Landracing Forum
Thrust-powered Land Speed information => Discussions on absolute land speed records => Topic started by: J79 on January 22, 2018, 04:32:48 PM
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I was reading that when Art Arfons sold his Green Monster to Slick Gardner, Slick was able to drive it at 650mph in 1978. Does anyone have any history/details/video of this?
"After rebuilding the Green Monster, minus its adjustable front wing, Arfons never raced it again, instead selling it to Slick Gardner who ran it frequently, ultimately topping 650 mph in 1978. it was fast enough for one guy named Slick, who topped 650 mph with the car at Bonneville in 1978."
https://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/19/ebay-find-of-the-day-art-arfons-green-monster-lsr-car/#slide-330529 (https://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/19/ebay-find-of-the-day-art-arfons-green-monster-lsr-car/#slide-330529)
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In the Posthumus & Tremayne book Land Speed Record, the quote from the late Art Arfons about the December running in that year on Bonneville was "Slick hit 552 mph, before a big off-course moment, he decided enough was enough". The car was running solid (tireless) wheels on the salt which had been modified after some November running when speeds were "around 300 mph".
Any 'talk' of 650 mph peak would have been to keep sponsors happy, because the target average speed was 622.407 mph.
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In 2003, Ugo Fadini wrote:
Slick Gardner never set a land speed record, but in 1978 he announced that he would attempt it driving Art Arfons' J-79 powered Green Monster, soon to be renamed the "Andersen's Pea Soup Monster". With Arfons' assistance Gardner was actually on the salt in 1979, but no record, or even recorded speeds, came, although he claims that he did go faster than the current Blue Flame record during tests, then lack of money and loss of interest had him quit the attempt. Other sources suggested that maybe he lacked something else...
By the way, the car we are talking about, which Gardner bought and ran ... is not the famous Green Monster that set the record several times in 1964 and 1965 and was destroyed in 1966, but a similar, more refined car Arfons had built immediately afterwards, tested extensively, and even set a FIA standing start quarter-mile record with, at Fort Stockton, Texas in 1969.
Arfons always regretted selling that car, which he did only because he was desperate for money: he also says that he was not very comfortable with the responsibility of somebody else without his experience driving it and that he was relieved that the project had eventually been shelved.
Don't believe everything you read on the internet ... :|
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Wasn`t someone looking for a close up of this sticker ??