Author Topic: Last American team to hold the official ALSR Blue Flame Oct 23 1970 622.407mph  (Read 110044 times)

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Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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Thanks,that made very interesting reading,especially the man behind the name.



Thanks rockstar

Glad you appreciate and enjoy it here is more info





Third Annual
Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame
South Pine Avenue, Long Beach, California
The Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame honors key contributors to motorsports and annually inducts new members during Grand Prix Week.


Honoring Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones, and Gary Gabelich
April 17, 2008
 
 

Gary Gabelich, a San Pedro native, also began his racing career as a teenager, winning first place in the stock eliminator drag racing class at Santa Ana at sixteen.  At nineteen, won the
world's first jet dragster race, topping 250 mph and also traveled 356 mph at the Bonneville, UT salt flats in a jet car, probably a record for a teen-ager.

He was the first man to break into drag racing's seven-second bracket, driving a Double A Fuel dragster at 7.05 seconds in 1967.  He drove the Beach City Chevrolet Corvette funny car to speeds over 200 mph, a first for a Chevrolet funny vehicle powered by a liquid gas-hydrogen peroxide rocket engine, achieving an average speed of 622.287 mph, a land speed record that existed for 13 years.

Gabelich who was killed in 1984, will be represented at the ceremony by his widow, Rae Gabelich, a Long Beach 8th District council member.  Mayor Bob Foster, City Manager Pat West and Jim Michaelian, CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, will join the honorees on the podium

http://www.lbmotorsportswalkoffame.com/gary_gabelich.html
« Last Edit: January 03, 2009, 12:42:20 AM by Blown Alcohol 57tbird »

Offline PorkPie

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pork, can you post our pic..?

Pork took me on a personal tour of the Tecknik
museum this summer........


This happens to you if you got a personal tour...... :wink: you can go to the car...... :-D
Pork Pie

Photoartist & Historian & 200 MPH Club Member (I/GL 202.8 mph in the orig. Bockscar #1000)

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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This happens to you if you got a personal tour...... :wink: you can go to the car...... :-D
[/quote]


Very nice picture

It would be neat to see the car in person if where here in the US good close up of the side thanks for posting it

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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Blue Flame Gary Gabelich
 
Bonneville Run video (Vintage VW Comercial)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4OB7kDiHF8&feature=related
« Last Edit: January 04, 2009, 12:39:52 PM by Blown Alcohol 57tbird »

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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 Blue Flame

 Here is another good shot if it on a run at Bonneville
« Last Edit: January 04, 2009, 06:49:47 PM by Blown Alcohol 57tbird »

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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The Last American official ALSR record holder

(2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed) 

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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   The New York Times


Gabelich, 43, Dies After Accident
 
Published: January 27, 1984
Gary Gabelich, who held the world land-speed record for almost 13 years, was killed in a traffic accident here today, the police said.

According to the police, Gabelich was riding a motorcycle ''at a high rate of speed'' when he ran into the right side of a truck. Gabelich, of nearby Long Beach, died nearly three hours later at San Pedro Hospital of injuries suffered in the accident, the police said.

Gabelich, who was 43 years old, set the land-speed record in a rocket- powered car of 622.407 miles per hour on Oct. 23, 1970. The record stood until Richard Noble of England averaged 634.051 m.p.h. on Oct. 4, 1983.



http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E0DA163BF934A15752C0A962948260
« Last Edit: January 04, 2009, 06:51:12 PM by Blown Alcohol 57tbird »

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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 The Fabulous Five Historic Photo

Ky Michaelson, Dave Anderson, Paula Murphy, Gary Gabelich, Art Arfons

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race History

http://www.toyota.com/motorsports/pro_celeb/history.html

1979 Entries  Celebrities  Professionals 

Gary Gabelich, Kitty O'neal  just some of the ALSR heavy hitters of the time

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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 (Rea Gabelich) Garys wife still going strong

 http://www.longbeach.gov/district8/default.asp



She has Gary's passion for speed

The Bixby Knolls Dragster Expo and Car Show was produced by Doug Kruse and his Professional Dragster Association and sponsored by the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association and the office of Councilwoman Rae Gabelich. It was no surprise that Gabelich would spearhead an event like this as she grew up in the world of drag racing married to the late Gary Gabelich who not only drove fuel dragsters, but set a land speed record of 622.407 MPH in 1970.



A special part of this was that Rae wore one of Gary's old helmets. in picture below and Guy Gabelich (Rae's son) in the Frantic-4


See Gary's wife Rea and Gary's son Guy Gabelich in this Crakelfest
http://www.cacklefest.com/event-photos-7.shtml
« Last Edit: January 07, 2009, 11:19:56 PM by Blown Alcohol 57tbird »

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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Form the Press-Telegram Long Beach CA.
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_8967401

(I like the quote on the Blue Flame by Gary)



Gabelich, perhaps more than any of the inductees, had the need for speed.

The San Pedro native began drag racing at 16 and won the first-ever jet-powered drag race in 1959 - topping 200 mph - at 19 years old.

He's best known for the Blue Flame, his 37-foot, 5,000- pound car powered by a liquid gas-hydrogen peroxide rocket engine that broke the land speed record in 1970 at 622.287 mph. The record stood for 13 years.

Gabelich later developed a love for powerboats and set the National Drag Boat Association record at 200.44 mph in 1969. The year before, he won the American Power Boat Association fuel hydro championship.

Gabelich was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1984. His widow is Long Beach Councilwoman Rae Gabelich, who spoke on his behalf. Gabelich's son Guy and mother Rae also attended.

"It is beyond an honor for Gary to be recognized with two legends of racing," Councilwoman Gabelich said.

While preparing her remarks for Thursday, Gabelich randomly chose one of about 20 books she has on land speed records, trying to find the words to explain why some choose to race the clock instead of each other.

The book she grabbed was "Land Speed Record" by Cyril Posthumus, published in 1971, with a forward written by Gary Gabelich.

In it, he wrote land speed records are "the measure of man's assault ... on speed and time." He also wrote he still looked upon the Blue Flame as "a beautiful woman."

"Today is the most special of all," said Rae Gabelich. "To be recognized in the city he called home ... is an honor."


Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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The Blue Flame

Rare collected info build photo article from a ALSR design info specialist and big help to our team.  As documented in the attached article, The Blue Flame rocket car that Gary Gabelich drove to a World Land Speed Record of 622 mph in 1970 remains in some fundamental ways, with its use of a fully reuseable throttleable bipropellant motor, the most advanced private manned rocket vehicle ever constructed. The Blue Flame the last official American ALSR record holder
 

« Last Edit: January 10, 2009, 01:33:22 PM by Blown Alcohol 57tbird »

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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Info continued

Blown Alcohol 57tbird

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Build photo of the Blue Flame you can see some of the chassis design
« Last Edit: January 10, 2009, 01:53:05 PM by Blown Alcohol 57tbird »

Robin UK

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If this has worked then you should see a pic of BF co-designer Dick Keller taken while the car was at Goodwood last year for the Bonneville display. If it hasn't worked, then clearly I'm a muppet in need of assistance.

Robin