Hotrod Hotline ~ Society Of Landspeed Racing Historians Newsletter






	SOCIETY OF LAND SPEED RACING HISTORIANS NEWSLETTER 73 - August 21, 2008 Editor: Richard Parks [email protected] President's Corner: By Jim Miller (1-818-846-5139)

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President's Corner: By Jim Miller (1-818-846-5139)
Call them what you may, bob-tails, modifieds or lakesters, they were meant to do one thing and that was to go fast. Aerodynamics was always part of the mix or as one Bonneville wag says, frontal area is not our friend. In the last 30 years or so lakesters have taken on the form of rear-engined dragsters, that is slab sided and kinda ugly. Just in the last few years with the retro movement, and in the good old days after WWII does one word defined what a lakester should look like, Bellytank. Thanks to Bill Burke for being the genius he was in spotting the ideal race car shape hanging below the belly of a P-38, or was he? The first stop on this quest is to transport oneself back pre-war and look at the Warth, McAfee and Rufi's cars, the progression to a home made streamlined shape was going full bore. Don't forget Schenck's slick enclosed car too. When Ralph was asked if he had ever heard of or seen the Harry Miller built "Golden Submarine" from 1917 his reply was no. Say what! I wasn't around then to ask the boys about Haugdahl's "White Streak" or Lockhart's "Blackhawk" so lets assume they all said no.
If that's true then I take you back to 1902 for an update. The location is Staten Island, New York, the date is May 31. The car is the Baker "Torpedo." This car was about 60 years ahead of its time with a super streamlined body and a flat underbody.

It had a 14 hp electric motor powred by 11 batteries and behind it two riders. Baker and his riding mechanic ran the kilo in 36 seconds or 100 mph then did a little no-no and crashed into the crowd after incountering some trolly tracks. Ouch! Check out JMC_202 and you'll see what I mean, a lakester had arrived and nobody noticed.

Louis Ross showed up at Daytona-Oramond Beach in 1904 with a look-alike of the Baker car. He was close friends with the Stanley boys and used two of their steam engines, one for each rear wheel. Louie set two records. In the kilo he ran 65.027 mph for an American National Record. He then set a World Record for steamers covering the mile at 64.982 mph. (See JMC_200 to compare copycats.) As a side note Ross came back in 1905 and upped both his previous records, the National to 92.436 mph and the World to 94.737 mph. It also picked up the name "Wogglebug," because the car fishtailed a lot because the two motors drove each wheel independently and had two throttle controls.

Also in 1904, Baker was back with an all new ride called the "Torpedo Kid." It was a scaled down version of his of his old smashed up car. The rig was super light and featured a canvas covered wood framework with only one rider this time and a stock motor out of one of his production cars. Driver Hastings went out and set the World Record for electric vehicles at 59.406 mph.

Next up for us open wheel freaks is the Stanley Steamer of 1906 (JMC_203). This one's unique in that the body was scientifically (cough) designed. By this I mean they made some top-half shapes and inverted them. Then they proceded to ride the different shapes down a snow covered hill to see what shape was fastest. Anyone for toboggan races? Driver Fred Marriott set three World Records, the kilo at 121.573 mph, the mile at 127.660 mph and the five mile at 107.784 mph. The car was back for the 1907 races with a hopped up motor and other internal changes. On his third try of the last day all hell broke loose. Motorcycle racer and future aviator Glenn Curtis told it this way ... "after hitting a bump and catching some air the front of the car took off with the rear still driving hard. It turned sideways, lit on its front wheels that collapsed and tore itself to bits. Fred lived and told his tale of survival at 150 mph for years.

Other interesting cars of the streamlined bent include front-wheel-drive pioneer Walter Christie's car from 1910 (JMC_204), and the Benz "Tropfenwagoen" from the mind of Ferdinand Porsche in 1923 (JMC_205).

The oddest of the lot is the Walters Cyclecar that ran at Brooklands in 1925 (JMC_206) but the shape is definitely tank like. All these early open wheel cars were headed in the right direction aero-wise. But what happened to a decade and a half of development? Was it skill or the lack of bucks that kept lakes racers from really jumping on the compound curve bandwagen before our Mr Burke hit paydirt at the salvage yard? Maybe you can answer that question.

