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Sacrificed on the Altar of Speed...

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Jive-Bomber, May 29, 2012.

  1. Jive-Bomber
    Joined: Aug 21, 2001
    Posts: 3,754

    Jive-Bomber
    MODERATOR

  2. wow and .. wow
     
  3. truckjim
    Joined: May 21, 2011
    Posts: 166

    truckjim
    Member

    I remember reading about this when I was a kid. Never saw any 'video' or newsreels though. Thanks for the memory tickle.
     
  4. JeffreyJames
    Joined: Jun 13, 2007
    Posts: 16,628

    JeffreyJames
    Member
    from SUGAR CITY

    Wow, tender where the design flaw was on it? I bet it was all in the shape that caused it to become unpredictable at speed?

    It's a beautiful car though and glad someone cloned it so we could appreciate it again.

    Good JJ entry!
     

  5. FlynBrian
    Joined: Oct 5, 2007
    Posts: 761

    FlynBrian
    Member

    Growing up in Fla and spending many hours on Daytona Bch thats crazy to think he ran over 200mph on that surface in 1928. Those guys had Big Stones! Interesting history. Thanks.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2012
  6. sololobo
    Joined: Aug 23, 2006
    Posts: 8,378

    sololobo
    Member

    Sad to see a brilliant driver give the ultimate sacrafice in the name of the sport he loved. ~sololobo~
     
  7. S_Mazza
    Joined: Apr 27, 2011
    Posts: 363

    S_Mazza
    Member

    Looks like he might have made it if he hadn't hit that dune, which flipped the car.
     
  8. notrod13
    Joined: Dec 13, 2005
    Posts: 1,020

    notrod13
    Member
    from long beach

    frank lockhart was a household name back then , right up there with bebe ruth. its funny how generations forget .
     
  9. Holy,Thanks for that post.
     
  10. Awesome race car and a great driver, very sad both left us way too soon!
    Thanks for posting.
     
  11. flamingokid
    Joined: Jan 5, 2005
    Posts: 2,200

    flamingokid
    Member

    Lockhart was 25 when he was killed and never finished out of the top 5 in 22 board races,winning 8 of them.Some of his records stood until the 1990s.The big question mark is what legacy would he have left if he hadn't died that day and had a full career.
     
  12. Jive-Bomber
    Joined: Aug 21, 2001
    Posts: 3,754

    Jive-Bomber
    MODERATOR

  13. I know but I had to!:D

    The re-creation is pretty cool.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2012
  14. autobilly
    Joined: May 23, 2007
    Posts: 3,123

    autobilly
    Member

    Gotta love those Miller 91's.
    [​IMG]
     
  15. autobilly
    Joined: May 23, 2007
    Posts: 3,123

    autobilly
    Member

    This "stuff" is a finite resource, were going to see it again (and again) from time to time.:)
     
  16. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    I'm wondering if trying that on the salt flats would have been better than the beach? Tragic loss of a great racer.
     
  17. Piper106
    Joined: Jul 29, 2006
    Posts: 126

    Piper106
    Member

    In his biography "Challenger", Mickey Thompson talks about Lockhart's influence on his mentality, the small car vs. the big aero engine monster, the lone visionary vs. a huge organization.

    It been a while but I recall Thompson seemed to think that a clam shell cut one of Lockhart's tires, leading to the fatal crash.

    Piper106
     
  18. I am surprised no one has mentioned this, and I am paraphrasing this story 3rd, 4th or 5th hand, so I may have it a bit wrong, but I have read several times that after the practice run of 198mph, the team was pressured by newly-signed sponsor Mason Tires to make a run with Mason Tires on the car for publicity sake. One major problem-the Mason tires in question were not speed rated and had never been tested at anywhere near the speeds Lockhart was running. A tire soon exploded and Lockhart's fate was sadly sealed.
     
  19. All new interesting addendums to the story.
     
  20. Jive-Bomber
    Joined: Aug 21, 2001
    Posts: 3,754

    Jive-Bomber
    MODERATOR

    SO it was good I brought this one back up?? :rolleyes:
     
  21. Bdamfino
    Joined: Jan 27, 2006
    Posts: 553

    Bdamfino
    Member
    from Hamlet, NC

    Loved this car ever since discovering Borgeson's book in the Public Library!! Could someone please photoshop a So-Cal paint job on the original car's photos?!! That would be bitchin'!!!
     
  22. In a way yes.:D But your research sucks!:eek::p
     
  23. belair
    Joined: Jul 10, 2006
    Posts: 9,013

    belair
    Member

    I give it a thumbs up. Tman can't help it.
     
  24. Jay knows I am only messing with him. ;)

    BTW, saw another coworker in SS magazine Jay.
     
  25. RagtopBuick66
    Joined: Dec 12, 2011
    Posts: 1,180

    RagtopBuick66
    Member

    I'm no Engineer (never even BEEN on a train, let alone drove one...) but it seems to me that the flaw might have been in the wheel shrouds, mostly the front wheel shrouds. They start to curve back under at the bottom of the wheel, below the centerline of the arch. Seeing as how they were close to the ground, they may have actually created a small amount of lift as the passing air wrapped under and pushed off of the hard sand. One small bump would have popped it upward. Had they continued the shroud in a forward sweep it might have provided downward force versus upward force. Just my thoughts and observation, again, I'm no expert. I would love to see a wind-tunnel test of the replica, and I wonder if it has ever been done in an attempt to figure out what the design flaw (if any) might have been?
     
  26. Great job on the thread fellas. Lockhart actually had the model wind tunnel tested twice, at Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co (engineering div in Garden City, LI NY) and at McCook Field (later Wright-Pat) in Dayton, O. I'm writing an historical biography in the form of a screenplay for my master's degree, see stutzblackhawk.tripod.com.

    JB
     

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