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Some Names To Look For In This Newsletter:
President's Corner, Editorials, Andy Green sent me this update on the unlimited land speed run for the new Bloodhound, The Miller car that won the Hot Rod Class at Pebble Beach is now on display at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona California and will be here for about 6 months, I had the same thing happen with my computer and now my outlook files are over a year old and not even close to correct, Readers: The editor asks you from time to time about your interests and reports it back in the newsletter, Aussie Invader Newsletter for September 2010 is now on-line, What did you have in mind for me to help involve my participation for your newsletters, I spotted the Fremont drag strip jacket at the Sacramento swap meet on March 1 2010, My background is building street cars then a dirt track car while in high school, I want to thank each of you for your help in my upcoming article on the history of the SCTA, It is a year now since Dad has been gone and it sure isn't the same without the Reunions and the various gatherings, I'm a former funny car driver most of the info you lost can be found on Google, I thought you might enjoy seeing the coverage of Bud Meyer's 92nd birthday party, I was at the National Automotive History Collection (world’s largest collection of automotive history in the world) today and asked if they happened to have the book by Veda Orr, Here is the video that I took while I was in the push truck, I am glad you were able to speak to Dave about the upcoming publications, I copied and pasted directly from the USFRA website, I probably ended up on your mailing list due to being an automotive journalist, Readers: The following report comes from Ernie and Elaine Nagamatsu, To Ernie and Elaine Nagamatsu; Hold your head high my friend, Chuck and my dad were like many others of that era, Thank you both and also to Will and Bill for your commitment and effort toward bringing the Spurgin/Giovanine roadster back to its 1948 glory, What a wonderful reunion of all of us and the Spurgin-Giovanine pearl, I worked at Gordon Schroeder's machine shop in Burbank California for a few months when I was building the first 4 cam small block Chevy engine for Mickey Thompson, Editor’s notes: Patrick McGuire has a great historical article on the origins of Wil-Cap and the founders, Salt Of The Earth story by Joseph Babias, Casey Hill is my name we have run at B/Ville El Mirage and Lake Gairdner, I emailed Jim Price and you should be hearing from him soon, The following is picture of my Granddaughter, Structural Integrity & Safety of a Land Speed Record Car
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President's Corner:
Jim Miller is still on assignment and will return next week.
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Editorial:
Jim Miller dropped by to see Jack Underwood at Jack’s Garage, a local hangout for land speed racers. Jim mentioned the Bloodhound land speed attempt; a new Richard Noble/Andy Green effort to move their unlimited land speed record to 1000 mph. I really should say that it’s SIR Richard Noble and Sir Andrew Green, because when you’re only one of a handful to go 600 mph then the Queen knights you a noble of the realm. Noble owns the previous record of 633 mph set at Black Rock Desert in the 1980’s, then chose Green to pilot a new car in 1997 to a world record 763 mph. I was there for the full seven weeks and went home thinking, “How could they have done this?” It still baffles me that men can go over 500 mph on land, much less 763 mph. Now Noble and Green have teamed up again to build another car and try to push the record up to 1000 mph. From what I know of Noble and Green, it’s a very possible record. Miller is a good listener and once he got me going on Black Rock 1997 it was hard for me to stop. The Bloodhound website is at www.bloodhound.com.
First of all is the speed. It’s one thing to go after a record at 100 mph. The technology built into the modern automobile will take you to that speed. The chassis, frame, engine, tires and aerodynamics are entirely suited to speeds at 100 mph. The common sedan that grandma uses to go shopping is totally unfit for reaching speeds in the 200 mph range. I watched as my brother struggled to make his ’70 Camaro (it could have been a ’69) reach 150 mph, with plenty of broken parts. Then Ak Miller, Jack Lufkin, Leonard Carr and others gave him a real race engine and some exotic parts and with the help of Dave Kleeman and some other hot rodding mechanics he made that old heap go 224 mph at Bonneville. It took another leap in technology for Jerry Kugel to beat my brother’s record and move the record up to 305 mph. Kugel’s Firebird was aerodynamically superior and the power much greater. There are maybe two dozen or so men who have managed to take their speed up into the 400 mph range. At that level the cars have to have specially made wheels and components to withstand the rigor of the run. At 500 mph the car enters a new set of conditions that slower land speed racers have no experience with. Things tend to break, twist and bend. Better alloys for the parts have to be developed and aerodynamics now becomes as important as the power unit.
At 600 mph the factors change again. How many men have ever gone 600 mph on land? Breedlove, Gabelich, Noble and Green did it. Are there any more? Only one man has gone over 700 mph on land and so our knowledge of what that man and his team did is so limited to that one experience that much of what was going on in 1997 was ground breaking and totally unknown. A few books have been written on the subject, based on Richard Noble and Andy Green’s gain in knowledge. Noble and Green make a fantastic pair. In some cases they are exactly the same and in other ways they are vastly different, but they are perfectly suited to work together. And it isn’t just Noble and Green, for they have a talent for choosing the best and brightest minds for the design of their cars and the best mechanics and builders to make and maintain their racers. But who among us knows the perils and pitfalls of going 700 mph on land? There’s only one team that has done it. Noble and Green are very honest, straightforward and explanative in telling us what they have gone through. They don’t stint on the details. I remember going to a high school in Gerlach, Nevada during that 1997 land speed attempt and listening to Noble and several of the SSC team talk to the young people about the car. They got down to theories, facts, graphs, statistics and explained exactly what they were up against and what they had to do. When the Breedlove team gave their presentation the only thing that I can remember was there request for support. I’m not putting down the Spirit of America team for being more closed mouth when they are in the midst of a record attempt; I’m only pointing out that Noble and Green have always been willing to give us the facts.
When they had the facts to give that is; a few times they simply didn’t know because they were on uncharted ground. And there were a few times when they kept their knowledge to themselves. The technology was groundbreaking. DERA, the British military defense group, gave the SSC team a wealth of new technologies to try out, including metal alloys and an epoxy glue to help the rivets hold the titanium panels to the underside of the car. I saw boxes of what looked like crumpled aluminum foil and asked one of the mechanics working on the car if they were recycling tin foil. “That’s not aluminum foil,” he told me, “that’s our titanium panels crumpled up by the difference in pressure on the inside of the car versus the outside of the car.” The team had to solve this problem, unique to a car going 700 mph or the computer would sense lift and shut off the engines to save the driver’s life. Eventually they got some drills and bored thousands of holes in the bottom panel to equalize the pressure. Sometimes it just takes a hot rodder to solve what engineers can’t. Now the Brits are going to reach out and attempt to go 800 mph, then 900 mph and finally the “unreachable 1000 mph.” I don’t know whether they can do that safely or not, though they are competent enough as a team to do it. But what I do know is that the technology to go 1000 mph is totally unknown to us and probably to the Brits as well. They will just have to learn as they go, which is true for all of us.
On another issue I have to report that I can no longer process photographs. It was becoming too much for me to handle. If you want to send photographs for me to look at then do so, but if you want them to go into the newsletter then CC your email to Roger Rohrdanz at [email protected]. You might also want to CC Jim Miller as well, since he archives all photos. Roger has been our photograph consultant since the day the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians group was formed. Now he simply steps into a more formal position as the Photographic Editor for the Newsletter. He will also archive and save the photographs so that we have another source to save them from loss. When you send in your photos be sure to caption them correctly. You need to tell Roger the title of the photograph, such as Jpeg009Bonneville. Then give the caption or description, such as “At Bonneville, August 2009 racing my streamliner. In the photos are Clay Smith, Rodger Ward, Ed Winfield and Sophie Tucker.” Then you need to attribute the photo to a source, such as “The Jim Miller collection.” Or you could say, “This photo belongs to Jack Underwood.” Again, we need 4 things from you; the photograph, the title of the picture, the caption and the attribution or ownership. If you send me photographs and have not included Roger or Jim in the email address, then I will either delete them or forward them on to Roger. Please follow directions and help me save valuable time.
