History The Markley Bros BELLY TANK: A Pictorial History

The last time I saw the Herda car wewere preparing for Bonneville last year. As of then restoration had not started. I do know that as a courtesy Dennis got in touch with his daughter(s) to ask if they objected to his desire to restore the car to a non running condition as it was when their father drove it. They felt as Dennis did that it would be a tribute to his memory.

Dennis has so many irons in his automotive fire at any one time I do not know where that project fits in. He has laid his hands on a few old salt cars and the display of them is growing. His shop takes on more of a museum atmosphere every time I am there. I have some pictures on another computer and will post when I can.

 

Every time I look at this forum page it brings back memories for me. Throughout my childhood I was told stories and shown pictures of the Bonneville. My dad (Al DeArmond) went to school with the Markley brothers and had a continued friendship well after building and racing cars.

I am beginning to forget the stories of the early days of drag racing in the bay area where according to the stories they caused a bit of havoc racing around.

I could go on quite a bit, but will keep it short. I was looking to make my dad a birthday card for his 80th tomorrow when I ended up here again. I took a few quick pictures of the memories he has put on his wall in his garage and will figure out where to post them and get back here for another post.

Hopefully one day I can get him to open up the picture books to post more, and evidently he also has a few rolls of film that I want to transfer to video and post on YouTube.

https://picasaweb.google.com/bigdearmond/MarkleyBrothersAlDeArmond?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Chris DeArmond

 

Thanks for the great read, the 55 plymouth 259 poly block with 241 dodge hemi heads was the hot set up for sure.

 

The Markley Brothers #360 belly tank (in Varni~Barnett #909 trim) at the Hot Rod Magazine 65th Anniversary Cover Car exhibit in Pomona:

image by @Bobby Green




images by @Chuck G.









images by Craig Wise (@CW's40TPU)​

 

Thanks for the compilation Hemi32!

 

Huh? ... Did @Tman forget to drink his coffee this AM? ... It's HEMI32 ... not @Harms Way

 

Fixed it. You two always post such cool stuff it is easy to mix ya'all up!

 

I saw the current version of the Markley Brothers tank at the HRM show last March. While it's good that this old salt veteran is still with us, it really should be restored to it's early 60's short version so us old timers that actually saw, and heard this beast running over 280 in it's prime, can appreciate it as it should be. That Charlie crunched himself down in that tiny cockpit, and coaxed it to those speeds seems unbelievable. One of the more impressive things I've seen in my years at Bonneville.

 

I agree with Dean on that one!

 

Ernie is a great guy. Still helps us out on the streamliner at Bonneville. I'm lucky to know him and hope I get to help him with the model A roadster he's currently building. It's got a baby hemi in it. I wish Varni had restored it to its former glory as the Markley tank instead of what he created. That was a bona fide piece of hot rod history. See you guys on the salt

 

Here's a couple snapshots of the #909 C/GL taken today at Varni's Speed Nymph Garage:

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... and some vintage photos of the #360 Belly Tank in front of the Markley's garage:

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What kind of HP did it take to get that shape to 280mph?

 

Talking to a couple of salt vets in the landspeed chat last night and we all agreed that the car should be restored to its 60s version

 

I second that 100%!!!

 

Here's the 1st iteration of the #909 C/Gas Lakester in its natural habitat:

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The 2nd iteration of the #909 C/Gas Lakester was part of the "Century Of Speed" display @ the 2014 Grand National Roadster Show:

Charlie's "Two Club" Tee-Shirt


Our HERO with his old BELLY TANK​

 

Beautiful, but no comparison to the classic lines of the earlier style in my mind!

 

Here's a couple cool vintage B&W photos from the Craig Wise (@CW's40TPU) archives:

The Ralph Lynde (#502E) & the Markley Bros. (#360D) Lakesters on their trailers.




The Markley Bros. (#360D) & Rochlitzer (#433D) Lakesters in the pits.​

 

Some bitchin' artwork by Gary Campesi (@GaryC.):

image originally posted in the ">>> Friday Art Show 08/10/12, Buckle Up! <<<" thread​

 

Beautiful illustration. Thanx for posting...................................Burly

 

Beautiful work, Really captures the essence of the car.

 

@LongDistanceOperator -

Charlie e-mailed me yesterday ... Here's his response to your question:

 

That's amazing, but if Ed Winfield said that is what it was, I believe him!...says a lot about the mechanical abilities of the Markley Brothers..

 

In a tank with the same shape and length it went 200mph with a v-6 Buick making 350 hp.

 

Found this on Facebook this am.
Charlie and his machine....
Added a picture of Charlie & my son Kevin at the Pomona show in Jan.

 

Michael LeFevers (@Dynoroom) -

I too saw Brian Rochlitzer's posting of the B&W pic on the "Bonneville Land Speed Racer" facebook page (with the caption "I love the ____eating grin on Charlie's face.") ... but you beat me to posting it here in this thread.

Also ... I'm almost positive that I was standing near you when you took the pic of your son with Charlie ... I was waiting to chat with Charlie (and later took the "Our HERO with his old BELLY TANK" pic in post #138).

At any rate, thanks for sharing the pics ... and for keeping this 5-year old thread alive!

 

I'm quite proud of the Bonneville Land Speed Racer group we formed on Facebook just a couple of years ago. With so many members, we are seeing more and more new pictures all the time! https://www.facebook.com/groups/landspeedracer/

 

Here's some vintage snapshots of the Markley #360D Belly Tank Lakester on the salt :

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NOTE: These images are from the Tim Rochlitzer family photo archive ... c/o Tim's son, Brian ... Thanks Brian!