Folks Of Interest RIP Craig Breedlove

He was one of those guys that would say. "Life should be like a roller coaster ride and when you get to heaven just say after skidding to a stop sideways jump out and say, damn that was one hell of a ride."

 

RIP, Craig! They don't make them like you any more.

 

Thank you for posting this link. I really looked up to this man and I'm sorry to see him go.

 

RIP a true hot rodder through and through.
Condolences to his family and friends, we've lost a great one

 

Here's a couple from the Museum gathering.
Taken 08 24 19, at the NHRA Museum in Pomona, CA.





Have others but most are pictures of old pictures and didn't photograph well.
I have the above shot of the coupe, but it a poster board, or sorta negative look.

Mike

 

Rest in Paradise Sir……

 

Heard about all this when I was in grade six and really didn’t quite understand it all. That guy sure had a “set”!

Watching that short video clip it didn’t seem that the car was too badly beat up after pulling it out of the bathtub!

 

May his memory be eternal.

 

His '34 Ford LSR car has been saved and is being partially restored by @36 Vick .


https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/craig-breedlove.877214/page-2

 

Ironically, I was just going to post that very sale ad. I saw it in a 1961 Hot Rod magazine the day he died. he was an idol for me starting back in grade school. God speed.

 

As a kid, I remember seeing the run(s) with the crash into the salt pond on TV, perhaps ABC's Wide World of Sports? I don't think it was live. I thought that jet turned tricycle racer was the coolest thing ever. RIP to a neat guy and great American racer.

 

His cars looked like jets on the ground to me. I would draw pictures of the car when I was a kid. Great memories for sure.

 

Like the name of his racer, Mr. Breedlove represented the “Spirit of America.”

 

The first time I knew of him was when I was given a (will screw up the spelling) Book of world records.
Geesh, was over 50 years ago I’d guess, think he was at lowish 600mph. Fascinated me.
25 or so years ago, my ex’s dad bought us Jay Leno tickets in Sparks, Nv? Dang was a long time ago. Anyway, as Jay was do the welcome thing to the crowd before he got rolling, he introduced “special audience attendees “ and it was Breedlove and his crew, they were on the way to the Salt.
We circled the parking lot after the show, I was hoping to get a glimpse of the trailer/etc. Even bought a disposable camera in hopes. No luck. Lol.

RIP. He really did boggle my mind at his speed record when I was a kid.

 

Wait...

HE built the spirit of America?
Himself?
In his dad's garage?

Oh... my... gosh.
I assumed that he had a whole engineering team behind him.

 

A life well lived.

 

'it was a wrecked and rusted 34 til craig breedlove turned it into a bonneville threat-probing that "you never scrap a coupe" '

 

Craig Breedlove
March 23, 1937 – April 4, 2023​

 

Here's Craig at the 13th Annual Bonneville National Speed Trials (i.e., "Speed Week" 1961):

Craig Breedlove in the #133 Schapel~Orndorff “Super Cutlass Kart" Streamliner (with a 16.3ci Standun)
​

 

More vintage photos of Craig Breedlove's '34 Coupe:

images by Eric "Rick" Rickman
​

 

OOOF That thing's killer.

 

Absolutely loved everything about this picture, the Hollywood looking guy behind the wheel, the accelerator linkage, the angle cuts on the roll cage and then, I saw the socks .

 

I remember seeing a photo of his living room and behind the couch next to the wall were the 2 fiberglass scoops he'd built that went on the body of SOA. Yes, he was the real deal. Designer, engineer, fabricator, mechanic, driver, promoter.

ALSO - didn't that little bitty liner survive to be campaigned later by The Burkland Family in the 80's and 90's?

 

Wasn’t he building another car in Rio Vista Ca.? One of my heroes
https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-d...ver-breedlove-keeps-low-profile-in-rio-vista/

 

I just searched and found a few HAMB features on California Metal Shaping, proved what I was told that they rolled out all the panels for both of the Breedlove Spirit of America LSR cars, and the original Cobra Daytona Coupe that Craig Breedlove later drove.

 

By Craig's T shirt, he was a member of the Screwdrivers !