If you thought the Model T from earlier was cool, have a look at this amazing racer! It was built for setting records on the salt flats back in the ’50s. It apparently changed hands several times and saw use until sometime in the ’70s. It ended up in storage for 35 years, until a buddy of the seller found it. That was about 8 years ago. Well long story short, the seller bought it, rebuilt the roll cage and went through all the mechanical systems. He decided to leave the body alone, with all of its patina and hand painted logos intact! You can find this incredible piece of history here on eBay in Escondido, California with a BIN of $33k!
Now this would be an amazing car to show up at the Hot Rod Hill Climb in! I’m sure you would want to change the tires for street use, but I bet it would be one of the fastest cars up the mountain. Actually, it would probably be scary in its current configuration, seeing as it’s setup for high speeds out on the salt. One thing is for sure though, it has some incredible history and I’m just glad that the seller decided not to do a full restoration, but to keep it as original as possible while still keeping it a working racer! So would you like to go 151 mph out on the salt in this machine?
Nice.
What me worry?
~ I want that Mind Blower, Alfred E Neuman logo for my profile picture!
Now this takes me back to my youth, reading Hot Rod magazine and those old mimeographed SCTA newsletters with reports on Bonneville and El Mirage. This car looks exactly right for that, especially in those photos of the car at El Mirage. With a crate motor like it has now it should go 151 and maybe more, but I’m guessing that the limit might be traction with those narrow high speed racing tires. I just wonder if it had a flathead back when it was first run. Good that it still has the quick change rear end.
I don’t know that this would be good for anything other than runs in a straight line. I can’t see any brakes or brake lines to the front wheels, which is right for a Bonneville or El Mirage car, but not for the street or any kind of twisty racing where you need to contend with corners. This is a piece of history for those who love the SCTA approach to life, so I hope it stays the way it is. Good for the seller to bring it up to spec and run it again. I hope it goes to someone who will keep running it on the salt.
Got to go now…..must find my ‘The World’s Fastest Indian’ CD.
The grill insert has the Road Runners name and logo, that club was founded in 1937 and was one of the charter members of the Southern California Timing Assoc.
check them out – http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners/