Vintage shots from days gone by!

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Egads! That 'thing' looks more like
something dreamed up by the ACME
Corporation for Wile E. Coyote, for
use in one of his perpetually doomed
attempts to catch the Roadrunner!
All that's missing is a fuse hanging
out the back to ignite a rocket
motor!!!

Mart3406
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Sharp! Pencil me in for one o' these babies!

 

My memory must be shot, I remember Goldenrod having 4 engines


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Goldenrod:







Goldenrod’s first public demonstration was on the Riverside sports car
track in southern California.
This overhead view shows how tightly all
the wobbly bits were packed








Bill Summers, co owner and builder of “Goldenrod” wheel driven LSR car which set
the record at 409 m.p.h. back in 1965 besting the 406 one way record set by Mickey Thompson in April 1960.






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The always controversial Mickey Thompson and his dual 427 SOHC engined "Autolite Special"

Thompson designed and built the car using a fuel injected 427 SOHC Ford engine in front (810 hp)
and a supercharged 427 SOHC in back (1260 hp).

One of the most interesting things about the Autolite Special is that the engines
were not physically linked together. The front engine supplied the front wheels
and the rear engine supplied the rear.

Thompson modified 2 gas peddles to skinny them up.
The skinny peddles were placed side by side so that Thompson's right foot cradled
both peddles at once.

The cockpit was equipped with a special, dual needle tachometer.
Thompson would monitor the dual needles and then feather the dual peddles
to keep both engines running at similar rpm's which in turn placed equal amounts
of traction to the independently powered front and rear axles.
The system was relatively uncomplicated compared to physically coupling both engines
together.
It would take both practice and balls to keep the Autolite Special moving
in a straight line at any speed. The car reportedly ran to 442 mph but but
problems prevented a backup run.

Soon afterward, the sponsors left LSR racing all together and
that marked the end of the Autolite Specials racing career.

Although Thompson would not be able to back up his 442 mph run on that day,
He did not go home a sorrowful loser as he did manage to set an amazing
395 different speed records over his short lifespan.



-Thompson's son is currently restoring the Autolite Special.
















Mickey Thompson's 1969 Autolite Special.
The model is a 1/43 resin kit from Mach One Models.
The real car is 29 feet 7 inches and the 1/43 scale model is about 8 inches long.







The car as it appeared at the 1969 Detroit Auto Show










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That would be the legendary Belgain , Eddy Merkx on the right.

 

bump

 

The "Golden Rod" is certainly an example of aerodynamic engineering... Some of these vehicles are so unique that it's barely believable... Real ingenuity in advertising for the ones that are intended to represent a certain product or products... I guess the closest thing we have to that today is the Oscar Meyer "Weinermobile" (if that even still exist)... Someone should compile a coffee table book of this kind of stuff... "The Doc" (Celebrity Drag Racing Authority & Visionary)...

 

ITS ALL LIES, LIES I TELLS YER.



THIS IS WHAT WENT 400!

You do believe me right...........

Doc.

 

It was my pleasure to meet Bill at Goodwood a few years ago & to marvel at how that machine was packaged, fantastic.

 

wtf

 

Looks like he comes down the ramp on the right and while he's in the middle of the loop, the bottom portion pivots to connect to the right side of the loop and he exits to the left. Gotta trust your crew to get the timing right!

 

Mickey Thompson, his little sister Collene and Dad visit Bonneville in 1937.
They were on their way to Yellowstone in Dad's new Dodge.

It's easy to speculate that Mickey's life long need for speed was nurtured with this 1937 stop at the Salt Flats.








A young Mickey pursuing his dreams




Mickey Thompson (left) and Carroll Shelby competing in a road race.






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1943 Pasadena Lockheed plant

 

1941 various Texas locations

 

These 1942 photos are training maneuvers in Borrego Springs, CA with George Patton.

40 years later a local 'old timer' told me about the maneuvers after I found one of their camps while out arrowhead hunting. There were MANY cases of Acme beer bottles still in 'case' formation but most of the cardboard was gone. The camp could still there today as there was no road and I never told anybody the location.

 

1953 NY, NY

 

1945 a famous guy, Mount Rainier National Park, WA







a jazz fan