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Editorial: Don't be too quick on the switch...
Readers: The following is an email from a person doing their biography and his statement was that although he finished his biography, he still had some photographs that he wanted to add and didn't want us to proceed too fast. The process by which we create and then publish the biographies, articles and other stories is a very flexible one. If we lack something, like photos for the story, then what we do is send the photos that we receive into www.hotrodhotline.com at a later date and they add them to the bios. Nothing goes into hard copies, which once published, cannot be corrected. This fluid way to add to our land speed history has allowed us to go back into a story or bio, days and months later and make corrections, additions or subtractions. I will inform Roger Rohrdanz to hold back your bio from the website until you can get the photos scanned and sent to him. Roger is the chief editor of the photography part of Gone Racin', which is the by-line that all the bios are placed under. His job is to see that the photos are of a sufficient size and quality and that the captions are in order. Another one of his jobs is to make sure that the finished bio or article is one that looks professional. He also rereads the text that we produce and he and his wonderful wife, Judy, double check for accuracy, grammar and spelling.
Roger was a drag racer, Bonneville crewman and car show expert. His knowledge of racing from the late 1950's to the early 1970's is so valuable to our efforts. He is now the co-track photographer at Fontana and has a library of photographs that has gone beyond extensive. After Roger and I agree, he sends the finished story and photos to the website, where they have a staff that puts it in the right category and continues to maintain the site, doing functions that makes the articles easy to find and read. So you see, we have an assembly line with a great quality and control team looking out for us. You raised such a great point that I'm going to use it in this newsletter to let others know that what we post on-line has gone through very careful checking, but if an error does occur, we can make the corrections and repost the right information. Another benefit for us is that www.hotrodhotline.com and www.landspeedracing.com are both owned by fervent car show and car racing fans, Jack and Mary Ann Lawford, located out of Boise, Idaho. The Lawfords are well-known throughout the United States for their participation in car related events. It is not only their business, but their passion and they give time, advice, effort and money to help car shows and car racing thrive. Their websites reach a huge audience and they use it as a platform to help the car culture thrive. There are many other groups and organizations that also help us get the word out, and in coming months we will discuss those groups as well.

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The following video was sent in by Russ Deane. See http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=513897795752564304&pr=goog-sl. It's from the 2007 Annual SEMA Show Banquet in Las Vegas, Nevada and honors Wally Parks (1913-2007).

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I had a cabin in Morongo Valley in the late 1940's and I met him (Orville Welchel) at that time. He was a mechanic and I remember talking to him about running at the Lakes. He had lots of timing tags. When I got out of the Army in 1952 I moved to Morongo and ran the garage that had been built for him by his father-in-law. Orville had moved to Lake Isabella and was involved with the family business. In 1957 he was a foreman at a oil pumping company in Santa Fe Springs and I worked for him for awhile. He lived in La Mirada at that time. Actually I talked to him on the phone about a year ago. He lived in Isabella and his wife had passed away. I remember him telling me and probably showing a picture that was in Life Magazine many years ago with his car tipped up on its side while they worked on the engine. It's a small world isn't it?
Regards, Kay Kimes
Kay: Do you have Orville's phone number? I'd love to talk to him. It's like a survivor has come back home to us. That would be just wonderful if he could give us his life history. I really appreciate the story that you wrote and the leads to other dry lakes racers. It's so hard for one person to track down our history, but when others tell us where to look, it makes it so much easier. I'll do a story on him for sure.

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I just talked to a friend of the Welchers. Orville passed away several years ago. His son John may call me soon. When you put that name in the newsletter I knew that something did not look right. Their name was Welcher. I will update you when I have more facts. Kay Kimes
Kay: This may be a coincidence or it may be a misspelling. Orville "Snuffy" Welchel was a well known and active SCTA member and my father had several pictures of him at the dry lakes both pre and post WWII. I would still like to talk to the family and get as much information as possible, even if they are two different men.

