Hot Rods The Coupes and Sedans of Land Speed Racing

Awesome thread!!!

Here are a few from Life Magazine 1954. These two cars the 266 and 265 cars drove out from California to run at Bonneville. They were friends of each other. Sinticket here on the HAMB was going to clone the 265 car but sold his coupe. He did get in contact with the builder/driver of the 265 car and attained the original timing tags AND the Wico magneto which is pretty cool.

 

I think this is the Marshall and Thayer Crosley, ran a blown Chrysler, if I remember correctly, this was once Howard Johansen's coupe, ran everything from a GMC to a Marmon V-16.

 

Craig Breedlove's blown flathead '34

 

Great thread!!

 

Awesome thread! Apparently sedans must have been fairly rare though.

 

A few more of the Chrisman brothers coupe

 

Finally, a picture of the Miss 400. This car was owned by someone (John Moxley ?) and run with the help of the PVTA when the club was first formed. I had heard about it but never saw a pic of it.

 

Here's the car in its last configuration. As you can see it was then the Marshall Thayer Van Dorn and Banta car with Mike Van Dorn driving. The car has been retired as of Verlin Marshall's death while prepairing the car for the 2004World Finals. My good friend Garry Banta, on of the owner/members of the car, was going through the log book recently and realized that the car has 2500+miles logged at Bonneville. Plus, since '49 until its untimely retirement after the 2004 Speedweek, it had only missed a total of 3 Speedweeks. Does anyone know of a car with more miles or appearances there? Oh yes 296 it last ran a 301 Chrysler poli motor with 354 hemi heads, blown and on fuel

 

That is a LOT of hot laps!

 

Here's some of (LIFE photographer) J. R. Eyerman's photos of "LSR Coupes & Sedans" at Bonneville in 1954:

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i must apologize to both Garry and Verlin for my mistake. The Bonneville logged mileage is 7500 not the previously listed 2500. Again, my apologies for the mistake, that is a whole lot more time!

 

The Chrisman brothers coupe and the So-Cal Speed Shop coupe

 

May as well add mine.

 

The American Hot Rod Foundation posted this one on Facebook, "Car number 610 is the Class C Comp Coupe and Sedan entry of Lisa-Rossi out of Culver City, CA and powered by a ’53 290" DeSoto." Doug Rice's '39 Ford, still in primer is seen in the background. Doug's coupe turned in a top time of 126.58 mph. The Belong Equa Flo Special is seen behind the 610 car.

 

And besides all that, I was the chase car for Doug on that run in the 41 panel truck sitting behind Doug in that photo.

 

The 610 car is probably the car originally built by Harry Duncan and called "Jitterbug", going by the purple paint and angle of the radius rods. It was later campaigned by Jerry Kugel in the 60's. Alex Tremulis and Seth Hammonds also had previous connections with the car. It apparently still exists, perhaps in the possession of a former HAMB member who was banned.

 

Wow!!! Any stories or pictures you care to share? I used to see Doug's restored '39 pretty often at shows when I lived up in Seattle. That car always blew my mind. I can't imagine doing some of the things he did with it. Driving to and then competing at Bonneville, pulling his '32 roadster, pulling his horse trailer, etc.

 

There's way too many stories to get into here but here's a couple of pics of my car from that same year with Doug's car in the background.

 

Great photos! Can you share with us some more info on your '32 coupe? How fast did you end up going with it?

 

The fastest speed as a coupe was 136.77 in 1954.
In 1956 I cut the top off and ran as a street roadster. Went 163.93 for the class win. No record though.

 

Just 46 days until Speed Week! This is one I took at Bonneville in 2012. Its the Rolling Bones Y-block powered coupe.

 

I think this is (or was) the JADO coupe, blown flathead, aluminum frame. Jim Kamboor was one of the principles, but I forgot the other. It would up as a drag coupe owned by the Stebbins family (father and son) with a blown Pontiac, painted candy maroon. Don't think it ever ran, though. I'm not entirely sure, so you lakes historians might weigh in.

 

Isn't that the coupe that Jesse James now owns?

 

This is Elmer "Unsprung" Snyder's drag coupe.

Although it ran at several west coast dragstrips in the early '50s, I don't believe Elmer ever ran it on the dry lakes or at Bonneville.

 

Jesse sold it ... see his Post Up pic's of "The One That Got Away" thread.

NOTE: The car sold again at an auction in August of 2013 ... see 1934 Ford 3wd Coupe - "Jado Special" - Lot No. 489.

 

The Maine Baron's Sam Sampson Coupe.

 

Way to cool.

 

This is one of my favorites, it ran for many years with a GMC (most of thier records still stand), then got hung up on the wall, then pulled down got a ARDUN and more records. BMR Coupe