I'd like to meet the first guy who thought "let's put a flathead inside a gas tank and get in there with it."
Love the footage. Can't imagine driving something being that balled up. @Jive-Bomber Any idea on the speeds it ran and if it still exists?
Great footage, I had seen it before but not for a while. There is a mix of El Mirage and Bonneville. One part grabbed my attention from 1952 Bonneville I have taken a screen grab.
under 110 pounds? who weighed it? doesn't that seem impossible? 4 rims, a motor, some pipe, axle, spring etc......just doesn't seem possible. cool footage!
that thing is the bomb... looks lethal... as for its weight, maybe the tires are inflated with helium ?
In the Kustomrama link weight is stated as 990 pounds. "The Baby Bomb weighted 990lbs having a chrome moly frame and a 82 inches wheelbase."
From Kustomrama: " using nitro fuel they ran 115.53 mph that year." - 1952 "In 1953 the Baby Bomb was clocked at 123.11 mph in the "O" class at Bonneville." "Later Al and George removed the sleeves and took the cubes up to the stock 136 cubic inch displacement. They also ran a fuel injection that they had fabricated. With this set-up the belly tank clocked its fastest speed of 160.14 mph at the 1956 Bonneville Nationals in the "A" lakester class. Jerauld claimed he could have gone 170 mph if he had a taller gear."
JERAULD'S was still alive, last time I was in National City, but they sell paint and body supplies out of one end of the building, and they do exhaust work in the other end.
Worked at Jerauld's in the early 60's, Al had an engine builder nick named "River bottom Rudy" who was the Flathead man. It was a great experience with good memories. I took the pictures at the last GNRS of Al and George. In the early 80's Al sold the muffler shop, the site was rebuilt into a combo muffler shop and paint automotive paint store at that time. Forever gone the inside & outside pits, outside racks and oil stained asphalt and weekend fun.
Hello , I'm the guy that produced that "Jeraulds BABY BOMB" video Jimmy B snagged the screen shot of from the 1953 Bonneville Speedweek I'm Randy Chenowth , Founder of the San Diego Racing Museum. Here is a link to that video Jimmy B also posted a few photos , One was the 1953 awards ceremony at the salt . The Jerauld/Barber BABY BOMB was fastest in O class & won one of those tall trophies on the table on the far left in the photo. I now own that trophy. Trophy is as it was the day it was given to Al Jerauld in 1953. it was never engraved , I received it as a donation to the San Diego Racing Museum from Diane Bone , George Barber's Daughter
The Jalopy Journal