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Andy Green sent me this update on the unlimited land speed run for the new Bloodhound.
“Summer 2012 is as accurate as we can be right now. Lots to do before then – the website will obviously give you a lot more detail. Andy Green, Driver, BLOODHOUND SSC, www.BLOODHOUNDSSC.com.”
Readers: This ought to be the highlight of our lives, even better than 1997. Get your tickets and passport ready for South Africa.
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The Miller car, that won the Hot Rod Class at Pebble Beach is now on display at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, in Pomona, California and will be here for about 6 months. Meanwhile, the museum is planning a panel discussion tribute to the Low Flyers with Phil Remington, etc. This is planned for Saturday, January 29, 2011, with the time to be determined later. If you can disseminate this information onto your various websites that would help a great deal. Thank you so much, Tony Thacker
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I had the same thing happen with my computer and now my outlook files are over a year old, and not even close to correct. I know how frustrating that can be! We are Paul & Becca Livingston.
Becca: Thank you for the update. It is kind of embarrassing, because I had all your information and that of quite a few others, then my server changes programs and it's all gone. I have it on back-up on an email, but it only can accommodate email addresses, not first or last name. There's also a box called "nicknames" that is very convenient for putting in a word or two to jog my memory about who that person is. So when the computer crashes or my server changes programs I find myself re-emailing everyone to ask them for their contact information again. There is one good benefit from this irritation and that is that I get to re-establish contact with the people on my email list.
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Readers: The editor asks you from time to time about your interests and reports it back in the newsletter.
"I did the heads for the "Red Hot Racing" Camaro's 6.0l LQ4, and am an acquaintance/friend of Keith Turk and Dave Freiburger. Also I'm a mod on HotRod's website, Rodders Corners website, and as an engine builder, I respond to tech questions and such on www.Bangshift.com forum. I'm also a huge fan of oval track, drag racing, and motorcycle road racing. Let me know if I can be of assistance." Bill Voorhees
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“I'm a member of the Bean Bandits, SDRC and SCTA. Currently I am helping run a rear engine roadster at El Mirage and Bonneville #3400. I also have street cars, a 32' roadster and 32' sedan. I attend a lot of the local big shows in SoCal. I enjoy your email updates Richard! Keep them coming!” Tom Branch
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We could no longer contact the supplier and thus get the OHG products so we ‘backed’ out of the Autogas Equipment supply. IMPCO now has their own company out here selling their Italian product range and besides, the OHG was for a niche market with the Hot Rod and Street Machine fraternity (no big volumes) that STILL use a carbie. With more and more fuel injection and computer control taking over, the European Gas Injection Systems are more suitable and they also use “the God who can tune an engine 4,355 times a second” (computer) that Herb Hills referred to. Is Marilyn Miller still about? What about the building, is that still going? We do still import a lot of other gas equipment from the USA for the traditional industry. Equipment such as RegO regulators from North Carolina, Burners from Kansas and a whole lot of other bits and pieces from different States. I really do miss having dealings with the likes of Herb, A, Richard Baverstock and Don Bass. I also miss dealing with some of the customers who we did when we could get the OHG as well. I keep myself occupied in my ‘spare time’ with our local Hudson-AMC Car Club (www.hudson-amc.org.au) and I really do enjoy reading the emails that you send out so please – keep up the good work. Regards, Tony Atkinson, Gameco (NSW) Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia
Tony: I called Marilyn Miller at the last phone number that I had and left a message. I don't know if she is still at the same building or not. Marilyn was Ak's second wife. Please keep us informed on what is happening over in Australia with hot rodding and land speed racing. The last that I heard was that Lake Gairdner was being closed to land speed racing for awhile. Do you know if the lakebed was reopened for land speed racing?
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Richard: There is a web site for Lake Gairdner at http://www.dlra.org.au/, and it certainly looks like they intend to have their 21st Annual SPEED WEEK in late March next year! I just hope that they don’t have the same problem as Lake Eyre did, which is a little north of Lake Gairdner, which has water in it for the first time in many, many years! Also, this web site http://www.asrf.org.au/ is the Aussie home of Hot Rods and they are having the Australian Nationals in Geelong, Victoria next year (2011) in late April. The organisation behind the Drag Racing Down Under is ANDRA and their web site is http://www.andra.com.au/. I hope this is a help to you. Regards, Tony Atkinson
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What did you have in mind for me to help involve my participation for your newsletters? When I said as an information finder, I could only relate to things that have happened in the northern California area. Since you are in southern California, you have that advantage. I run into some vintage guys here in my area that have some interesting stories and pictures. Especially hardcore old timers. Their time clock is so valuable because they have so much of it left. They in general are the lost art of old time racers. They have spilt their blood and glory and probably many have gone past their time. Some have great pictures of the past, but their memories are disappearing like wildfire. I can only say that they were hell-drivers back then. Their crusty grins light up when they see the jalopies go by, giving them the ultimate flashbacks. I have some thought of maybe doing some interviews with them old timers, but only if it interests you. Let me know what you think. As for luck maybe I may run into some special people. Spencer Simon
Spencer: First, I will publish your letter because it points out an issue that is vital. The purpose of the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians is to collect all the history, photographs and stories that we can. We do this out of the love of the sport, not for any personal profit or gain. This makes all of our member/readers a resource. So the first thing that you should do is to write down your own story and then caption your photographs. When that is done and your history is recorded, then go to someone you admire and help them write down their life story and the events that they have witnessed, getting all the facts, names, dates, etc that you can. Help these other racers to caption their photographs and inventory their collections. Make sure that their families get a copy of this written record, then send me a copy of their bio and some photos to publish. In this way we will gather up these records and people's memories before they are lost forever. Spencer, every member of the SLSRH is a reporter, they just don't know it yet. I rely on you and everyone else to send me material and that material is then sent back out to the general members and public. We share what we have so that we don't lose it.
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I spotted the Fremont drag strip jacket at the Sacramento swap meet on March 1, 2010. I gave Jim Carter (son of Chet Carter) a call to see if he was interested in a size small Fremont jacket. I thought it was cool and gave a chance to see if they were interested. It didn't click for them unless it was Chet's old jacket. After thinking about it I told the gentleman that owned the jacket that I was interested, and that I would pick it up at the Pleasanton Good Guys car show. I told him to give me a history on the jacket. Apparently all he knew was that it was an original jacket belonging to a Pete somebody? Possibly belonging to his son. It only came to my belief as a long shot that the jacket could be an old one because of the stripes on the jacket. It is made of 100% wool on the outer body and 100% nylon in the lining. I have seen Fremont jackets with thin black stripes with it, but I don't know if that was just an extra for more fanciness. When the jackets came out I have no Idea, and for how long were they out for who knows. It's a great piece and I enjoy it. It's kind of a personal thing because I knew about Chet Carter; he was the man of the drag strip. It was a privilege knowing him. I have to say that If it wasn't for him I would not have gotten the nose for the car and the history of this car really would have gotten lost if I did not catch the guy who was going to sell the car in pieces. I actually traded my 1938 Willy Poor Boy B/G 302 Gasser for it. I heard the car belonged to a guy name Cooky? It really needed a lot of work. Realistically none of any of the history of Lightning Bolt would have happened. So Cheers to you Chet and Jim, thank you. Spencer Simon
Spencer: Great job. Keep digging up the history on the car and the drag strip jackets.
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My background is building street cars then a dirt track car while in high school. Luckily I worked at a salvage yard and he gave me and his boys all the parts we could use. During college I fooled with building up altereds and an old funny car. Then after school engineering seemed to boring, so I worked a deal with Hayden Proffit and ended up with his rocket dragster USA#1-what a ride ! From there I exhibition drag raced for about 9 years with the rocket and three J34 jet dragsters. Finally I had to get a “real” job. I do propulsion/hyd problem solving and testing on Delta 2 rockets the last 20+ years. Time goes by fast doesn’t it! Dana VanDersarl
Dana: The website at www.landspeedracing.com encourages every hot rodder and racer to write their bios and caption their photographs. If all that we wish to do with these records is to pass it on to our children, then that's a worthwhile project in itself. We also want to publish these bios as a record of what we have done so that future generations will be able to understand what we believed in. Would you write your bio and share it with us?
