Early Lakesters… The purpose built racer.

Check out this great pictorial on 1941 – 1952 era Lakesters, and how they remained at the forefront of speed in those early SCTA days. Streamliners and Belly Tankers get much of the glory when it comes to breaking records and high-digit timing tags in the 1940s and 50s, but the humble single-seat Lakester was right near the leading edge, breaking 120 mph before the war, right up to over 180 mph just a decade later when this article was published. To me, the Lakester represents the purest purpose-built land speed racer, in terms of being home-built and originating from a street legal roadster. You’ll see a couple of the very classic machines from Karl Orr, Doug Caruthers, and Ernie McAfee among the images, but I’m floored by the wild deco front end on the Fred and Bob Frame Lakester. Looks like a George DuVall special, no?