The Breedlove ’34

With the passing of Craig Breedlove last month, I’ve been thinking a lot about him, his achievements, and his cars. Obviously, my first thought is of all of those wonderfully daring jet cars and the massive speed records he set with them… But, I can’t help but favor his “training wheels” – an innovative ’34 coupe that he built in the 1950’s and that was later featured in Hot Rod Magazine.

What made this coupe special (other than its speedy looks) was its accessibility. The lift-off body allowed for full access to everything mechanical and quick work of track/salt side repairs or improvements. And this serviceability lead to the car setting a B/Coupe record at damn near 150mph using flathead Ford power.

An early version of Craig’s ’34 – before the lift-off body and massive chop.

Anyway, in 2012 Hot Rod Deluxe dug up the early Eric Rickman negatives and rescanned them. The results were really our first “higher” resolution looks at the car:

And this is usually where the story ends. You know, the famous hot rodder sells his car. It’s eventually scrapped and we never hear from it again. Or, if we do, it’s in the hands of some overzealous shop and well on the way to be an over-restored race car destined for a museum somewhere. Not this time.

A few years back, the body of the car was somehow found by “36 Vick” on the HAMB. After a life of racing abuse, it was beat. A total restoration would have been one of those “hammer and a handle” type of deals. So, rather than deal with all that, the user decided to restore the car in spirit and get it back to Bonneville.

Dope, right? There’s an optimistic plan to get the car on the salt this year, but regardless of when… I just think it’s really cool that this car is being treated with real respect for its history and purpose. Old race cars don’t have to die and lie-in-wait on a showroom floor. They can be reborn and used as intended to the benefit of us all.