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To Mike Waters, Jerry Cornelison, Richard Parks, Jim Miller and Jack Underwood;
I want to thank each of you for your help in my upcoming article on the history of the SCTA. I couldn't have put it together without your help and I look forward to meeting you at El Mirage. I will be writing piece on my El Mirage visit for an upcoming issue. On a related note and for those of you who are really bored, I am attaching my piece from last year’s Bonneville meet. Thanks again. Joe Babiasz
Joe: Would you like me to put your Bonneville article from 2009 on www.landspeedracing.com for our readers to see? If not, let me know where your article is posted so that I can mention it to our readers so they can go to the website or magazine to read it. Be sure to drop us a line from time to time to let us know what you are doing.
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It is a year now since Dad has been gone and it sure isn't the same without the Reunions and the various gatherings. Wow, Walt James was the glue that held so much together. It's a shame racing changes so much from the standards our fathers set that worked for so many years, isn't it? Well, life marches on despite our protests! Vicki James
Vickie: A reader sent in a website devoted to Walt James and I copied it for the newsletter. It will appear this Friday or early next week. Your father was unique. There will never quite be another man like him. Whenever I needed to find out a fact for an article that I was writing, I would call Walt first. He never failed me and if he didn't know the answer he knew exactly whom to call to find out. If Walt didn't know, no one knew. But I can't recall ever failing to get the answer that I needed. It wasn't only your father's encyclopedic knowledge that made him popular, but his friendliness and willingness to help. There are a lot of smart guys out there that I could call for help, except that they had dispositions that could corrode steel. With your dad I could always feel that my phone call would be a pleasant experience and that he would make me feel special. Sometimes I think that I just invented an excuse to call him just to hear his voice or to see if he was alright. A third reason that people loved your dad was that he was always ready to help people; whether it was a show, reunion, race or simply a favor. He wouldn't let something go if he believed in it. We have CRA and other roundy round races and reunions to thank him for. Very few stepped forward, rolled up their sleeves and got to work like your dad did. He liked my father and my father liked him. They had much the same qualities and willingness to help people. I miss your father. Many times when we lose someone we will say things like "I'll miss him," and mean it, for awhile. There are few people, and Walt James was one of them, who we said that we will miss and every single day we are reminded that we do indeed miss him. I can't call him anymore and get that cheerful greeting and answer to my question. I think the greatest thing that we can say about Walt James is that he really will be missed.
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I'm a former funny car driver. Most of the info you lost can be found on Google. I'll send the racer emails I have later today; Phil Burgess and Phil Elliott could help. Karen Raffa from IHRA is another good source and Traci Huradka from the 1320 foundation. Della Woods
Della: Is it alright to use the following bio? Send us more history on your life and I will publish it in the newsletter.
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Della Woods; Inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
Della Woods of Lake Orion began her racing career at Motor City Dragway in 1964. Women drag racers are rare in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), but Woods is rare even among her female quarter-mile contemporaries. She drives what's called a funny car. She was one of the first women to do so, a distinction that earned her a number of on-track firsts in the process. She was the first woman to cover a quarter mile in less than six seconds. She was the first woman to go over 220 m.p.h. in that distance, the first over 230, the first over 240, and the first woman to enter a funny car in a pro event, the 1969 Winternationals at Pomona, California. She was also instrumental in breaking the NHRA gender barrier for drag-racing's ultra-fast classes. Funny-car driver Paula Murphy was actually the first woman to be accepted - uneasily - by NHRA.
Inspired by Murphy, Della, already racing in superstock classes at Detroit tracks, said "why not?" and applied for the proper license. Her license sponsors included the legendary Don Garlits and Roger "Color Me Gone" Lindamood. She tested for her license at Milan Dragway in early 1968, and passed. Born in Detroit, Della and her brother Bernie grew up on a farm in Pontiac. Her brother started drag racing in 1964, so Della went with him one time, but decided she wanted to drive and not just help with Bernie's Dodge Charger. She started driving his car in powder puff races and was so good that they let her run against the guys too. Bernie later converted the car into a funny car for Della to run. Her brother exited drag racing when he married in 1972. Della continued and became associated with De Nichols, who was a General Motors engineer. They married in 1976 and have been partners in racing ever since. De as the chief mechanic and Della as the driver.
From 1982 until 1985 she was the fastest and quickest female driver in a full bodied drag car. In 1983 she finished 40th in the NHRA Winston World point standings. She moved up to 29th in 1984. That year she won the Olympics of Drag Racing at Great Lakes Dragway in Union Grove, Wisconsin. The next year she finished 21st in the NHRA funny car points. She qualified for five National events. The NHRA sanctioned Keystone Nationals and the Popular Hot Rodding Magazine event as well as three IHRA sanctioned events, the Northern Nationals, Southern Nationals and World Nationals. In 1985 she became the first woman to make it to the semi-finals in a National event in an AA Funny Car. She was the first woman to break into the five second bracket at 5.95. She registered a speed of 243.56 mph that day at Pomona, California.
Della crashed big time at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona on October 10, 1986. About halfway down the track on a run the engine exploded, which sent Della's car into the guard rail at over 200 miles per hour. The bodywork blew off and the car caught on fire. She emerged with massive bruises from head to toe, and suffered a concussion, broken ribs, a bruised kidney, but fortunately her fire suit saved her from serious burns. She made a comeback the next year and qualified 14th for the NHRA National at Texas Motorplex in 1988. She finished 20th in the final Winston World points. In 1989 Della and De quit racing and bought a pizzeria, but in 1996 they decided to get back into racing when they bought the Chuck Etchell's record holding Funny Car. Della hopes to make her comeback in 1997.
Copyright © 2004 Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame
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I thought you might enjoy seeing the coverage of Bud Meyer's 92nd birthday party, on the link below. It was a fun day. See http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=507424. Doug Clem (re-sent by Vic Enyart)
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I was at the National Automotive History Collection (world’s largest collection of automotive history in the world) today and asked if they happened to have the book by Veda Orr. They did, and I truly enjoyed looking through it. I wanted to use a few photos from it so I contacted Veloce Press, the company that bought out all of the Clymer books to see if I could get permission. The owner, Dave McClure was very accommodating and had no problem with me using the photos. The best part is he advised me that they are going to reprint her book early next year. Dave said that if anyone from the SCTA wanted to get in touch with him about getting the book, he would be happy to talk to them Dave can be reached at 210-979-6098, Texas time. I didn't know if you were aware of this so I thought I would let you all know. Regards, Joe Babiasz
Joe: Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I called and spoke to Dave McClure and got his email address which our readers can use to contact him. He told me that his company is bringing into circulation many of Floyd Clymer's old publications, including Veda Orr's Dry Lakes Pictorial. While the Pictorial is short on text and the photographs are somewhat grainy, this handmade work by Veda Orr had a huge impact on dry lakes racing. Veda Orr sent out so many letters to the land speeders serving overseas in WWII that she created a newsletter and sent it out free to all on her mailing list. Sometimes this was all that a soldier had to cheer him up on the front and hope for better things in the future. The newsletters that she sent out were read and re-read by everyone in the barracks or in the trenches. I hope to hear back from McClure concerning all the titles in the Clymer collection that have been or will be published in the future.
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Here is the video that I took while I was in the push truck. It is exciting to relive it. Sent in by Mark Steele
Speed Demon Speed Week 2010 8/16/2010 10:27AM. Speed Demon push truck view of a car that ultimately exits Bonneville Salt Flats at 416MPH! George Poteet is driving Speed Demon, Ron Main drives the push truck, and Ken Duttweiler is co-pilot. Ticket Speeds - Mile 2=275.904, Mile 3=345.070, Mile 4=384.063, Mile 5=407.426, Exit Speed=416.097. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnMA1aLeFno.
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I am glad you were able to speak to Dave about the upcoming publications. It truly is a small world. In my SCTA article I talk about Veda and her war efforts along with her being the first women to race. Looking through her book, I can only imagine the soldiers and sailors getting the newsletter (at no cost to them) and pining to come home to race. She was, I'm certain, very special to everyone. Perhaps the SCTA can purchase books at bulk prices and make it a fundraiser for them. Just a thought. Joe Babiasz
Joe: Karl Orr subsidized the postage since he used the newsletter to spread the word about his speed shop. Karl also raced on the dry lakes during the war years of WWII, using extra ration books for gasoline and tires. No one spoke up at that time because Karl represented a number of land speed racers who felt that any intrusion into their lives and activities represented a loss of their Constitutional rights. A majority of SCTA and other timing association members held the opposite view and supported the war effort by rationing food, oil, gas, rubber and auto parts, or they joined the military and fought in the war. This group believed that by setting a high standard that the public would come to see hot rodders as decent and law abiding citizens and not punk kids. This PR effort of the SCTA paid dividends as local police, officials and the public came to regard the SCTA as an “organized body dedicated to safety as well as speed.” Using this well-earned public respect allowed the SCTA to negotiate rules and laws before the State Assembly in Sacramento. While Veda Orr had the highest intentions in communicating with the hot rodders overseas in the military, Karl Orr had a mercantilist mindset in supporting his wife. Returning servicemen often said the same thing about Veda and considered her a saint. Their opinions of Karl were less charitable, though they respected the exploits of the man immensely.
Readers: Here is the contact information for Veloce Press:
Dave McClure, Veloce Press, 210.979.6098, 11550 IH10 West, Suite 180, San Antonio, Texas 78230. [email protected]. Floyd Clymer's books.
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I copied and pasted directly from the USFRA website at www.saltflats.com and made a few adjustments to focus the info to the VW racers. It was not something I created. If needed, I can type it into an email if thats what would be best. Burly Burlile
Burly: That's okay, I'll just post the link because I had the same problem copying and pasting and the time to edit and make it compatible with my system wasn't worth the time. I'm sure that a link will work for most people. You do an excellent job of promoting the VW Challenge and keeping that group out there in the public view.
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I probably ended up on your mailing list due to being an automotive journalist. I write mostly about street rods and performance cars. I was a staff writer for CAR CRAFT and HOT ROD, so drag racing is my primary interest. Bruce Caldwell
Bruce: I'm writing for www.landspeedracing.com and www.hotrodhotline.com and the work that I do for these publications is voluntary, not vocational. Our group tries to find as many stories, photos and bios as we can in order to save the history and heritage of hot rodding. Write in every once in a while and tell us where your articles are being published and when, or if on-line, the link to the site. What year did you start writing for the magazines?
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Readers: The following report comes from Ernie and Elaine Nagamatsu, owners of the Spurgin/Giovanine roadster.
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Whew, wind out of our sails and air out of our tires from Pebble Beach, but we still have the mast. We just knew it was going to be a challenge to trophy at Pebble Beach against some seasoned entrants. We raced the Old Yeller II in the big 3 A race at Monterey Reunion Races. At the beginning of the race and just behind me somewhere there was a huge big time crash/shunt with the multi-million dollar very original Scarab from the Collier Museum in Florida. That Scarab raced long ago against the Old Yeller II in 1960. It crunched a spinning Lister and went over the car and rolled 3 times and the car was just a wreck of steel and aluminum. Lucky for the legendary driver John Morton that he survived the wreck and is OK. It was stated that the roll bar even got bent as well.
Next was the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. We scrambled to Pebble Beach for the Concours d'Elegance at 7:00 AM Sunday and our Spurgin/Giovanine Roadster was placed on the greens at Pebble on Saturday afternoon as it is a land speed car and not for running the motor in a line of cars. The energy was so sky high with the Record Breaking SCTA High Points Champion Spurgin/Giovanine Roadster as Will and Bill had poured their hearts and souls into the car to have it historically perfect for the judges. Will and Bill worked around the clock for days to make the Chevy 4 motor work. There was good direction from the old home movie of Bob Giovanine speaking of all the tricks to make the Chevy 4 fly, and finish the last exact and perfect historical details on the S-G Roadster and detailing the S-G between the races at Laguna Seca Races. We talked to the Edelbrock crew during the races at Laguna Seca as they have the legendary #3 Edelbrock 1932 roadster that was the pre-WWII SCTA High points Champion. The '32 Roadster is one of only a few surviving SCTA High Points cars in perfectly restored condition. The #3 Edelbrock roadster was not included in the 9 car category at Pebble Beach.
We knew it would be heavy lifting at Pebble, but we gamely polished and detailed the car with Elaine even using a tooth brush to clean the tires. The S-G was a small shining jewel on the greens and having all of the family members related to the car at Pebble was our prize as the emotions ran high. The family members were Terri Giovanine, Curt Giovanine and Karin Spurgin and the son of the last driver/owner of the S-G car, Robert Cano. Cano Snoot as featured in the Hot Rod Magazine in the very last Drag configuration at Lion's Drags in 1957. Robert came to Pebble as his father had just passed on two months ago driving a '32 roadster. It was such a touching moment for all as they were cheering in their hearts for their dads. Jimmy Barter joined our team from Australia as he has built a replica of the S-G roadster and the foremost expert historian of the S-G. The S-G even had a custom car cover made to cover the wheels and contour perfectly over the elegant body shape. Every nut and screw was period perfect and the team even duplicated a WWII aluminum stamping under the hood like the photos of 1948. The welds were flowed exactly like the photos and even the wire holding the tail pipe running through the body was the same gauge and was wrapped to the left with the exact 9 turns like the photos.
The crew could have done a basic Chevy 4 but duplicated the historically correct Chevy 4 without a compromise costing a fortune indeed. During the restoration, there were opinions from historians but we always went by the photos and great historical information from Curt Giovanine. The final trophy presentation went to other cars in our group and Will and Bill worked so hard to score for the family members attending. We all had on the white short-sleeve Albata SCTA team shirts with white pants standing proudly as it all unfolded. The Albatas were a proud club and on that Sunday afternoon we were all a team and family as proud as well. It was such a great joy to have the Barry Rowe painting of the S-G in the recent Classic and Sports Car magazine from England with a retrospective of his elegant works!
Life goes on and Pebble Beach is what it is. We will pick up the pieces and we can hold our heads up high as we know we competed in the best Concours d'Elegance on the planet. We went toe to toe with the best. It was still a moment in time for the family and the team to honor and pay tribute to Albata Club members Chuck Spurgin and Bob Giovanine who had big dreams in the 1948 SCTA racing season. Just as we did at Pebble Beach in 2010; proudly wearing our Albata shirts for them up there somewhere. I am sure they looked down on our efforts kindly and for Karin Spurgin, Terri Giovanine and Curt Giovanine and thanks for being there for us and this one is dedicated to all of you, as we are so proud of everyone. Ernie and Elaine Nagamatsu
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To Ernie and Elaine Nagamatsu; Hold your head high my friend! No one can take away the historical accuracy and love poured into the restoration of such a wonderful automobile. Your labor of love and sacrifice is not in vain. We as a family can all take pride that the legacy of the Spurgin/Giovanine Roadster now lives on through the efforts of you and your team. And in our hearts and minds the Chevy 4 that "could and did," did again over the weekend! Besides, I've never been able to figure out how a certain dog wins at the Westminster dog show anyway. Our hats are off and our hearts are out to you, Elaine, Will, Bill and the rest of the team and support group for all you've done in this incredible effort! We may not have the Pebble Beach trophy, but it's a glorious checkered flag victory nonetheless! Bob Spurgin and the rest of the Spurgin family.
