I've been following the HAMB for a while now, since I first heard about it at Speedweek in 2007. I lost faith in the scene when the plastic cars and billet seemed to take over and I drifted into vintage/historic racing where the old cars were built to go fast and have loads of fabrication. I find it difficult to be enthusiastic about any car without numbers on it... I made many trips to Bonneville chasing the C/Gas/Coupe record (225.9 at the time) in the So-Cal Speedshop MG ZTT and just missed it by 0.1 mph. A few weeks before Speedweek 2008 I was nearly totalled in a biplane crash but still managed to make struggle over to Bonneville and drive, despite Doctor's orders. I'm currently thinking about whether or not to give the record one last shot. I know the car's not traditional but everyone who helped lives and breathes the real stuff and this was something different for us all. Thought you might like the parachute photo? This year I flew from England to New York then drove cross country to Speedweek with the Bones, raced the '32 roadster, then drove back again. I drove Ken's 575 coupe (left below) part of the way there and all the way back, and I drove Richie's 3 window (right below) whilst we were there.. Here's a shot taken whilst waiting for my first run in the roadster... I still race occasionally in Historics although I've sold most of my cars. I have kept a 1965 TVR Griffith FIA car though which runs a quad downdraft Weber 289 - it's homologated with the same engine as a Cobra but is smaller, lighter and quicker. It also embarrasses GT 40s - again, same engine but homologated with slightly smaller valves which the lighter weight and smaller frontal area more than make up for. (The TVR originally had a little four pot MG engine but Mark Donohue threw it away and dropped in a Cobra engine when he was racing Cobras for Shelby dealer Jack Griffith, and so the car was born). My daily driver is either a stone-stock '38 Ford Standard coupe (rare RHD) or a Land Rover, depending on the weather. Oh, and there's a '32 roadster. As you can gather, my main interest is Bonneville and early lakes racing, along with flying warbirds when the opportunity arises. I particularly like to see aircraft parts used on cars, just like in the old days. Here's a photo of a P-51 Mustang I flew earlier this year (along with a Stearman and a T-6 Texan)... I sold a car to pay for the flights and would do it again. I'll post some more photos of the Bonneville trip soon. Regards Jon'.
Jon,...............Welcome to the H.A.M.B..............from Arkansas City, KS. Really nice Intro. and great photo's, very much appreciated. I really liked the shot of the Two Coupes alone on the Salt. The plane wasn't too shabby either. firstnomad www.angelfire.com/jazz/flatlandstudio
Thanks for the welcome. I'll post some more photos of the Bones trip to Bonneville on the main forum. Regards Jon'.
Welcome from Broken Arrow Oklahoma! Nice intro and Bonneville thread. Used to work on Stearmens when I was in college. Hung quite a few r1340's on dusters.
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