The last Green Monster that Art Arfons built is currently up for auction on ebay (ends 9/19/09). It has been sitting forelornly in a parking deck at the Peterson's Automotive Museum. I thought it would be a good idea to deposit these images here for posterity since the cars future is uncertain. Group 1 of 3:
is this the same one that was raced on the drag strip back in the late 60's / early 70's..? with 2 people
He was a "blastronaut!" Where'd his balls fit in that cockpit? They had to be huge to go 650? Was there filler above the screws/rivets that made the pockmarks like that? Killer machine!
My guess is that people have been stealing screws as souvenirs. If you'll notice in one of the photos, someone had painted some graffiti on the body. According to Mazooma1, this piece of history has been sitting a while unprotected in a parking lot (deck).
My first thought was that they intentionally drilled out the rivets so that it would be unservicable or very difficult to use the vehicle again,,,I mean for liability reasons. "So there we were doin' 500 mph and the wheel came off so we sued Arfons".
I love that thing! It's really pretty cool if you can see his cars over the years. From rough, brutal cars to refinement.
Not to diminish some of the later cubic money accomplishments at Bonneville, but guys like Arfons are few and far between. And they did it themselves.
is this the same car as the Super Cyclops or same setup??..A news 8 reporter was riding shotgun with Art in the Super Cyclops at Dallas International Motor Speedway@ late 71 and was killed along with a few other people when he blew a tire in the middle of a run..its said Art quit driving after that?? 300mph run in 71!!
The car pictured here utilizes some of the parts of the Green Monster that crashed at Bonneville in '66, which was due to one of the front wheel hubs seizing on the axle. Here's some of the info from the auction: - Description - Green Monster, built and driven by Art Arfons, was a three-time holder of the World Land Speed Record. It was powered by a 15,000-pound thrust, 17,500 horsepower General Electric J-79 jet engine from a B-58 Hustler bomber that Arfons bought in scrapped condition for $5,000. He repaired the engine in his home workshop, then tested it. Upon firing, the engine rattled windows over a wide area and incinerated his chicken coop. The chassis and body were handcrafted to house the jet engine. At the Bonneville Salt Flats, he took the three-day-old World Land Speed Record in the Jet Unlimited Class (434mph, 10-5-1964) from his brother, Walt. He lost it eight days later to Craig Breedlove in his Spirit of America Sonic 1. Though Arfons recaptured it after only two weeks (536mph, 10-27-1964), he lost the record again the following year. He set his final World Land Speed Record of 576.553 miles per hour on November 7, 1965. When Green Monster was severely damaged in a 1966 crash, Arfons used many of the original parts in this rebuilt car, which did away with the adjustable front stabilizing wing. Unfortunately, Arfons was never able to race this vehicle and sold it to Slick Gardner, who made many high speed runs in the car including the 650mph pass in 1978.
Frickin Totally Ausome. A perfect ( a was ) example of the craftsmanship, INOVATION & design of the era. A true time machine. Big balls....?? HUGE BALLs - must be two water mellon size pockets under that quilted nomex...!!!! He Designed it - He Built it - He drove it. True Hot Rodding.
I dunno, sounds fishy. You can't really say that this car set ANY records. Parts were used from the record setting car to build this one. 650MPH in 1978? If that were true, it would have set a new record. But I don't see Slick's name in the record books.
We have been watching this @ work. Any guesses on what she'll go for? I hope the new owner does her justice. I grew up watching art and dusty tractor pulling and had no idea of arts significance in land speed stuff. What a legend
I walked straight past this at the Peterson Museum because i thought theres no way they would leave a car that important in the car park, it must be a replica!!!! Then when i got home i thought - who would go to the trouble of making a replica of that car i wanna go back and check it out. Only problem is i live in Australia.
My first trip to CA last month, I pulled into the parking garage at the Petersen Museum and my eyes saw the Green Monster, I said "HOLLLLLYYYY SHITTTTTT" I parked over next to it, stared at it for about 10 minutes before I made it inside. Then stared at it another 10 minutes before I got in my rental car. I only snapped one shot with my cell phone because the battery died after that. This is history.
I don't know about Slick Gardner's run. but Art didn't set any records with this car. However, he had something up his sleeve. He had intentions to do something with this car, but for some reason he realized the LSR game was over for him. What's interesting about this last version is that it has some refinements over the one before. If nothing else, it is the most aesthetically pleasing version he ever built. Nevertheless, the car is a bonified piece of history. In my mind, Art Arfons was the real deal. He was a hot rodder and racer to the extreme. Obviously the man had no fear. For anyone who's interested, and has not seen this, check this out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zile...7C6B8973&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=10 It is by far the best thing on YouTube regarding the rivalry between Art Arfons, Walt Arfons, and Craig Breelove. There are 6 parts.
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