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Dear Ernie and Elaine;
Chuck and my dad were like many others of that era, with humble means, making their own parts, sifting through salvage and doing it for the love of speed and the confronting of a challenge; much like Burt Munro in The World's Fastest Indian. They weren't flashy and they had no sponsors. They were the kids the police encouraged to quit racing on Imperial Boulevard and go out to the desert. They were part of racing that was available to the common man. "Run what you brung" was the motto. My father built the engine and I know what a perfectionist he was. He juggled family responsibility, his job and working on extra cars late into the evening to earn money for racing. Then the car accomplished what none other had, the perfect season and a total of 1800 points! The S-G roadster beat the much larger flatheads. I'm not sure those judges understood all this. To be well-remembered is a goal most of us seek. You have honored both my father and Chuck by remembering their success with the race car. This is the prize I cherish. No amount of contests can ever detract from what they did or what you have done in bringing the past back to life. It took incredible tenacity to get the S-G car ready for the Concours. Thank you for all your efforts and that of Will and Bill. Impressive! So happy to have been a part of it all, Teri Giovanine
Click images below for larger images and text
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Ernie and Elaine;
Thank you both and also to Will and Bill for your commitment and effort toward bringing the Spurgin/Giovanine roadster back to its 1948 glory. Most historical accomplishments only get to experience their, "15 minutes of fame," once. Your efforts and investment gave this car and its creators a very significant second, "15 minutes of fame." It's difficult to compete against the established Good Ole Boys "network." You competed valiantly and fairly and were recognized by many. I enjoyed being involved in your monumental project over the past year and a half and making my small contributions to the restoration. Thank you again. Curt Giovanine
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Dear Ernie and Elaine;
What a wonderful reunion of all of us and the Spurgin-Giovanine pearl. We have won in our hearts and that’s the only thing that matters. The car is beautiful and it just sparkled with joy as it sat there on the greens of Pebble Beach. Dad and Bob would have been so proud and just amazed that the car ended up there. I forgot to mention that the Pebble Beach Concours event fell between my dad’s birthday, August 3, and the anniversary of his death, August 19, and I thought what a tribute to the timeline. Thank you both for your generosity in kind and spirit and for finding this little car that could, restoring all the history and its friends. I want to express heartfelt thanks to Will and Bill for all of their tireless work to bring the S-G roadster to its finest hour at Pebble Beach. You are such wonderful people, I am honored to be included in this circle of love for a time when these guys were just out to make a mark, have fun, and play with their passion. Blessings to all, Karin Spurgin
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I belonged to the Pacesetters! Oh, just because that’s now defunct, it was an old Russetta club centered in the Inland Empire/Fontana/Ontario etc. I gave away my dash plaque some years ago. Used to work the timing stand when it was up on “stilts.” Do you have or need Bob Brissette’s email address? Jean Perry
Jean: Can you write a history or story of what you recall about the Pacesetters and Russetta. Such as who was in the club, when was it founded and when did it go out of existence. What are some of your memories about this club and about the Russetta Timing Association. We have been focusing on the SCTA, but only because that's what we know best and most of our records and papers are on the Southern California Timing Association. But we really need to start researching and finding out more about Russetta, Bell, Mojave and all the other timing associations. I have Bob's email address and he has promised me his biography.
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I worked at Gordon Schroeder's machine shop in Burbank, California for a few months when I was building the first 4 cam small block Chevy engine for Mickey Thompson. I was on Gordon's payroll and insurance, etc. but Mickey was reimbursing him for my pay and use of his shop. After I finished the engine I took it to Mickey's to run on the dyno and went onto his payroll in Long Beach. Bill Marcel
Bill: Our website at www.landspeedracing.com is interested in all these sorts of anecdotes and stories. Would you write up some of your memories and send them to us to post?
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Editor’s notes: Patrick McGuire has a great historical article on the origins of Wil-Cap and the founders; Tony Capanna and Red Wilson. Go to www.wilcap.com.
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Salt Of The Earth, story by Joseph Babiasz. Reprinted in the SLSRH with permission of the author.
Imagine a place so barren and flat, almost no life can exist on it. Well, say hello to the Bonneville Salt Flats. This baron land sees few visitors however once a year, thousands of speed freaks from all over the world converge on it to watch hundreds of men and women attempt to set new land speed records for their class. This yearly pilgrimage known as Bonneville Speed Week is held every August on what is undoubtedly the most beautiful racetrack on the earth. Participants spend the previous year and many dollars preparing for a chance to put the pedal to the metal for miles on end. Unlike NASCAR and other national races, winners at Speed Week receive no cash prizes for setting a new record. Their reward is a simple dash plaque noting the speed attained by their vehicle and a trophy. Participants run against the clock instead of other competitors. Perhaps the most unique aspect of attending Speed Week is seeing the variety of vehicles participating. Spectators view everything from a 100-MPH Honda to a 450-MPH Hemi powered streamliner. In addition, vintage coupes, roadsters, late model Camaro’s, and motorcycles participate. Anyone attending gets their money’s worth by simply strolling the pits from car to car and having a conversation with the racers. Soon, you’ll find these are a very unique group of people with a passion to go fast.
The Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) in 1949 established speed Week. Prior to that, most racers, primarily from California, went to El Mirage, a much shorter dirt track to do their racing. In the late 40’s the SCTA found Bonneville and it’s incredibly large, flat surface perfect for racing. Today, the Bureau of Land Management manages this unique natural resource covering 30,000 acres or just about 46 square miles. Over the years, the SCTA continually improved the track for safety and efficiency. Two years ago a third track was added to decrease wait time. The long track is for vehicles going over 175 mph and the two short tracks are for cars under 175 mph. Racing begins at noon on the first Saturday and continues until 7:30 PM the following Friday. The three starting lanes are close together but widen as the track continues on. Records are set by the average of two runs. If the first run is a new record, the car is put into the impound area. A second run is made the following day (except for records set on the last day) and if that run is again over the current record, then the vehicle has the new record for its class. Without the SCTA the event would not continue. Over 150 volunteers give up a week of their time to manage this big event. The classes broken down by stock vs. modified, cubic inches, body styles, type of fuel, and blown or unblown. Drivers are required to attend a mandatory meeting and all cars must meet a stringent tech inspection before being allowed to run. New drivers are required to make several trial passes with inspectors watching before they are allowed to make a full throttle run.
History of the Salt Flats
One can’t discuss racing on the flats without understanding them. The Bonneville Salt Flats are today a small part of what once was Lake Bonneville. This massive lake was formed about fifteen thousand years ago during the last Ice Age and at one time covered about one third of present day Utah and parts of neighboring states. Eventually much of the lake evaporated leaving the wind to produce the large flat salt bed we have today.
Wendover Utah and West Wendover Nevada
Wendover and West Wendover are two small towns that straddle both Utah and Nevada. The cities flourished when airmen were housed at the Wendover Army airfield. By 1945, nearly 20,000 military personnel were stationed there at a time when the Enola Gay crew was training to deliver the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Today, the hanger that housed the Anola Gay still stands, however it is in poor condition. With so many soldiers stationed in Wendover, casinos on the Nevada side started popping up to accommodate the leisure time of the servicemen. Today Wendover and West Wendover is a gambling Mecca.
What to Expect
It’s nearly impossible to describe what to expect from spending time at SpeedWeek. Simply walking the flats with the Silver Island Mountains and Floating Mountain in the distance is a vision of natural beauty. It is a safe bet that if the Apollo astronauts had landed on the salt flats instead of the moon, they probably wouldn’t know the difference. That’s how different this beautiful landscape is from anything you’ve ever seen. Miles of pure white salt glistening in the sun that seems to go on forever. Should you decide to attend Speed Week, expect to walk a lot so bring comfortable shoes. The flats are lined with cars, trucks and trailers spread over several miles and you don’t want to miss any of it. With the August sun beaming down resulting in extremely hot temperatures, a rimmed hat, sunglasses and good sun block are necessary. The fun doesn’t stop at the end of the racing day however. Enthusiasts converge to the parking lot of the Nugget Hotel and Casino for evenings of bench racing and serious car discussions. Every conceivable type of car is in attendance from a six carb’d rat rod to a ZL1 Camaro. The hotel does its part by providing floating bartenders to bring out adult beverages to keep everyone cool. This event goes on for several hours and finally breaks up around midnight so that everyone can be ready for the next day of racing.
