Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: A 1950s Bonneville Slideshow! Continue reading the Original Blog Post
GOD I love that old Bonneville stuff from the 50's. true hot rodding,very innovating people trying all kinds of different stuff, basically low budget..
I have 36 of the Bonneville slides in my collection now. Purchased them about the time this video was uploaded to youtube
“the long-gone Milpitas Drag Strip” (which I think they mean the Little Bonneville Drag Strip in San Jose?). Author goes on to say, ‘These slides were carefully digitized using a scanner with infrared cleaning and sharpening, ensuring the highest quality images possible.’ They really are crystal clear and some fantastic cars in this one- Enjoy!! PS- If you can positively identify the drag strip in this one, please let me know in the comments!” Hello, I lived in an area a few blocks from the San Jose State College campus. I was close enough to walk to classes that save me gas money to use for the weekend excursions, exploring the whole S.F. BAY Area which was fairly new to me. I had been to San Francisco many time with our family on vacations. (our mom and dad liked the city better than Los Angeles.) We visited often. But, now that I was on my own going to college, things looked different. One of the girls i met, was from Milpitas, which is a small city just north of the campus. She lived on the northern edge of the small city bordering on Fremont. She could not drive from her house, (actually, she did not have a car) so, she moved into one of the other apartments with some friends and walked. (No car necessary.) On the western border of the San Jose city limits to the West were homes and a green forested hilly area that ran all the way to the ocean in Santa Cruz. On the eastern side of the city limits were flat lands that went to the other Eastern mountain range. The country side looked like Wyoming or Montana, with out the huge Rocky Mountains. So, one could say it was a wide open range. The school kept me busy, but I always made time to go out for a run around the neighborhood. No, I was not a cross country runner and never liked to just run along the streets or around an oval track. But, here I was running from my tiny apartment to a point I chose on a map and took off. It was blocks first, then miles and miles, later as I got better at running. If I had a camera, that would have been terrific as the country side was green and nice to enjoy being outdoors. The surf was 40 miles away and within driving distance, but for some reason, running seemed like the thing to do as a student. Jnaki One of my runs was as far out at I could go on a street that was near my apartment, running East. So, one day, I took off. I kept running until I was in the middle of a vast open field with no houses or actually cars on the road. No industry, no farming, just plain old open space fields with weeds. I came back on a different road and enjoyed that unknown area. My room mate had a new 1965 650 Triumph Motorcycle that he bought. It was labeled, 650 Triumph Bonneville. (PUN intended) He was not a mechanical guy or a hot rod guy, but thought a motorcycle was a cool thing for a college student. He was right on that point. The motorcycle rider always got the “looks” as it went down any street, near the college, dorms or downtown streets. It was the rumble and being outside while moving along with the traffic. One day he asked me what would make his bike faster. I told him a set of TT downtube pipes that the racers used in dirt track racing and road courses. So, we went to the local Triumph dealer and he bought a set. He was not mechanical and had no idea what or how to install the pipes. So, he made me an offer I just could not refuse. “put on the set of TT pipes on my bike and you can ride it around the one weekend I will be back in Los Angeles visiting my folks.” Ok, so a deal was made, Friday morning to Sunday night was not that long, but riding around on a motorcycle all day and night would be extremely fun. And, it did not use a lot of gas, like a car would. So, I was set. Thursday night, I started the removal and had the pipes on by late Thursday night. The owner started it up and had a smile across his face. Then, he left for Los Angeles in a taxi ride to the airport. To me, it was an open gate to explore all of the S.F. Bay Area. But, I started with a full speed run at what was then called “Little Bonneville.” It was about three miles from my apartment and it was a busy street that led to fairly less busy streets as I got farther toward the outskirts of the city. Finally, I was there and yes, it was wide open fields as far as the eye could see. So, of course, I took off at a high rate of speed and shifted through the gears, pretending to be a motorcycle racer on the beaches of Daytona or the El Mirage Dry Lakes. It was a wonderful discovery and yes, I rode around the whole S.F. Bay area from the Golden Gate crossing, along the Stinson Beach Coastline and across several bay bridges and into the Berkeley Hills for the best view of the whole bay area from the top. Then the next day on a tree lined highway to Santa Cruz to check out the surf spots. Finally, up the coast back to the Cliff House for lunch, and into downtown San Francisco to go back across the Bay Bridge and back home. The odometer read 455 miles after I also went to the Fremont Drags and Hayward Speed Shops as the last straight freeway road. YRMV And yes, after the “Little Bonneville” speed runs, I was plastered with bugs on my jacket and sunglasses. Yikes! It must have been the season in that area. Note: From recent research: “The Santa Clara Timing Association sponsored and began conducting bi-weekly drag races on a half-mile asphalt track located east of the San Jose Municipal Airport. It was sanctioned by NHRA and managed by Frank Wright. Located at 821 N. King Road in San Jose, it held its first race on March 13, 1955. They expected 300 entries at that first race, awarding trophies to nineteen class winners and top eliminator. On April 14, 1957, Pete Ogden of Concord set the track record with a speed of 133.12 MPH in his Chrysler-powered roadster. That mark was shortly eclipsed by Jay Cheatham of Sunnyvale, with a speed of 133.15 MPH.”
The Jalopy Journal
