Landracing Forum
Bonneville Salt Flats Discussion => Bonneville General Chat => Topic started by: 4-barrel Mike on April 01, 2011, 11:42:33 PM
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For sale at the Portland Swap Meet
Front torsion bar suspension:
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/4-BarrelMike/Streamliners/Lakester01.jpg)
Rear is "built by the Summers Brothers" (with a tag!):
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/4-BarrelMike/Streamliners/Lakester03.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/4-BarrelMike/Streamliners/Lakester02.jpg)
"Rear suspension levels out at 80 mph. The front goes down too."
Ran originally with a Chrysler hemi with a quoted speed that seems incredible (300+). Then they attempted unsuccessfully with a "12-cylinder Corvair", then with a regular Corvair which had a potential speed of 228-229 (queue up the Prof. Dolan quote).
I think that I woke the older gentleman (Glen) up to ask questions, so some of what he said is suspect.
TIA.
Mike
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I am sure these same pictures are here in the picture thread but this is copied off the HAMB.
Looks similar scroll down to post #279 Thats yer car.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=287039&highlight=bonneville+pictures&page=14
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From this board, post 1097 1098
http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,5202.1095.html
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Pretty cool Mike!
Can I ask how much he was asking for it?
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Mel Hoy's lakester driven by the late Howard Johnson.
Monte
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Sorry to be slow in answering, but the site was down for a while this morning ???
I got a PM from Tom Burkland, posted last night:
Mike,This appears to be the former Hoy brothers belly tank that was frequently driven by the late Howard Johnson. Not sure if it ever recorded a 300mph time slip, but I watched Howard go 291 in it with iron Chrysler power, 6-71 blower, Vertex magneto, and plenty of fuel in the tank. The swing axle rear was common in many of the early Bonneville cars using early Ford closed driveline parts grafted onto the V-8 quick change side bells. All of this stuff seems incredibly small and fragile compared to the driveline parts of today. Was it for sale in the photos you posted? Probably a very difficult car to meet the safety rules of today with, but surely plenty of history. One of Howard's engines was transferred from this car into the B&N Motion I streamliner in 1969 after a failure left Bert Peterson with only one live player. Howard was the shop foreman at Summers Brothers at the time so everybody was buying custom drive parts from him.Tom Burkland
The car is owned by an old gentleman named Glenn Vaughn, he knew none of the information from Tom Burkland. The information passed to him when he bought the car said it had gone 347 with the blown hemi on fuel.
Glenn has a number of people interested in the car but has had no firm offers. He wants to sell it and told me it was ok to publish his contact info (that's area code 360):
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/4-BarrelMike/Streamliners/Lakester04.jpg)
He's had a long day at the swap meet today PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME :-P and will be in church in the morning.
If I had the money and the place to put it, I would have grabbed it. IMO, it's in really good shape (not enough knowledge to make a judgement on the rear end/swing arm suspension, though). It's missing the little nose piece in the front center covering the seam, missing the cockpit canopy. The upper structure covering the engine compartment is bent/flimsy but fixable. The upper tube, each side, of the frame between the cockpit and the rear suspension has a portion cut out, which I thought at first was done to put the flat Corvair engine in, but it may have been there all along for header clearance. Anyway it didn't seem to sag.
It's really a neat old race car, especially at the asking price. I'd sure like to see it be restored or ($$$$) raced again.
More from Tom Burkland on the subject:
Mike,
The attached photo is actually one of the ones you referenced from the landracing old photo thread. If I had remebered that last night I could have forwarded you to the two posts on page 73 of that thread. If the vintage Firestone Bonneville tires are in decent shape, the four of them may well be worth the asking price. The rear axle will likely have a very high ratio, but the V-8 change gears are readily available in large ranges of ratios. The parachute single cannister and very high attach point would need some work if you were going to run the car today. The primary structure and cockpit cage would probably need lots of work to meet todays much improved safety standards. Many of these early tanks had two large main frame rails with nothing under the seat area to enclose the bottom of the cockpit. There were no arm restraints or helmet movement limits so these features would need to be added.
Do you happen to know who owns the car now? It would be fun to know how it got to the Portland swap meet.
Is there any transmission or clutch housing equipment included? Have you got any specific plans for a car like this?
My Dad had the majority of a P-38 based tank similar to the original Markley car gathered with intent to license some of our crew members that worked so hard over the years to make our cars succesful. The chassis layout drawings and all of the materials are in the shop, but one of us is going to have to finish the project now that he has gone on to the great salt flats above. Let me know if you need any help getting your project together.
Thanks
Tom Burkland
Thanks to all that responded
Mike
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Mike, we also seen this lakester and wondered many of the usual questions that you and TB answered.
My pop and one of our crew, ran also into some gents that run a purple roadster from the Salem area.
Funny the things a guy will see and who you'll meet at the PIR swap.
~JH
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Wouldn't it be fun!! Unfortunately, I don't have the expertise to do it myself or the cash to pay someone else.
If you were at PIR, what did you think of the X1/9 trailer/bar-b-q-er (or whatever it was)? :mrgreen:
Mike
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Our swaps NEVER have anything so cool. Thanks forthe pictures. And thanks to Tom for some detail!
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As I remember the tank was painted yellow and the vortec generators are missing from between the 2 fins on the top. I wish I could remember the Corvair guy who bought it.
With the selling of it, a really low 29 roadster was being built but family squabbles and the untimely death of Mel stopped it's construction. I always wanted that roadster. Juris Mindenburg bought it and I helped Don Hoy load it. Juris was injured in his Corvette and I do not know where the roadster is today.