Where to Stay
For those who wish to attend SpeedWeek, Wendover and West Wendover are the only locations within a short driving distance to stay. These little cities border both Utah and Nevada. West Wendover, in Nevada includes large hotel and casinos while Wendover, on the Utah side offers everything from mom and pop motels to several small chain motels. If you plan on going, it’s necessary to book your room by February or March or you stand a very good chance of not getting a room at all. The hotel/casinos figured out that most people attending Speed Week don’t gamble and they make up their losses with much higher room rates. The mom and pop places offer the best prices but don’t offer the amenities. If you are the adventurous type, camping is available at the entrance of the salt flats. There is also a KOA campground in West Wendover. SpeedWeek should be everyone’s “bucket list”, the list of must do’s before you die. You might want to first rent “The Worlds Fastest Indian with Anthony Hopkins. It will give you some idea as to what to expect. So skip your days at NASCAR or a big NHRA event, pack your bags and head to Bonneville in August. You will be glad you did.
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Giday; Casey Hill is my name. We have run at B/Ville, El Mirage and Lake Gairdner. Cheers Casey.
Casey: Would you write something on your experiences at Lake Gairdner. We get a great deal of emails about Bonneville and El Mirage, but very little on overseas land speed racing. We would really enjoy hearing about the lake in Australia.
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I emailed Jim Price and you should be hearing from him soon, he’s very good at replying to emails. Just to let you know, Jim lives in Las Vegas is retired from Nevada Power and runs a truck at Bonneville, referred to as the NPRT in his daily Saltine News. His back yard is quite large and is referred to as the YOW, Yard of Wonders, as people drop off “stuff” and fetch other “stuff” so there is a constant flow as in a mini-recycling yard. It miraculously yields just the right item needed by someone, at no cost. Jim “publishes” a daily email, “Saltine News,” which he sends to many of his friends and some enemies, probably. In the News, he tells of his day, who stopped by and who didn’t, who is stubbing toes in their racing efforts and who has finally triumphed. We hear daily progress (and non-progress) reports in the ongoing rush to get the NPRT ready to run in time for the salt. (A lot of those are way too technical for me but still fun to read.) He usually includes a POD, photo-of-the-day, of this and that. Jean Perry
Jean: We will gladly welcome Jim Price into our group and look forward to his newsletters.
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The following is picture of my Granddaughter (Click For Image) winning Jr. Dragster Eliminator at Bandimere Speedway August 28, 2010. John Abbott the '81 TF Indy Winner
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Structural Integrity & Safety of a Land Speed Record Car. Sent in by Franklin Ratliff. Author not available.
Summary: This report has been prepared by the author to review the advancements in safety and the structural integrity of a land speed car. An in-depth look has been taken into the possible causes of driver injury and events leading to the loss of vehicle control. Possible methods of detecting flaws in a vehicles structural integrity have also been reviewed. Following the above it was decided that the report would focus on the developments in safety throughout the history of land speed and plausible arguments for and against a selection of them. Various calculations were also carried out to determine loadings on the human body along with possible escape times.
Table of Contents:
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1
2 Hazards of Land Speed: .....................................................................................1
2.1 Potential sources of damage to the Driver or Vehicle: .................................2
2.1.1 Asphyxiation: ..................................................................................................2
2.1.2 Heat Exposure: ..............................................................................................2
2.1.3 Hazardous Substances:.................................................................................2
2.1.4 Physical Intrusions: .........................................................................................2
2.1.5 Design Errors: ............................................................................................... 2
2.1.6 Component flaws: ...........................................................................................3
2.1.7 Loss of vehicle control: ...................................................................................3
2.2 Issues of vehicle Control: ...................................................................................3
3 Design Assessment Methods: .............................................................................4
3.1 Finite Element Analysis (FEA): .........................................................................4
3.2 Non Destructive Testing (NDT):.........................................................................4
3.2.1 Visual Inspection: ............................................................................................5
3.2.2 Dye Penetrant Inspection: ..............................................................................5
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5 Conclusion: .............................................................................................................9
6 References: ............................................................................................................9
7 Appendix: ...............................................................................................................10
7.1 Appendix 1 ..........................................................................................................10
7.2 Appendix 2 ..........................................................................................................10
Acknowledgements:
It would not have been possible to produce this report without the help of the kind people I came into contact with, an ever increasing number of people have been kind enough to read drafts of this document, often many times over. Vince Coveney and Kim Milnes have guided this report through its many stages with a skill I have taken for granted and am very much appreciative of. Additionally I need to thanks both Richard Noble and Franklin Ratliff for their unending stream of relevant material which has helped to produce a relevant and I hope, interesting read.
1 Introduction;
Speed can be a captivating thrill even for the amateur, though with speed comes the ever increasing possibility of serious injury or possibly death. This report seeks to lead the reader through the evolution of land speed record attempts and the safety advances which have been made as a result of the lessons learned over the past 120 years, many by trial and error. The very first land speed record was set by Count Gaston de Chasseloup–Laubat in 1898; “His single run through a measured kilometre took 57 seconds; at an average speed of 39.24 mph” (Bluebird Electric 1997). This is barely faster than a horse at full gallop, which may have been able to touch on 40 mph. But nevertheless this was the first official petrol powered timed run through a measured kilometre. As record attempts became more and more commonplace among the thrill seekers of the world, the speed barrier became an ever more tempting hurdle, with Louis Rigolly smashing past the 100mph barrier. Within 23 years the 200mph mark was exceeded by Sir Henry Seagrave, in his Sunbeam twin V12 1000Hp Mystery as he crossed the measured mile at 203.79mph in Daytona 1927. As speeds steadily increased past the 300mph mark and up to the current 763.035mph record set by the thrust SSC, safety and the structural integrity of the vehicles has evolved into a vital component in their design, this has been spawned by the deaths and injuries of various drivers including most recently, Johan Jacobs, an Ex-fighter pilot who lost control of his drag car at over 300mph in 2006; “It is understood the crash took place during a practice run when the jet car, Edge, which was capable of reaching speeds of more than 500km/h, suddenly went out of control. Full medical back-up was on standby but were unable to save Jacobs” (Daily News 2006). As with all hazardous activities the reality of death concentrates the mind and drives advancements in the area of safety. Just as various wars have furthered the developments of painkillers and medical techniques, the area of racing has increased awareness for the body’s tolerance to accelerations and G loading, as was shown by the late Art Arfons who, as well as being a record holder in his own right, is also known as the pioneer of two major safety devices; “the overhead roll cage and the parachute” (Ulrich 2007).
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2.1
2.1.1 Asphyxiation: Generally, a deficiency of oxygenated blood in the body, this can be caused by either the inability to breath or by the intake of harmful gases which block the body’s ability to extract oxygen from the air. In most cases this is almost a certainty due to the presence of high concentrations of fuel and fumes from the vehicle and a possible lowering of available air/oxygen levels due to cabin pressure differentials.
2.1.2 Heat Exposure: The temperature in a confined cabin surrounded by hot engines and accessories can rise to extreme levels, which can affect the driver in many ways. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures can lead to dehydration and headaches. In extreme cases heat will result in serious burns and possibly death if corrective measures are not taken during a run.
