line in the salt

[racergeo]

It should be mandatory reading for every SCTA member to read Land Speed Louise's article in the latest GoodGuys Magazine. She nails it.

SCTA is hot rod clubs. All the stories about Bonneville in my Hot Rod books, that go back to 1954, are about hot rods. Summers Brothers - hot rodders! Mickey Thompson - hot rodder! Al Teague - hot rodder! Burt Munro - hot rodder! It is time to bring all vehicles that participate at Bonneville in line with that spirit. There should be a movie of the Summers Brothers lives, Mickey Thompson's and Al Teague's. We should return the proper hot rod order to Bonneville.

Motor cycles at Bonneville? Sure. Four classes with six engine sizes: gas streamliner, blown gas streamliner, fuel stream liner, blown fuel streamliner. HOT ROD MOTOR CYCLES.

It's time to make Speed Week all about hot rods. It's time to put some pride of hot rod achievement in holding a record at Bonneville. It's time to draw a line in the salt!

(Burt Munro approves of this message.)

[Glen]

Racergeo, what are you sniffing. That will never happen. This is 2006 not the 50s when there were maybe 100 or so total entries on the salt. It's progress and as fair as we can get it for everyone to enjoy. At the present time a movie on Mickey Thompson is in the works. Many people were interviewed for it as we knew and worked with Mickey. With the ink we are getting world wide it would be just plain dumb to cut back to what was. BTW, I have been going to Bonneville and the Lakes since 1953 and the last 24 years in the tining stand.

[Sumner]

..................in my Hot Rod books, that go back to 1954, are about hot rods. Summers Brothers - hot rodders! Mickey Thompson - hot rodder! Al Teague - hot rodder! Burt Munro - hot rodder! It is time to bring all vehicles that participate at Bonneville in line with that spirit. There should be a movie of the Summers Brothers lives, Mickey Thompson's and Al Teague's. We should return the proper hot rod order to Bonneville..............

First welcome to landracing.com, as it looks like you might be posting for the first time.  Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I guess I'm slow or something, but I just don't understand your point .

I see lots of what I would call Hot Rods on the salt.  I mean if someone like John R can run 200 (or almost) in a 92 cu. in. Honda that you can buy that doesn't do anywhere near that stock and you don't call that a hot rod then what is a hot rod?  It certainly isn't the "street rods" (I drive one and hopefully it will be a hot rod someday) that I see at events all over the country.  

The guys you mentioned were all pushing the envelope at the times they ran and they probably were running motors that some of the other participants felt were too "new" at the time and didn't represent "Hot Rodding" in their minds.

Do you mind clarifying what you are saying for me?  Maybe I'm reading it all wrong, because the main reason I go to the salt is to see what I call "hot rods" in this time where most of the cars involved in motor sports are "cookie cutter" cars in their respective venues.

c ya,

Sum

[Nortonist 592]

Perhaps we should take that line of thinking to its logical conclusion.  Back in the thirties, from photos I've seen, it seems that the majority of "race cars" were roadsters that were driven to the event, stripped of lights and fenders, raced, and driven home.  Maybe we should bring that back as a rule.  If you don't drive it to the lake bed or Bonneville you can't race it.  And get rid of the damn bikes.  They aren't real hot rods anyway!

[Seldom Seen Slim]

And whatever you race it's gotta run on bias ply tires, too,  and only leather helmets -- none of those wimpy-looking full-face lids!

Yeah, that's right, and make sure there's an aerodynamic evaluation, and anything that's too slippery can't run.

Yeah, that's it.

[RICK]

BUB? Whats that all about? What kind of cars race there? When is the "CAR ONLY" event?


  just stirrin the pot, RICK

[JohnR]

I just like things that go fast. I dont care how many wheels it got. The Sprirt of America was a "motorcycle".

[PorkPie]

Just another Land S... Louise opinion....without clue.......

Think fast......always

[Dean Los Angeles]

Roadsters only. Gotta ban coupes.

For a long while, the SCTA didn't even consider them to be race cars. The Russetta Timing Association was formed just for that reason.

[terry russell]

Would that mean Jon.W.(slim) couldn't run his new winning?To me it would be  a shame not seeing him fly down the track at over 30 mph.

[RichFox]

Lets see, a blown fuel streamlined motorcycle is a "Hot Rod" but a blown fuel partial streamlined motorcycle is not. Let alone an open blown fuel bike with a home made one off frame. Maybe you could expand on the logic your using. I missed it.

[bak189]

Hell, Yes,  Let's put a board on our bikes so we can lay flat with our feet out the back.....with a pair of shorts on and no shoes
as riding gear........and let's not allow anything overhead-cam only pushrod and flathead motorcycles allowed........and most of all........ only AMERICAN MADE........now that is real racing.   Oh, yes and put passengers back in the sidecar class.

[bak189]

Hey, Rick (just stiring the pot).....what kind of cars race the BUB event......SIDECARS w/passengers.

[RICK]

SIDECARS?,,,,,,,,,OK, guess I deserved that.


      I'll be good now,  RICK

[JackD]

The commercial success of the "Burt Munroe" movie was limited to the few that are most
 active in the sport, or want to be.
Books and articles go slightly beyond that but with a better % return as a commercial
 enterprise they also fail the test.
Look past the story to the writer and that will give you some idea where they are coming
 from and where they are likely to go.