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I know that you have asked me to do this but I have been so extremely busy all year and for that I am grateful as I have missed Bob so much. Now I have this latest tragedy. I have not gone through Bob's NHRA records of over 50 years and there will be a lot of history there. I really do hope to get started on that this winter. Do we have a time frame for you to get this material. I hope I have a few months to get it done. There is boxes and boxes and boxes of letters, photos etc. as you can imagine. I am leaving here Monday to go to the Nationals in Indy and then to Ohio to bury David and won't return until mid September. Then I am in the middle of the Navy Reunion which I am holding in December in Savannah. When I get home from this trip all of their reservation forms should be back to me. I am also going to have several items to get accomplished before I come to CA in Oct. for the CHRR. Anyhow, I have not forgotten and will get to it just as soon as I can. Eileen Daniels
Eileen: There is no deadline in writing our biographies, recording history or captioning our photographs except our mortality and the quality of our minds and memories. We want this to be a fun and happy exercise, where we remember and relive the stories and history of our lives and our loved ones. Be sure to caption all your photos by writing the information of who, what, where and when on peel off stickers and placing the stickers on the back of the photographs. We are sorry about the loss of your son and hope that you will record his life in his own biography and keep it for his children and for the rest of the racing world. See you in October at the CHRR in Famoso.

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Editor: The following was sent to us by Scott Ross, from an article he is doing on Betty Skelton Erde. While the article by the Associated Press cannot be published here, excerpts were taken from the story. In it, Betty is given credit for the first land speed record by a woman in 1956 and at Bonneville in 1965. Do we have any mention of other women at an earlier date who set records and their speeds?
"Betty Skelton Erde was the fifth woman inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Detroit. In February 1954, Erde went to Daytona Beach, Florida and went 105.88 mph in a Dodge sedan. She was the first woman to set a world land speed record in 1956, going 145 mph at Daytona Beach. In 1965 she set the world land speed record for women at the Bonneville Salt Flats, with a record of 315.72 mph."

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Imagine my surprise when I pulled the latest issue of The Alternate out of my mailbox today. Right there, on page one, under your by line was my biography. Thank you very much. Bob Falcon
Bob: You wrote it, I just edited your biography and made sure that it got on the website, courtesy of Jack and Mary Ann Lawford at www.hotrodhotline.com and Phyllis Devine at the Alternate. A big thank you goes to Roger Rohrdanz who spends hours and hours going over the captions, proofreading and processing the photographs. Roger's wonderful wife, Judy, also helps to proofread the articles and bios. I learned a great deal helping you put together your bio. Now, keep adding to it. Each story you remember, write that down and leave it to your family and to your friends. Every story saved is our heritage saved. Every bio shared is a life that will never be forgotten.

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I have completed my racing bio but I do not have the pictures that I would like to submit with this. They are buried along with many other of my racing paraphernalia. But since this took so much damn time to complete I figured that I should send it off to you now. Thank you for all of your efforts and what you are doing for the racing community as a whole. I am very understanding of the amount of work that you are doing and I am very appreciative. Regards and thanks! Scott Andrews
Scott: Your bio was 6800 words and you may think that this sets the record, but you are only 4th on the all time list, following Kay Kimes excellently written life story of 170,000 words. I hope to record all the data and stories that I have and break his record, but it will take me a few decades to do so. Every fact, every story, every bit of information that we all save and share will someday be of great importance to the historian and chronicler of straightline and land speed racing. I will look it over and let you know if there is anything that you can add to it, but it looks very well done.

