Spuds, No, haven't been since '59, went drag racing instead until the Navy intervened...would love to go back, though!
From 3:50 to 4:10 That's Tom Cobbs' wrenching the blown flattie before a run. The roadster with its quick-change "coupester" top joined the winners circle that year after setting a D Modified Coupe record at 155.3 MPH. I drive the little roadster in its largely unmolested preserved condition about once a week, and I can't imagine hearding the thing at 155---These guys were amazing
Hope it opens for you! Tell us more about your dad...Bill Waddill was one of the first Midwest guys to race at Bonneville, ran a Cad-powered Crosley sedan, if memory serves me right (which it does not always do!). From Flint, MI?
Thanks! I just got to make it there someday! Can you still land a plane out there? That looks like a Talorcraft or an Aironica. Cool old fabric birds!
Ryan - Thanks for showcasing this Bonneville footage! This video really didn't get the exposure it deserves when yeahRight posted it (& two other '50s B-ville videos) in his October '13 50's (?) Bonneville footage thread. __________________________________________________ Ralph (rodster) - Just an FYI ... Back in October '13, Chris (sodbuster) posted this same video in Ryan's Tom Cobbs: Part 1 Blog/thread.
296ardun, Did you know my Dad Bill Waddill? His first trip to Bonneville was in 1951 with his '32 Ford roadster called the Black Beauty and his '37 Ford push truck called the Green Frog. I finally got the video open and was hoping to see one or the other and instead, I got to see him at 2:17--the redhead! It made me cry! He was hooked and in 1952 went back with his Crosley called the Yellow Canary. He went 150.50 mph and won a land speed record in Class D Competition Sedan. He was the first man from east of the Mississippi to get a Bonneville record. He went back to Bonneville several times and then again in 1988 with his 1956 MGA to try to go 200 mph and was unsuccessful. He died in 1989 and my youngest brother got the car. In 1998 he went 243.97 mph in Class E/Blown Fuel Modified Sport. He still holds this record today. I wrote a book about him in 2009 and it has been very successful. I still have copies, if you are interested.
I got to watch your dad make a run in 1988 when I was there. That piece of film has a lot of great history in it along with a number of racers and cars that raced for a great number of years.
best 8:57 of silence i have ever saw... those looked the days of days right there.. amazing footage. makes you wish you were racing back in those days.
Exactly what I was going to say. It's like global warming... It sneaks up on you over a few generations.
Really enjoyed this video. At 7:11 into the video, you get a chance to see Fred Carrillo. The little black roadster ( number 17 on the side of the car ) in that section is the same car ( and tires ) that made Pebble Beach in 2010............owned and restored by HAMBer Frank Morawski..........just too cool
That could quite possibly be the best Bonneville video I've seen. I could go with some tunes back it up.
Sorry I did not reply earlier, no, I didn't know him personally, but he is a big part of hot rod history, pictures of his '32 roadster at the drags in the early '50s (Akron, I think) in Hot Rod Magazine, maybe '54. He was a Bonneville standout, and, as you noted, the first hot rodder east of the Mississippi to break a Bonneville record. If you do have a copy of the book you wrote, I would love a copy, please PM me with price, etc and I can give you my address....
I always liked those stories of Ak Miller driving his '56 Ford to Bonneville, running it then driving it home to TX. Isn't it hotter'n hell there in August?
I think you mean Karol Miller, Ak Miller was from California...Karol Miller later partnered with Rodney Singer on a dragster (blown Lincoln) that won the '59 Nationals
That is some of the best Bonneville footage I've seen- made for a great way to start off my Sunday morning! A couple of close friends of mine were out there at the first event, and went almost every year until they passed away. They had some great stories, and awesome pictures from their adventures. I can't wait to get back out there this year.. Thanks for sharing that footage!
The Jalopy Journal