2.1.3 Hazardous Substances: Land speed vehicles tend to run on highly combustible and corrosive fuels and oxidisers such as kerosene and nitric acid. In the case of rocket fuel contact with the body may cause rashes and if ingested or placed in the eye could result in serious cramps or blindness. If a human comes into contact with nitric acid the result is often fatal and incredibly painful. This has been shown by the German fighter pilots who flew the ME163 comet during the war which used the above fuel and as such has been accredited with being the most un-pilot friendly plain of the war excluding kamikaze attacks.
2.1.4 Physical Intrusions: As most land speed runs are conducted on a natural (often salt) plain unlike a tarmac surface, the possibility for intrusions into the drivers compartment are high, lose debris from the track is often lifted from the surface by turbulence from the car and is a serious danger even though the track is swept prior to any run. The possibility for debris to puncture tires or disturb the line of travel is also likely and this could result in the loss of control of the vehicle.
2.1.5 Design Errors: Errors in design can seriously limit the abilities of the car to either produce a record or protect the driver. Usually these errors are detected during the testing phase of any build project but where a specialist vehicle is produced. The ability to test to destruction is limited and detailed reviews of the designs prior to manufacture are extremely important.
2.1.6 Component flaws: Flaws in components such as; voids in the materials or delimitation of composites are all
serious yet hard to spot problems which could possibly weaken the component leading to the initial structural calculations not being valid in practice, this is exacerbated by the fact that weight saving is often aggressively pursued, thus leading to a smaller margin of error in many components. In addition land speed cars are generally one off designs requiring new and untested components or the adaptation of existing ones from various sources, which are then used in applications which far exceed their design criteria, highlighting the issues of compatibility.
2.1.7 Loss of vehicle control: As with all vehicles the overall performance of the run is determined first and foremost by the driver, as if he/she doesn’t perform then the run will generally be a waste of time. This is also the case if the driver is restricted in operation due to a safety procedure failing, such as an air supply malfunction or exhaust ingestion into the drivers compartment leading to the driver suffering oxygen deprivation .
2.2
The people who faired best were the two who didn’t remain attached to their vehicle” (Ratliff 2008) the above statement shows that the most damage is generally caused by the inability to extract the driver from the harmful environment of an uncontrolled vehicle.
Hazards of Land Speed: As with all extreme sports the hazards of the activity usually far outweigh the goals for the average sportsman and place a natural barrier on the risks deemed acceptable, but there are always a select few diehard enthusiasts seeking the next rush. Land speed record attempts fall distinctly into the category of an insane sport for an even more insane buzz and technological advancement, as such “A sort of Macho culture has built up which has left many of the Bonneville drivers running unnecessarily high risks because the cars often have minimal safety structures.” (Noble 2008)
Potential sources of damage to the Driver or Vehicle: As all land speed vehicles are a custom design, the usual safety precautions built into a vehicle such as air bags and traction control are not available unless specifically included and this produces a much larger variety of hazards than would be associated with a normal mass production vehicle. Shown below are a collection of the potential sources of injury to the driver of a land speed vehicle or damage to the vehicle itself;
Issues of vehicle Control: As shown in the recent crash by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond, much of the serious damage to the human body can be sustained as the vehicle goes through a whole process of aerial manoeuvres that expose the body to rapid accelerations and decelerations in a variety of planes. These accelerations, bring with them not only physical trauma to the body such as broken appendages which although painful are recoverable, but also crucial damage to the brain as the head is whipped round placing great stresses on the linking filaments connecting it to the skull. This is the same phenomenon which boxers use to knock out their opponents and hence, when occurring during a crash the driver can quickly lose consciousness and subsequently the ability to free themselves from the vehicle in the event of a fire. This might lead to certain death unless rescued. Shown below is the pirouetting car of Richard Hammond mid crash. Figure 1: R. Hammond Crash. As land speed has progressed many of the earlier hazards have faded from memory, E.G. In the past cars used chain final drive, this often passed close to the driver leading to the possibly of the driver being killed in the event of the chain breaking. One of the major causes of accidents up to the present day is loss of control generally caused by failure of the vehicles tires, leading to the barely controlled skids of the 1935 Bluebird driven by Sir Malcolm Campbell on both of his initial runs. With all exceptionally fast vehicles, the most critical moments of a crash are the initial seconds where the driver has to use his/her wits to control the momentum of the vehicle and ensure the vehicle looses speed in the least violent manor possible. I.e. a slide is far preferable to the car flipping wildly out of control. This is a crucial phase as the driver of the vehicle cannot escape until all momentum has gone leaving the driver vulnerable to injury or death for this period. “At Bonneville this year there were four crashes near or above 200mph.
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3.1
3.2
3.2.1 Visual Inspection: Always the primary call for any driver would be to walk round the vehicle before any attempt is made at the record, to check for obvious signs of damage which could have been sustained during transport, unloading or previous runs. Points of concern could be as simple as a dimple in the carbon composite which could signify delimitation of the composite and weakening of the structures.
3.2.2 Dye Penetrant Inspection: Forms one of the easiest ways of inspecting a material for cracks broaching the surface and can be used on basically any material. The simple procedure of degreasing the component and covering in a brightly covered Ultra Violet (UV) reactive dye, allows for inspection to take place anywhere as a quick safety check to ensure the integrity of a component.
Design Assessment Methods: As stated previously one of the many problems which can be encountered in a land speed attempt is the partial or complete failure of a component, the following report section deals with ways in which the overall design of components and final components could be assessed to guarantee the performance of the car.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA): Finite Element Analysis is a means of virtually testing components or materials in order to save the costly destruction of proposed designs. FEA consists of a computer model of the design, which the simulation software can stress and analyze for specific results. It is used when a designs response to certain situations cannot be predicted by the use of the simple bending equations and where the actual product needs to be evaluated in sections to scrutinize the outcome of specific applied stresses. The technique is especially applicable to land speed cars due to the high cost to production ratio and the inability to predict the various ways in which a particular component may react to specific forces.
Non Destructive Testing (NDT): The ability to test a component without placing any external forces on it is a crucial step in evaluating the strengths of a highly stressed component, without risking damage to the section. Another benefit of NDT is the cost effective nature of the testing equipment utilised, shown below is a brief description of a few NDT methods which could be used to test the continuing structural integrity of a land speed car;
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information has been taken from the Blue Flame article in the July 1970 edition of Mechanical Engineering. As shown above the Uncontrolled forces are incredibly high with a loading of just over two tonnes weighing down on the drivers chest surely leading to broken bones. Using the same information as above the following calculations have been used to ascertain the total time a driver would be subjected to the different decelerations in order to show whether the driver would remain conscious allowing for the release of braking parachutes and application of the brakes.
