Mike,
I really enjoyed the Eyston video, that car did not get much publicity in its day as the records were quickly surpassed by Cobb and the Railton Mobil Special. The massive transfer case and final drive in the rear of Thunderbolt looks more like a tractor pulling component than a land speed part! Too bad this car did not survive to be displayed in a museum today.
The crew initiative and dedication to the goal that resulted in the cooling system modification/addition in Wendover is admirable. If you think the CARQUEST in Wendover today is difficult to support a racing operation out of, imagine what it was like in the era when this car was running? West Wendover did not exist, the old Stateline casino was the west end of town, the Utah side hotels were all single level, and this team of British speed racers built a new aluminum water tank, nose cone, and replumbed the entire cooling system on the spot. Lucky for them the added water weight brought the CG far enough forward that removing the vertical tail (which also shifted the CP forward significantly) did not produce a negative yaw stability.
Fun to see that these early streamliner teams operated in much the same manner as today's do.
Tom Burkland