History Four Pontiacs and a one-way 406.60 MPH

The Illustrious Mickey Thompson Challenger 1, 1600+ cubes of big Pontiac power, LaSalle gearboxes and a heckuva story!

 

if you posted the story,im sure a lot of people would apreciate it.the summers bros goldenrod did a 409.27 in 1965,with four hemis,injected.a story about that car,and others would be cool too! filthy frank.

 

Turned down by Chrysler, Mickey appealed to Knudsen and Pontiac to supply the power for his soon-to-be famous Challenger I streamliner. "They sent us four stock [389] test engines--they weren't even new," Voigt said. "Pontiac freighted them to Mickey's house in El Monte. We had a helluva time unloading them because we didn't have a forklift or anything like that."
But with Pontiac power, the development of Challenger I continued. Placed inside chalk drawings on the floor of Mickey's backyard garage, the four Pontiac engines were positioned on 2x4 and 4x4 blocks, while Mickey and Fritz drew a sardine-can-tight outline of the streamliner. The plan was for the front engines to face backwards, driving the front wheels, while the rear engines handled the rear wheels.
Mickey's biggest challenge would be making four simultaneous gearshifts, while trying to keep Challenger on course. The clutch and shift linkages were quite complicated, with four clutches operated by a single foot pedal. The process of shifting gears on all four LaSalle three-speed transmissions was rigged to go through a single hand lever positioned in the cockpit to Mickey's right. His only view of the salt came through a 4-inch square piece of glass that had been taken from a face shield of a welder's helmet.

READ THE REST AT:
http://www.highperformancepontiac.c...ckey_thompson_pontiac_challenger_i/index.html

 

The Goldenrod was an equally impressive machine, but Mickey did it first. His record was in '59 or '60, I believe.

 

More...the one way 406 was in '62 with blown Pontiacs...he gave up racing cars that fast after that hellacious run...

 

Hmmm. I think the 406 blast was in '60.

Remember his multi Pontiac 4WD dragster with Fritz Voight driving.
What was that to become?
Remember his first multi engined effort at Bonneville?

I will always remember this great man as #1 of American Motorsports legends.

 

1960, U R CORRECT! OOPS! revising history again...

 

Although I have great respect for the people who built the latest alternative fuelled LSR car and some respect for the guy who drove it i will not let that subject become a bigger conversation piece here. Lets "talk" about Mickey and all of his great accomplishments.
Once again thanks Miller91.

 

Hey guys, i thought i'd chime in because not only am i one of the biggest Mickey Thompson fans around but i own one of the engines that powered the Challenger 1.

In 1959 Pontiac gave full sponsorship to M/T even though he was experimenting with with Pontiac engines prior.
When the Challenger was being built its initial fabrication was indeed done in his El Monte home garage. All engines are bored and stroked 1959 389 Pontiac engines. In 1959 the car was injected but the mph times did not satisfy M/T so the engines were changed to having 671 Don Hampton Blowers and Hilborn Injection. All engines ran separate transmissions, cooling systems, and oiling systems. They also ran early Ford Flathead angle drive magneto's !
The two rear engines closest to the cock pit were positioned at normal forward rotation, and the two engines up front were reverse rotation. M/T's chief mechanic Fritz Voigt told me not long ago that horsepower ratings for each engine were approx. 800 .

Its a long story but i assisted moving a couple of friends who are long time classic Pontiac parts suppliers and restorers in to a larger shop. While cleaning out their warehouse i stumbled across the rarest Pontiac speed equipment i have ever come across. It was an engine that came to them in a large purchase when an ex racer was cleaning out his garage years ago. Stamped in front of the block says - ENGINE NUMBER 3 LEFT FRONT REVERSE ROTATION. These restorers only knew that M/T had once owned that engine and nothing more. I contacted Danny Thompson ( M/T's son) and what he told me was that around 1959/60 M/T had the 4 engines in the car and that in case of mechanical malfunction there was 1 extra forward rotation engine that Danny has in his pocession, and 1 extra reverse rotation engine that has been lost for decades and "It's finally been discovered and you've got it".

Plans are to de tune this and run it in my 32 Ford 5 five window project. It is now backed by a rare Schiefer aluminum flywheel, a 58-60 Pontiac bellhousing, and a muncie 4 speed.

Back to the car. For decades it was stored in M/T's home and several warehouse storages until the early 90's when long time dry lakes & Bonneville racer Jim Travis did a total restoration on the car. It has been on display at the NHRA museum in Pomona but after the closing of that who knows where it will end up.

Enjoy the video !

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Yes, M/T's record run of 406 mph was done in 1960

 

Aw heck, not Challenger, but he did so much cool stuff!

 

Hey Axle,
What's the word on Danny and his streamliner project?

 

didn't he lose an engine on a run when a gearbox didn't engage?

 

looking good! keep em coming!filthy frank.

 

According to Cook's grandson John, The actual chalking of that car took place on Cook's Machine Works Floor with Fritz and Mickey right there. That La Salle driveline set up was totally designed by Mendel "Cook" Ledington, 3 side shift trans are still at the shop and the complete driveline was fabbed up there.

We're talking 4 Cyclone quickies all of the guts, the drive line components, the couplers to the engines and even the restoration of the drive line was done there when Travis brought it all in for resto. You know what Mickey paid Cook with A 5HP air compressor that he got from another sponsor.

Pretty smart guy. When that car is displayed all of the sponsors names are away from the publics view and no body can see all of the work that Cook did or even the 4 Cyclone quickies that helped Mickey bring the record back to these shores.

I knew Mickey and he knew that I liked hot Rods, Pontiacs,Bonneville and LSR but his interests had shifted away from this by 1980-82. SCORE was his and Alex's thing and he went on to change the course of Stadium Motorsports.

All mechanical whizes that worked on that streamliner did a helluva job! That is Bar None My Fave, I even have a Hot Wheel size version of it. I thank all involved that our Cyclone components are in it and that we had the chance to contribute to Mickey's success.

 

1993, CHRR, Bako

 

Was lucky enough to see the Challenger at Bonneville in '59, the first Mickey ran it, with injected Pontiacs. Think that he ran 352 that year, went to the blown Pontiacs the next year, and a darker paint job. I think that Fritz Voight was Mickey's right-had guy in designing and building the Challenger, and Mickey did give him a lot of credit. Very glad to see it restored.

 

Cool stuff for sure. M/T did everything and did it well. An inspirational person for sure.

Steve

 

Great clip of Challenger 1 in old newsreel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pClv-XwBVOs

 

When i talked to him last he was going to bring out the Autolite car to "get the Thompson name back on the books" . I don't follow Bonneville as much as guys like Tom Branch or Fabian Valdez. Guys, has he run in the past 4 or 5 years?

 

bttt

 

btt

 

from World's Fastest Indian vidcap by muttley

 

Mickey Thompson first visited Bonneville in 1937 with his father. His boyhood hero was Frank Lockhart. As a 14 year old he built his first jalopy, a 1927 Chevy coupe which he chopped and channeled and later sold the car for $125. After this he bought a modified roadster that he raced at El Mirage to 79MPH. Not a big speed considering the farm machinery tires were only guaranteed to 5MPH.

 

The Challenger "back home" Oct. 04.

 

Yes Danny has run.... but not in the liner.

He ran a mustang. Hot Rod magazine did an cover shoot in the Dec. '08 issue.

 

haven't seen these B4

 

Interesting pic of Thompson wearing the oxygen mask.
In '59 Thompson went 332.8MPH and the first American to surpass 300MPH. A few weeks later he went 367.8MPH for a new flying mile record and broke four world records for 5 Kilometres,5 Miles,10 Kilometres and 10 Miles. Later that day he tried for more speed by adding a 40 per cent mixture of nitro. As he was coming out of the mile his left arm disconnected the oxygen supply to his face mask leaving him choking in the cockpit. He managed to stop the car but shortly after fell into a coma.
An ambulance was called but it ran out of fuel heading off the lake.
Thompson later regained conciousness and walked two miles back to his pits with everyone present cheering.