21st Century Structural Integrity and Safety Advancements: As speeds have increased the overall rate of deceleration of the cars under accident circumstances has increased; below is an example of the forces exerted on a driver under controlled deceleration from 800mph and a further calculation showing the forces exerted on the body resulting from instantaneous shut of off the rocket motor, all deceleration
70 2 9.81
1373.4
Controlled Deceleration Forces of 2G:
70 3 9.81
2060.1
Uncontrolled Deceleration Forces of 3G:
358
224
2 9.81
6.82
Controlled Deceleration Forces of 2G:
358
224
3 9.81
4.55
Uncontrolled Deceleration Forces of 3G: As would be expected, the higher deceleration allows for a much faster deployment of the chutes but subjects the driver to a higher deceleration force which could lead to loss of
consciousness. The vehicle in the above equations has been slowed from approximately 800mph to 500mph which is a safe speed for chute deployment. If the above figured values are located on the graph in Appendix 2 which has been taken from the article ‘High Acceleration and the Human Body by Martin Voshell’ it can be shown that under the constant deceleration of 3g for 4.55 seconds the driver would be showing visual symptoms in relation to the G and subsequently control over the vehicle might be lost, whereas under the constant deceleration of 2g for 6.82 seconds the driver would undoubtedly have remained conscious throughout the run. Bearing in mind that the above calculations are based on a straight-line deceleration of the vehicle without the vehicle pitching or tumbling placing additional loadings on the occupant, hence if the vehicle where to enter a spin the consequences could be a lot higher than a simple loss of consciousness. In order to protect the vehicles occupants, several advancements have been made in Land Speed design. Safety was a keen issue for one driver in particular Art Arfons, who first introduced the over head, roll cage and parachute system to land speed cars. Since that time the design of parachutes has advanced, as has the means of securing them to the vehicles allowing for release at higher speeds and more control of their stopping abilities. The roll over hoop has been developed from a simple bent piece of bar over the drivers head, to a construction encompassing the drivers cockpit area protecting the occupant from intrusions into the cabin. Mr Franklin Ratliff has now proposed the idea of trying to incorporate a suitable ejection cockpit as is utilised in the F111 jet, instead of an ejector seat the whole cockpit area of the vehicle is detachable in the event of an accident. The design has already been implemented on the rocket car designed by Gary Gabelich and Tom Daniel but was never realised due to the death of Gary in 1984. Their design used explosive bolts to release the cockpit allowing for the chute to remove it from the vehicle, limiting the exposure of the driver to damage sustained from the vehicle. Below a series of calculations have been produced to calculate the time taken for the diesel max to reposition its self into an orientation at which ejection would not be possible. Using the information above and using trigonometry it has been established that is the nose of the vehicle hit a bump altering the angle of travel by just two degrees above the horizontal, the overall vertical speed component would be 6.98ms plausible that the driver would escape the vehicle before complete control of the vehicle was lost. As stated earlier, a typical violent crash involving high speeds tends to cause the vehicle to slide and then flip end over end making repetitive and forceful connections with the surface of the salt. If a device could be installed into the vehicle to limit its ability to roll, then it would greatly reduce the risk of damage to either the driver or the vehicle. As is shown by the following description of Art Arfons’s positioning in his green monster the amount of space available to diffuse the impact of a crash is severely limited. “He is so tightly wedged in that the top of the cockpit canopy, when it is closed presses down hard on his crash helmet” (Ottum). In order to limit car roll the installation of a series of gyroscopes into the vehicle would be necessary, so that if a roll was initiated in one direction it would “cause the wheel to “process” about an axis at right angles to the tilting force” (Huntington 1964). This reaction would then cause the vehicle to react in the opposite direction righting the vehicle, this technique was proven by the Detroit car stylist Alex Tremulis who designed a series of vehicles including his V8 powered two wheeled land speed car which would “stand alone for 30 to 45 minutes with good stability before the gyro speed drops appreciably” Huntington 1964). A typical argument for not using this technology is the weight of the rotating gyros and the additional supporting structure which would need to be fabricated into existing designs to enable the reactions to be felt by the driver and vehicle. A positive point for the utilisation of this device would be the mental reassurance for the driver, as if the occupant knows that the vehicle is safe when pushed to its limits it will instill a certain air of godliness. Maybe allowing for the drivers to push past mental barriers previously responsible for
stopping them from exploiting the cars full abilities due to safety concerns. Although the gyros could potentially hinder the ability of the car to crash this possibility needs to be carefully weighed against the structural additions needed in a vehicle to contain the huge reserves of kinetic energy, and therefore if the cars accelerations exceeded the gyros ability to contain them then they could be ripped from their mountings as the car goes one way and the gyro the other. Leading to an even more severe crash! While a great many situations during land speed runs have been caused by the inability of the tires to withstand the harsh operating conditions, as either the rubber melts or breaks its bead leading to rapid depressurisation of the tire and loss of vehicular control. This problem was easily solved on non wheel driven Land speed vehicles as the wheels could be manufactured from aluminium due to traction not playing a role in acquiring the desired speeds. Where the issue of tires comes into play is in the wheel driven category as the wheels need to obtain high levels of grip in order to transfer the engines high power and torque figures down to the salt surface which is inherently slippery. At present Land speed record holders have to make do with a tire produced by Goodyear but which is not rated to the high speeds desired. This is why the diesel max project had to conduct secret tire testing to validate whether their choice of tire would be ok for the speeds they were hoping to achieve. But this is much preferable to the old days of land speed where the cars simply ran on road tires with no consideration given to the materialistic properties, as rubber was in its infancy for use in performance tires and not much was known about how to produce complex multi ply tires. One simple manner to reduce the injuries sustained by the driver in a crash would be to limit his/her ability to contact the solid structure of the vehicle. This could easily be achieved by providing a mesh protective liner around the driver produced from racing window netting, to limit the driver’s lateral motion into the spars of the vehicle. This was originally suggested by Mr F Ratliff and “would be a simple inexpensive retrofit to existing cars as well as bike liners" (Ratliff 2008). There are perhaps no viable arguments for not installing this simple safety device due to the lightweight nature and ease of installation.
5
for many Land speed record attempts, but with the application of the correct knowledge this can easily be changed and additions to the vehicles can be made to improve safety. Although all of the above mentioned safety devices do have one thing in common, the addition of weight to the vehicles which would hinder their achievable speeds. But should safety precautions be considered a negative for the additional weight posed, after all he who survives lives to fight another day. The dead get no second chances.
Conclusion: This report has shown that throughout history safety has not generally been a major concern
6
NOBLE, R (29/10/2008) Email See Appendix 1 for Email
RATLIFF, F (30/10/2008)
Spoken Quotation
FORD, H (1940)
References: Personal Contact
Speed, The BBC
GIBEY, V, IOL,
World speed attempt ends in tragedy, 28/06/06 Online at
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=181&art_id=vn20060628140247691C808436
accessed 28/10/2008
HUNGTINGTON, R, 365MPH with 400HP?
Hot Rod Magazine, June 1964, -, (-), p31
OTTUM, B, Dual with Death, -, -, -, (-), p30
WERT, R, Jalopnik,
Art Arfons three time land speed record holder dead at age 81, 04/12/07
Online at
http://jalopnik.com/cars/art-arfons/art-arfons-three+time-land-speed-record-holderdead-at-age-81-329606.php
accessed 28/10/2008
UNKNOWN AUTHOR, The Blue Flame,
Mechanical Engineering, July 1970, -, (-), p10-18
www.bluebird-electric.net/land_speed_record_history.htm
(28/10/2008)
Figure 1: R. Hammond Crash
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/news/entertainment/galleries/richard_hammond.shtml?select=02
Accessed (31/10/08)
Figure 2: Tolerance to G, VORSHELL MARTIN,
High Acceleration and the Human Body,
(28/11/04)
7
Alexander Many thanks for your mail I am not really the best person to help you with this - but it is a huge subject in the US where we race cars on the Bonneville Salt Flats often with primitive primary and secondary safety concerns. A sort of Macho culture has built up which has left many of the Bonneville drivers running unnecessarily high risks because the cars often have minimal safety structures. My good friend Franklin Ratliff is not only an excellent historian but also has been leading a campaign to get this noticed and standards improved. I have copied this mail to Franklin for you. Whenever we build cars - we always do our utmost to build in driver protection and reduce the overall risk wherever we can. The best book on the subject is Land Speed Record by Cyril Posthumous and David Tremayne. The book is incredibly accurate and has become the main reference for the LSR -you won’t be able to buy a copy - but you might be able to get one from a library. Good luck Alexander -hope this helps. Sincerely Richard Noble
7.2
Appendix:
7.1
Appendix 1Appendix 2 Figure 2: Tolerance to -1. The following calculation uses the assumption that ejection would be practically impossible at angles greater than 80 degrees as by the time the capsule was released the vehicle would have passed the vertical and the capsule would subsequently be ejected into the salt. Also shown above is the total time the driver would have to realise the vehicle had lost contact with the salt and to initiate the ejection procedure. This proves that if a pilot with an extremely fast reaction time or computer controlled device was used to immediately initiate the ejection procedure if the car exceeded two degrees from the horizontal, it is entirely
st Century Structural Integrity and Safety Advancements: ...................................5
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