Now that is a very interesting story...Thanks Boss.....Made my day as I learned something I never knew about Fred and that was the Shelby work he done at Moon.
I got to meet him years back at one of the Mooneyes bashes. He raced motorcycles, built world class race car, served his country in the great war, and worked on the original aluminum bodies for the Shelby Cobra. Found these shots of Fred and the streamliner that are amazing- even with the watermark... Last one is an illustration I did some years back of his 200 mph crash at Bonneville, that was auctioned off at the Mooneyes Xmas show...I wish I could have read this then- I would of gottn the car number correct! Fred was a badass.
I had the great fortune of selling Fred his Christmas tree annually. Which meant we'd spend an hour talking. Or me listening to him tell stories. Great times with a great man.
I seem to remember from a bunch of years back that a regular on here (can't remember his name but he was a member of the San Diego Roadsters). Restored a Larson & Cummings roadster. I wonder if that was the same car?? BB
I had the pleasure of meeting Fred Larsen at B-Ville in 1963. A very no-nonsense person. Got things done.
@L B restored the crashed and reborn 27T roadster, or maybe it was the Ak Miller rear engined one. Same ??? This one >> circa 2004
Hey Ryan I have a pile of photos saved do you want me to post them? Fred was a Californian he did go on an extended road trip across the US, he owned the roadster into the 50s and sold it I believe around the time he purchased Ak Miller rear engined modified roadster. That is the car he flipped going 200mph. Fred is the Larsen in the famous Larsen & Cummins team Back to the A roadster, postwar the Beck bros reportedly owned the roadster, they had run the rebuilt Rufi streamliner pre and post war. They were the brother-in-laws of Eddie Miller Jnr and this may explain the high quality construction. There is a possibility that this roadster was Stu Hilborn's prewar Hot Rod but have yet to find any concrete evidence of this. The closes piece of evidence is the roadster pictured in a 1946 CT news, Stu was running the engine that would later power his streamliner. Jim Travers of Traco has also been mentioned as an owner in the 40s. Sorry for the hazy info but there isn't a whole lot of material from that time. I've pieced the above from multiple sources and all those people were associated with the car I will eventually get the timeline nailed down. A 1952-53 Photo
Sounds like my small experience with Fred was not a fluke. Called Moon years ago about their multi squirter intake for my small block Chevy engine for my roadster, nobody around the office with tech info so hooked me up with one of their machinists, (speaks my language), Fred picked up, machine running, he's talking, I'm asking more, he's cranking handles the whole time I'm sure. Never heard of me from Adam, didn't seem to matter to Fred. Nice guy. A friend to everyman I'd bet.
The hairpin mounts on the Larsen roadster are the same as the ones used on the Spurgin/Giovanine roadster rear radius rods. I always thought they were one offs, so I wonder if they are of sprint car origin prewar 1940 Late '48 Now a bit of 6 degrees of Separation Chuck Spurgin roadster 1942 with the rebuilt (Rufi) streamliner in the background. Jim Miller photo Beck Bros streamliner (ex-Rufi) in Eddie Miller Jnr's yard Jim Miller photo Sorry for the tangent.
Fred had style. Look at everything he had a hand in. The roadster, simplicity at its finest, the streamliner, shaped for speed.
"Hot rod ingenuity, 1970-style: The Chevys in Larsen’s pickup totaled 300 ci. The blown motor on the left was the smallest Chevy engine ever at 120 ci. To shrink it down, Fred removed every other piston in order to compete in the E/Streamliner class. For balance, the crank had one rod and piston and one pair of rod caps on each journal. The Larsen & Cummins team with the V-4 Chevy set a 2L Streamliner Bonneville record of 246 mph in 1970. " mind blown! thanks for sharing!
These were posted on the Screwdrivers club page on FB by Karen Sue Boren. I hope I'm not stepping on any toes posting these.
The name was instantly familiar to me when I saw your blog. Not totally sure why, maybe something to do with him being in Connecticut. Maybe just reading hot rod magazines back in the day. He was sure quite a dedicated hot rod and salt guy. Great story!
I purchased this 40 ford from a salvage yard, and did some detective work, the small block in this car was built by don cummins and maybe one of the last he built, that remains on the road today. After figure out who Don was, it made driving this car even more special. Crash
I love this roadster. Might be a long shot but are there any pictures of what is going on with the front of the frame/cross member set up? I have searched for pictures but no luck.
I am wanting to get in touch with who has the Larsen roadster. cell 916 521-6161 I have some original speed parts from that car.
I was luckier than most; in my earlier years of inspecting for the SCTA I inspected the streamlined more than once. Fred always had everything ready and couldn’t have been a better person to work with. If there was something I couldn’t see, he had a photo ready with a calendar ready in the photo. Something I used and shared for years.
The Jalopy Journal