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I am a Bonneville fan, in fact I was one of the original FOX ISLAND SIX SHOOTERS. Car #628. I am trying to follow this years events, photos, results etc, but can't seem to find anything on your website. Hopefully, as results etc come in and are posted they will be easier to find.
I just discovered your historians link and boy is it fascinating. I did see the results from Monday on SCTA's site and will continue to monitor ol' 628. Thanks very much, Milo Moen
Milo: Www.landspeedracing.com is part of the www.hotrodhotline.com series of websites owned by Jack and Mary Ann Lawford. They have made their websites available to the writings of land speed and early drag racing fans and historians to post our research and newsletter. Our organization is called The Society of Land Speed Racing Historians and that defines who we are. We also research some automotive subjects on other types of racing and hot rodding, because the early land speed racers were not simply straight line racers, but were involved in other forms of automotive activities as well. The bulk of what we discuss begins around 1898 and continues up to the 1960's, though we do report on what happens before and after that time period. Our members are our researchers and reporters, so what's on the website comes from the Newsletter, and what's in the Newsletter comes from our members who are on the scene. There are a number of websites that post information on current dry lakes and Bonneville racing and we have posted those sites in past Newsletters. The best way to find them is to simply Google key words such as Bonneville, El Mirage, land speed racing or other definitive words related to straightline racing. There are also individual websites created by racing teams, such as Dave Bryant and Randy Pierce (www.Goldenhawk.ca), among others. As readers send us links to their sites, we post them for our members to try out. Also, check out the publications, like Ed Safarik's and Wendy Jeffries, or the SCTA websites. Many of the SCTA clubs also have websites and post their newsletters and photographs on their sites.

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You may wish to add my Web-Site to your list of related links... www.ClareSanders.com. Clare Sanders
Clare: You have a fine site and I'm letting our group know about it. Be sure to do your bio and caption your photographs.

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I'll be at Speedweek with my laptop the rest of the week, so I'll try to get to this ASAP. Andrea Barger
Andrea: Send us any reports that you want to make on Speedweek. We'll look forward to your bio

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I have been only racing on the salt for 12 years; are you sure you want my "story"? Best Regards, Bobby Moore, owner/driver #344 "World's Fastest Corvette"
Bobby: The purpose behind doing these biographies is this; 1) we learn more about the biographee and the people around him or her, and 2) we get land speed racers and fans in the habit of writing down and recording their history and what they observe. Many people have written back to me and said what you have just said, but my advice is always the same; write and record and leave it to the future to decide. This much I can tell you, that if you do leave your history behind, that each and every year your bio will become more and more valuable. Some have said, "But I'm still young and haven't accomplished anything yet." In that case write down what you have done so far and label it Chapter One, much as you would keep a journal. In my experience, and since I'm old that says a lot, everybody has a story to tell and those that write it down and share their stories are the ones who "make" history. Those that did not write down their history will never be a part of history and our children and grandchildren will never know them. Does a person have to be famous in order to be a part of our biography project? No, they just have to observe and write what they know and what they observe. You don't have to set records to join this project, you just have to be willing to do it. It sounds to me though, that you have a great deal to tell us and I would like to read your bio. When you have finished it, send it to me and I will edit and proof read it for you and return it for any additions or changes. Only when you are satisfied with your bio, will we publish it on-line at the website www.hotrodhotline.com, under Guest Columnist.

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We're sending out this "advance notice" of the Hotrodhotline Newsletter mailing because some of you who are subscribed to our weekly newsletter may not be getting it, or it may be going into your "junk mail" box. We will be sending out our regular weekly newsletter tomorrow. If you wish to receive the newsletter weekly you will need to be sure the the email address [email protected] is in your approved list of emailers. Otherwise it could be blocked or misdirected. If you receive this email but did not receive a newsletter from us last week, this may be what happened and we would like to hear from you. Please reply to this email if you did not get last weeks newsletter or if you have questions about delivery of the newsletter. You can see an archive of all of our newsletters online at www.Hotrodhotline.com/newslett. We hope you are enjoying our publication and our newsletters. Sincerely, Jack & Mary Ann Lawford

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Bill Harris completed his return run at Bonneville this morning driving his XXO/FCC GMC-6cyl/Camaro thru the 3rd mile at 207.276 for a two way average of 207.305 and new record. He also is the newest Road Runner to join the prestigious Bonneville 200 MPH Club.

The attached picture, courtesy of Mike Retzlaff, is the Red Hat presentation to Bill. He looks like one happy guy! Today the Harris & Wester Team is removing the belly pan from the Camaro in preparation for a class change and run at their own XXO/FALT record of 196.488 set by Richard Ross at World Finals last year. With luck they may add another Road Runner to the "2 Club." Congratulations boys and go get 'em!! Jerry Cornelison, Road Runners est. 1937 - SCTA, http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners

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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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