I was with Mel in 1976 when the tank was at Bonneville. A Leggitt engine a someones car broke a rocker arm and Mel volunteered one from the engine in the tank. Many did not like the tank because of its unusual rear body work........
JD............................ Many of us were in the "Orange County Bonneville Racers" at the time.
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JD, the rear bodywork is what draws me to it!
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T- guys who like tanks want them to look like tanks...Mel was a guy who wanted to go fast..and did.
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T- guys who like tanks want them to look like tanks...Mel was a guy who wanted to go fast..and did.
Guess I am going to dissapoint a few belly tank guys then ;) Thanks
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T- guys who like tanks want them to look like tanks...Mel was a guy who wanted to go fast..and did.
Guess I am going to dissapoint a few belly tank guys then ;) Thanks
You talking about the one you're building or are you buying this one ???
Mike
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T- guys who like tanks want them to look like tanks...Mel was a guy who wanted to go fast..and did.
Guess I am going to dissapoint a few belly tank guys then ;) Thanks
You talking about the one you're building or are you buying this one ???
Mike
The car I am building Mike. I would love to be able to restore this car tho!
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As of 7 April, the lakester sold for the desired $4500 and will be going to Puyallup Washington.
Mike
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Mike,
I am happy Glenn sold the car. It needs to be restored, as IMO it will take too much work and money to to make it a legal race car again. Thanks for the update.
Tom G.
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4BM, Do you know if the new owner intends on trying to make it legal eagle and race it again?
~JH
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No idea. We (V4 types) have an informal meeting at a shop once a month on 1st Thursday (some wives may be doing some cultural stuff elsewhere :mrgreen: ). Bruce Geisler is often there.
When talk went to the swap, Bruce's ears really perked up: "Mel Hoy! Mel gave me a big stack of Dzus tools. I still have a lot of them."
Friday (today) at gearhead breakfast, Bruce says, "I called Glenn last night. It's sold, etc..." Turns out that several local hot-rod types knew about the car for years ("looked like a POS") and thought that Glenn had died years ago. <shrug>
Car is still there. Bruce and company are going to look at it Monday (?).
I think that Bruce would like to have it. He has a nice static hemi with cool LSR stuff sitting in his shop up here.
Lots of speculation by me sitting, on Friday eve, listening to Mississippi Fred McDowell while trying to type on the gawd-forsaken laptop keyboard.
If I learn anything more, I'll post it here.
Mike
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I have recently talked to the current owner of this Lakester. He acquired it in a trade, and intends to offer it for sale in the near future. He has no internet capability, and has asked me to establish contact with the LSR community.
Please Email me at: benrrc1@surewest.net, if you are seriously interested. Also, any additional historical info or photos would be appreciated. If anyone knows the current location of the noted missing parts, ie: nose cone, canopy, that would help any future restoration. We would like to pass on to the new owner as much material as possible.
Ben (Gear Grinders):cheers:
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A real racer, buy a car only to flip it. Drives a Prius I would guess.
DW
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A real racer, buy a car only to flip it. Drives a Prius I would guess.
DW
Ya ever notice the Pius drivers are always running 5-10 OVER the speed limit!?!?!
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..i do notice that they (and subaru owners) are heavy on the "vote Obama"
stickers....
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..i do notice that they (and subaru owners) are heavy on the "vote Obama"
stickers....
I always gotta see who is driving those things just so I know what stupid looks like. :-D
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Geezzz you guys are kinda harsh! But you are correct in every detail :-D
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Actually, the older gentleman was driving a 3/4 ton GMC I believe. He acquired the Lakester as a portion of the payment in a swap for multiple US Military vehicles he had restored, and was only reluctantly parting with. His passion is military vehicle history, completing the restoration of his 29 Studebaker, and teaching his grandchildren about his extensive collection of artifacts of American manufacturing (maybe hoping some of them will value it as he does).
I was asked to help him get the car back into the hands of someone who has the knowledge and resources prevent it from just disappearing as have so many old Lakes cars - hardly a "flip". We do not yet have an idea of what it would take to buy it. He obviously has something invested in it and would like fair value. Those issues would be worked out directly with the owner if anyone is interested.
Rushing to judgment can sometimes lead to wrong conclusions.
Ben York, Driver
Blanchard - Bacik - York B/BGL Lakester
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Lighten up Francis......I mean Ben. :-D We are just having a little fun with the topic. :-)
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- hardly a "flip". We do not yet have an idea of what it would take to buy it. He obviously has something invested in it and would like fair value.
The asking price in April was $4500 OBO. Sounds like someone is flipping or has flipped it.
Mike
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I got the impression that there has been at least one other person between the Portland Swap Meet in April, and the present owner. He acquired it within the last 30 days. Tman - I'm light :-)(I've lost so much weight we may have to add ballast) :-D. I just wanted to fully explain the situation.
I had not heard of the car or the Hoy brothers until this man contacted me. I can't really say anything about the significance of this car, but it is at least 40 years old, and lakester speeds around 300 in the early 70's sounded impressive.
ben1
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A real racer, buy a car only to flip it. Drives a Prius I would guess.
DW
Ya ever notice the Pius drivers are always running 5-10 OVER the speed limit!?!?!
Hey! I resemble that remark!(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii177/saltracer1/DSC03186.jpg)
What you can't see in the picture is the Flathead Ford motor loaded in the "trunk" heading for the machine shop. Phil
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Half or more of the Prius drivers I see in metro Phoenix AZ , drive under the limit in the HOV lane. One driver will actually move out of the HOV lane to allow folks to pass him. Then he moves back into the HOV lane