Hot Rods XO/PP Bonneville project

Has to be a rear sump pan from a car. But thank you anyway Jason

 

Car only with rear sump pan

 

Got one .. thanks

 

Finished the carb spacer / heat shield
Today

 

Three roadsters and a pickup truck ...

What could they possibly have in common? Welp, they’re all land speed racing vehicles, that’s a given. If you look a little closer, they all ran (or will be running) GMC 302 power in the XO or XXO engine classes. But the connections may be even deeper than that.

About nine months ago I bought a GMC 302 short block that came with .030 over Venolia pistons, stock rods and crank and a Howard 380 camshaft from @Hitchhiker . Matt said he believed the engine was run at Bonneville with an original Howard 12 port cylinder head in a car I’ll get to later. I then acquired a rare Skinner 12 port head. This began our quest to build an engine that would take every advantage of the displacement max in our class and would be everything we could afford. All this got @john mullen , our team owner and master engine builder, excited and the project has been rolling along ever since.

But that’s not really the point of this post.

The roadster in the first pic is an SCTA record holding car campaigned by none other than Don Furgeson. If you’re unfamiliar, he’s the guy that owns Ardun Industries, the foundry that makes new Ardun heads for flatheads from the original patterns. I knew about the Skinner head (mentioned above) for sale in New Jersey. Turns out that Joe Fontana, another big name in six-cylinder racing, ran this head and later sold it to the guy I bought it from. Nick Arias suggested that Don may also have one of the Howard/Arias heads his company designed and Don cast in the 80s/90s. I first contacted Don looking for one of Nick’s Arias heads, but ended up buying the Skinner and having Don make custom roller rockers for it. He’s been a great, open source of info for these engines.

The second car, a stretched black Austin roadster belongs to @jimmy six , another SCTA record holder. JD is also a wealth of knowledge on GMC sixes. He’s actually the guy that developed the Howard 380 profile – the very cam that came with my block! In addition to openly sharing information, he’s given us a spare virgin 302 block and two cranks! Thank you so much JD!

The gray primer car in the third pic, the Salt Circus 29 roadster is important because Matt told me he believed my short block was run in this very car. I don’t know if it was when George Campbell, Monte Osborn or Tony Huntimer owned it though.

The fourth pic is of course our truck that will be running this monster, and the fifth photo is the mill in question.

There are a lot of holes and unknowns in this story, but I’m hoping some of you that know or knew (RIP) some of these fine gentlemen can fill in some additional details so that I may piece more of it together. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

All I know is that these are my canopies and my trailer behind the Salt Circus and I miss my buddy Typo every day.

 

As do all of us at Saturday morning coffee.

 

Counting down the days to head west to Arkansas to run the standing mile. Plan to bump our current record with the new engine combo.
I did the final break in today and dropped the oil and readjusted the valves, tuned the carbs and started the clean up on the truck.
Will load the truck this weekend and head west on May 3rd. For Blytheville Arkansas.
Stay tuned!!

 

Clean, tuned, oil changed ready to go

 

For those about to rock, we salute you.

 

Awesome backstory. Just spent some time with Chick on the phone last night. She is the new SCTA Media Relations person so will not be running the Salt Circus at Speedweek this year.

 

I would love to hear the history of the Salt Circus in as much detail as can be gathered. I'm sure it has an interesting story to it.

 

7 days from tomorrow we will see just how fast the Virginia H.A.M.B Special is. We are pumped for sure to set a new record for the XO/PP 640 team and all who have supported this project.

 

Campbell was a true American. You could not miss his cowboy hat or the “little hitch in his getalong”. I believed he called Montana home. It was a privilege to call him a friend. I only knew him a Bonneville but most moments are remembered as a fun time.

 

Locked and Loaded.

 

In two days team 640 will be headed out on another adventure to Arkansas. We will post daily on the trip so please stay tuned.
For all who support us thank you, we appreciate you all greatly.

 

Truck and trailer washed, tires checked all fluids checked, bags packed. Getting bored with nothing else to do.
So ready to go west.

 

Don't forget your phone charge cords....we're expecting play-by-play coverage!

 

I will see what we can compile. Here is some info in an old thread

History - Salt Circus Bonneville trophy, or coincidence? | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)

 

Got it and stand by

 

Last year, heading to tech ...

 

I sure would like to make the trip down to watch.

 

Don't forget to check wheel bearings and tyre pressures of trailer. We all know how they can get overlooked in the thrash to get the race car done. Good luck and I hope the engine internals stay internal.

 

Just remember @D-Russ , when the time comes ( and it will) you can’t drive 55! He he.

 

Don't know what trailer tires you're running but when I had warranty issues with the ones on my fifth wheel RV they were only rated for 55 MPH - which is the speed I was running when the failure occurred. And no, the trailer wasn't over loaded. Just POS tires.

 

Been there done that! Not one, not two, but three flats on the 2020 trip to Utah.



Dave relaxes in the shade while John went for another spare.

 

Please do be our guest

 

Trailer tires are a funny thing. My 20’ enclosed is pretty light with a 7000# gross. I’ve never had it overloaded but lost many tires..big name brands too. I now run E rated with a gross load of 11,320# and made it live… the most hated Carlisle. I have never lost one and they are speed rated to 81.
If it had 16” rims I could get a “F” rated and push the gross weight 15,840….
Looking forward to how you do!

 

We have arived in Blytheville and stopping for breskfast

 

Passed Tech today and headed to hotel then dinner and a nap. Looks like rain overnight and early tomorrow but looking really g