excess of 200 mph, especially two way averages, were rare in 1953. Searches of the records found five drivers (all in streamliners) eligible for membership: 1. Willie Young of Denver, Colorado drove the Kenz-Leslie Twin-Ford engine streamliner over 200 mph in 1950, ’51, ’52 with a top speed of 255.411 mph. Young was the first American to exceed 250 mph on land.
2. Art Chrisman of Compton, California drove Chet Herbert’s “Beast III” 235.991 mph August 28, 1952. 3. George Hill of Burbank, California drove the Hill-Davis “City of Burbank” 230.16 mph August 27, 1952. He later became the International class “C” record holder.
4. John “Sonny” Rogers of Salinas, California averaged 224.144 mph in Lee Chapel’s “Tornado Special”on August 28, 1952. 5. Otto Ryssman of Orange, California averaged 222.57 mph in the Chrysler-powered “Post Special” on August 28, 1952.
Ironically, neither Dean Batchelor, the man that conceived the club, or the other two men that drove his Xydias-Batchelor “So-Cal Special” streamliner, Bill Dailey and Ray Charbonneau, ever qualified for membership. Batchelor retired from driving streamliner competition with a best one-way speed of 193.54 mph. Dailey and Charbonneau exceeded 200 mph many times, but they took turns at the wheel and neither ever completed a two-way run. The first meeting of the 200 MPH Club was held September 2, 1953 at the Bonneville Nationals and the five charter members voted to include living foreign drivers who met the requirements. This added three more names to the roster; 1. Captain G.E.T. Eyston of England was a three-time holder of the land speed record. His fastest two-way average was 357.5 mph set in his Thunderbolt streamliner September 16, 1938. 2. Rudolph Caracciola was a grand prix driver with countless victories in Mercedes-Benz racing cars. He set an International Class “B” at 268.9 mph on January 28, 1938 and later defected to Switzerland. 3. Col. Goldie Gardner of England set numerous records in the MG streamliner “EX-135” including an average of 204.3 mph June 2, 1939. Captain Eyston was at the Nationals that year (1953) and was elected the 200 mph Club’s first president. At the banquet held in Wendover, Eyston predicted that if the Land Speed Record was to be broken by an American, it would fall to a hot rodder who gained his experience at the Bonneville Nationals. It was a wise prophecy!!!

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The Gold Coast Roadster & Racing Club presents the 16th Annual Gas-Up Party and Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, to be held on September 27, 2008, from 9am to 5pm, at Mendenhall's Petroleum Museum, 24 Zaca Street, Buellton, California. For details, directions, motel accommodations and ticket prices call 805-245-8519 or 805-937-4617. Mailing address is P.O. Box 1234, Buellton, California 93427.  (From a letter sent by the Gold Coast Roadster & Racing Club)

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Links to other land speed and hotrodding websites:
www.landspeedproductions.biz, http://www.landracing.com, www.speedrecordclub.com,
http://www.ahrf.com/video.php, www.hotrodhotline.com,
www.landspeedracing.com, www.Autobooks-Aerobooks.com

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Members:

Jonathan Amo, Brett Arena, Henry Astor, Gale Banks, Glen Barrett, Mike Bastian, Lee Blaisdell, Jim Bremner, Warren Bullis, Burly Burlile, George Callaway, Gary Carmichael, John Backus, John Chambard, Jerry Cornelison, G. Thatcher Darwin, Jack Dolan, Ugo Fadini, Bob Falcon, Rich Fox, Glenn Freudenberger, Don Garlits, Bruce Geisler, Stan Goldstein, Andy Granatelli, Walt James, Wendy Jeffries, Ken Kelley, Mike Kelly, Bret Kepner, Kay Kimes, Jim Lattin, Mary Ann and Jack Lawford, Fred Lobello, Eric Loe, Dick Martin, Ron Martinez, Tom McIntyre, Don McMeekin, Bob McMillian, Tom Medley, Jim Miller, Don Montgomery, Bob Morton, Mark Morton, Paula Murphy, Landspeed Louise Ann Noeth, Frank Oddo, David Parks, Richard Parks, Wally Parks (in memoriam), Eric Rickman, Willard Ritchie, Roger Rohrdanz, Evelyn Roth, Ed Safarik, Frank Salzberg, Dave Seely, Charles Shaffer, Mike Stanton, David Steele, Doug Stokes, Bob Storck, Zach Suhr, Maggie Summers, Gary Svoboda, Pat Swanson, Al Teague, JD Tone, Jim Travis, Randy Travis, Jack Underwood and Tina Van Curen, Richard Venza.

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