Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Ab Jenkins goes Farther, Faster, Safer in 1934 Continue reading the Original Blog Post
a good film to watch is "boys of bonneville". it was on amazon to rent and you can find copies on ebay where i got my dvd. ah, just found it free on youtube. i scanned though it quickly and looks like it's the same edit as my dvd. (age restricted?)
I've read the book on Ab Jenkins and he was beyond amazing. He also owned and/or built four of my all-time favorite cars: 1. 1932 Studebaker Indy racer 2. 1932 Pierce-Arrow Bonneville racer 3. 1932 Duesenberg "Mormon Meteor 1 & II 4. 1938 Mormon Meteor III jack vines
To put this in perspective at the time Rolls Royce warned their customers not to run wide open for more than 5 minutes or they would blow their motor. Rolls had a top speed of about 90. Mercedes had a supercharged straight eight that would top 100 but warned not to engage the supercharger for more than 2 minutes. It took a supercharged Duesenberg to beat the Pierce Arrow record. Quite a feat for Pierce when you remember they were not known as a fast car but as a luxury car for tycoons and dowagers. In fact they set 3 24 hour records in 3 successive years without a breakdown or involuntary stop with an average speed from 114 to 127 MPH. Amazing for the times.
Ab Jenkins was a superman behind the wheel. I can't think of any modern drivers with such an incredible history and resume.
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