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History Vintage Bonneville car pictures

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Dean Lowe, Aug 16, 2008.

  1. We have threads for vintage drag cars, vintage sprint cars, Model T speedsters, and vintage car show pics. With speed week upon us, I thought a vintage Bonneville car picture thread would be appropriate.

    I'll start it with what I think is the most beautiful car ever to run on the salt, L.W. "Knot" Farrington's 55 T Bird, "Hel's Angel", named for his wife Helen. Knot first ran the car stock bodied with a 454" blown hemi in the stock location. It ran right at 200 mph. Realizing the big hemi had pushed the stock bird body as fast as it was going to, Knot made a "few modifications". The only stock panels left are the doors, which still work. All body work is in steel. The front of the frame was replaced with tubing, and a dropped early Ford axle, and cross spring was used. I had the pleasure of seeing "Hel's Angel" on the salt in 63. It blew me, and everyone else away. What wasn't painted or polished was chromed, including every nut, bolt and washer, and all the brake lines! It was painted a gorgeous deep dark red, with gold leaf lettering. It had a full red and white tuck and roll interior. Some of the old timers dismissed the car, saying it was just a show car. Knot made believers out of 'em with passes over 240, and an A/MS class record average a bit over 241 mph. There have been a lot of beautifully bodied cars on the salt over the years, but "Hel's Angel" was in a class of it's own. Last I heard, she's still resting in Knot's Louisiana garage.
     

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  2. Roadsters.com
    Joined: Apr 9, 2002
    Posts: 1,782

    Roadsters.com
    Member

  3. 64 DODGE 440
    Joined: Sep 2, 2006
    Posts: 4,421

    64 DODGE 440
    Member
    from so cal

    That's one cool survivor!!
     
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  4. Color, and lettering is different from 63, but damn, that thing is still drop dead gorgeous. Thanks for those pics.
     

  5. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    Peek Bros.
     

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  6. A couple of beauties from Fred Larsen and Don Cummins. The little 183" blown Chevy from the liner is now in Chico Kodama's modified roadster. Hopefully it will get him in the 2 club.
     

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  7. Tom davison
    Joined: Mar 15, 2008
    Posts: 6,042

    Tom davison
    Member
    from Phoenix AZ

    I had forgotten about that one, Dean. Thanks for posting it....you got the good-looking part right. Was it always red? I had only seen in in B&W, assumed it was black.
     
  8. A beautiful roadster, and a couple of real nice guys. Greg Peek started a company called Suspension Techniques not far from my shop in S. El Monte. They did springs and sway bars for street performance cars in the 80's.
     
  9. Never black. Always red, even when stock bodied.
     
  10. FiddyFour
    Joined: Dec 31, 2004
    Posts: 9,024

    FiddyFour
    Member

    bluebird cn7.

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. The Incredible Markley Bros & Neri tank. Almost 300 with a 260" blown De Soto. One of the most impressive belly tanks to ever run the salt.
     

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  12. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    Kugels Cammer, w/ Peek Bros. chassis.
     

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  13. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    Not B'ville, but some guy in a rpu at the dry lakes.
     

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  14. A couple of Lowey's finest. Al Thayer's 206 mph C fuel coupe with a Les Leggitt hemi, and John Edmund's 232 mph A Comp Coupe that took the long standing record from Belmont Sanchez' Stude.
     

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  15. Whoa, dude, where did you find that?!!!! I have no pics of the one time I ran the roadster at El Mirage. I have never seen that picture. I would seriously like to have a copy. It looks to be from a magazine. Which one?? Gotta know more about it!!! And thanks for posting it.
     
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  16. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    Aug. 61 HRM, pg. 90
     
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  17. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    PG. 91, I dont see any other reference in the text though.
     

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  18. Damn, I don't have that issue. I'll have to try to dig one up somewhere. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you posting that pic. Leaning in on the right side of the car is my best friend from high school, and the kid beside him is my brother. I am trying to get a timing tag from SCTA for that run. I have all our tags from El Mirage and Bonneville, but never received one from that day in May 1961. I've had an HR subscription since 59, but somehow, I missed that El Mirage coverage article. :(
     
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  19. FiddyFour
    Joined: Dec 31, 2004
    Posts: 9,024

    FiddyFour
    Member

    how friggin cool is that?
     

  20. And Jerry's long time partner, "Big Red" Holmes. One of the nicest guys there ever was. RIP Red.
     
  21. Man, you got that right! I started this thread on a whim, and for me, if it stops right now, it's done it's job. :cool: :D
     
  22. rodncustom
    Joined: Sep 24, 2007
    Posts: 1,313

    rodncustom
    Member

    Certainly this car didn't run but the picture is vintage Bonneville. My grandfather, 1950. We still have the car today.
     

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  23. bad ass pics yall , thanks for posting!!
     
  24. RichFox
    Joined: Dec 3, 2006
    Posts: 10,020

    RichFox
    Member Emeritus

    Pretty current picture but the car did set the B/FR record in '58 when it was a high boy, and has been running this way since maybe '72.
     

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  25. That roadster "made it's bones' in the 50's, it works on this thread.
     
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  26. Fred Willerts roadster, a near clone of the Sadd-Teague-Bentley 29, except for the roll bar. The narrow hoop looked cleaner over Al's head. Same beautiful Don Borth aluminum work, and both were red.
     

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  27. The Summers Brothers "Polywog". Has to be right at the top of the best engineered/packaged 'liners to run the salt. 320's in the early 60's when single engined cars didn't run 300. 299" hemi. That's over 1 mph per cu. in.! Glad Tim Rocklitzer is the current caretaker. He will do it justice.
     

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  28. Rootie Kazoootie
    Joined: Nov 27, 2006
    Posts: 8,134

    Rootie Kazoootie
    Member
    from Colorado

    Els Lohn- 158 mph, Not much by todays standards, but pretty good for 1960 with a 61c.i., single cam, pushrod, 5 port 4cyl.
     

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  29. Kenz & Leslie tripple-flathead-powered #777 Liner. Held the title of 'America's Fastest Hot Rod' in the 1950's. Originally 2-engines with driver (Willie Young) in the center. Later, driver was moved to the tail and a third engine (flathead) was installed in the middle.

    Also held the title of "World's Fastest Flathead" for many years.

    The chassis started out as a '32 Ford pickup truck that was driven on the street by Bill Kenz in Denver, Colorado with TWO flathead engines. This pickup was featured in an early issue of Hot Rod Magazine titled "The Odd Rod".
     

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  30. Bodacious
    Joined: Apr 4, 2008
    Posts: 286

    Bodacious
    Member

    Excellent thread. It doesn't get any better than this. Hard-core hotrodding's pure essence. :cool:
     

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