It all started in the late 1950's as US Air Force and Navy jet engines hit the surplus market. Guys like Art Arfons, Walt Arfons, and Craig Breedlove jumped at the opportuni... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Another great blog! Was the Infinity jet car really German?! As an aside, does anybody know if Athol Graham's ill-fated Allison-powered LSR challenger has been rebuilt yet? I think it is still owned by his family and is fairly complete. I think it claimed at least two lives - you'd have to be brave to drive it!
Breedloves Spirit of America has got to one of if not indeed,the most beautiful vehicle to ever grace that hallowed ground know as Bonneville. That Kraut Box leaves a bit to be desired in the aesthetics dept.LOL Strapping on a jet car and riding it would have to be pretty damn fun.
A thought. Steve Fosset has been declared dead. What does that mean for the Spirit of America? The HAMB could buy it Let's take the record back from those tea sipping pansies... Rich
I saw an old jet drag car for sale on the net the other day. It would be pretty sweet to fire one up.
This is the jet car I drove in '67 and '68. Photo scanned from the cover of American Rodding magazine.
"Let's take the record back from those tea sipping pansies..."?! Hey, it took you guys around 15 years to take the LSR from John Cobb, and he enjoyed tea as much as any true Englishman!!!
Remember when Craig Breedlove lost his chute and brakes? Ended up in a salt lake. Jet car tore through phone poles, snapping them like twigs. Oh man, what a ride.....................
This one just brought on a flashback!!!!! A buddy of mine one day says come look in the garage. Inside was a 65-66 Mustang fastback. Looked under the hood and no engine or trans, just a bunch of flat aluminum sheets. He says look at the rear axle. I'll be damned if there wasn't a jet engine hooked up to the axle. Never did see or hear it run. I heard that it would smoke the tires all the way down the quarter. I haven't seen or heard of it since. That would have been a wild ride, to say the least.
Can someone post some more info on the German Infinity car? I never heard of that one. When I was a kid, I always remember the fastest car as The Blue Flame, 622 MPH. I think that record stood for quite a long time didn't it?
The Steve Fossett Team is still active and are looking for a driver. Not that "this" has anything to do with the article but i thought it was interesting nonetheless. From Autoblog... Single-engine jet-powered dragster seeking female companion for thrilling adventure across salt flats. Petite build. Background in motorsports or aviation. With sponsors. Interested parties please contact Eric Ahlstrom (eahlstrom@pyramid.net), program manager, Steve Fossett World Land Speed Racing Team.
I've always heard that when the team and race officials, etc showed up expecting to find Breedlove dead, he quipped "For my next trick I will burst into flames." Or something to that effect. Seems like I also saw that in Cole Coonce's Infinity Over Zero but I can't look it up since it's on loan to my sister. Been in love with the assault on the absolute LSR since I was a kid. I really wish these battles still went on. If I were president, we'd be shooting for Mach 2 on the ground.
Naw,I don't think so, it was built in Oakland. here ya' go Fiat128 http://www.ugofadini.com/omicron10story.html
Breedlove's jet MOTORCYCLE was beautiful. Yes, in the beginning it only had three wheels so his first record runs ended up in the motorcycle record book instead of the "car" records. There was also Lee Taylor and his "Hustler" jet boat. I remember first seeing it in HOTROD magazine and thinkingto myself "How is he gonna steer it after shutting off the engine with just a thrust diverter steering?" He found out the horrible truth soon after that issue came out... What gets me also is all the jetdrive ski boats out there with no steering if the engine isnt propelling the boat? http://www.lesliefield.com/personalities/lee_taylor_hustlers_accident.htm Thanks for the post, Ryan!
It doesn't appear as though any of the LSR jet cars pictured take advantage of the area rule so as to minimize drag.
Prop Strike it was "And now for my next trick,I'm gonna set myself on fire".LOL Dr.J if the engine isn't running,why would you need to steer?
A friend of mine, Bill Moore, was involved in the development of Spirit of America. He told me that the Art Arfons car showed up at Bonneville while the Breedlove team was there, and one of the Breedlove crew observed that Arfons' machine <b>"looks like a female Oscar Meyer Wiener Wagon."</b>
I have worked with some modern jet dragsters and bodied exhibition vehicles... Still the same stuff.... find yourself a surplus motor and strap your tail on it. It's some really crazy stuff. Great blog.
The quickest, I ever saw was a hydrogen peroxide rocket car that ran at LACR. The announcer warned everyone to stand clear of the exhaust. It would bleach your hair white.
Jets weren't just race cars...how about a jet track work vehicle?? I saw this at Englistown years ago, and still cannot believe that I walked on by without photographing it and asking questions...but this contraption was a chassis running a Ford six and carrying a jet engine in back. It was said to be an implement for drying the track! That really impressed me...after all, any idiot could think of using a jet to propel a racecar; what the hell kind of maniac does it take to think of using one to maintain the asphalt??!? Also, a deep history of rodding note: One of the old Popular Mechanics type mags once ran a picture of a naked Model A
...end of escaped sentence...Model A chassis propelled by a skinny little jet engine, with driver sitting sort of sidesaddle beside it. This was right around 1950...what the hell? And where did he find an engine when the only remotely common or available hardware had only been in military use for a few years?? Anyone have that issue available?
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