1964 #260 Bellytank Lakester

[Factory Racer]

I am interested in building a replica of the belly tank Lakester that my father entered in 1964.

#260 was entered by Drury, Fowler, Holmes & Kugel. Would anybody have pictures of this car or similar cars? Are there any books that give any detail on lakesters of that era? I can find very little on the internet.

I appreciate the help!

Karl

[Freud]

How long did the car run?  If it was running in the early '70's I may have a shot of it.


FREUD

[dwarner]

The Kugel name may be is Jerry Kugel, he was active then. Try Jerry at Kugel Komponents, 562-691-7006.

DW

[4-barrel Mike]

Karl:

There are ten pretty good pictures of an older banger-powered lakester starting here: http://www.donshotrodpage.net/PrimerNats/pages/XP9010164_JPG.htm thru ... 173 ...

Mike

[Elmo Rodge]

Mike, that's actually a new car belonging to Bobby Green. I have the slightly larger sister to that chassis. I just got it from Drew Pietsch whom had a large hand in building Bobby's chassis. I'm building a Flathead powered P-38 Tank Lakester as we speak. Wayno

[Factory Racer]

I am not aware of any runs after 1964.

Those photos from the primer nationals were very helpful.

I will have to give Jerry a call. Thanks for the number.

From all of the sites I have visited with Lakesters, it seems that the cars are built around the driver and engine and fit into the belly tank. Are there any books out there with more than that?

I really appreciate the help!

Thanks!

Karl

[dwarner]

The beauty of Hot Roddin' is that you make do with what you have. Our pioneers had no use for books, cd's, DIY videos, etc.

Each and every vehicle was built with the vison, talent and love of going fast by the young men and women who built the foundations of LSR. Every person who raced thought they had the answer. We who follow can only hope to build on that foundation and make the sport stonger.
 
Karl, I hope you are able to find enough info to enable you to recreate the race car you want.

DW

[Dr Goggles]

Hi Karl
I'm half a of a tank building team and I have a bit of advice. Last weekend I had the first visit from the former chief steward of our club here who built a genuine back yard 'tank for less than 10k US that has done 204mph( ok , I reckon we've done over 30k and we've only spectated ).He teased us about some of the parameters we set ourselves initially( keeping the tank in it's original shape and length)....and in hindsight I don't wonder why.Unless you have a running , racing tank that you can copy thou by thou you'll be building a one off....to build a replica is admirable but take it from me this is a tough one and you really want to be dead sure you can knock it over......maybe make something that looks like what they ran but don't make it the clincher......because otherwise you'll be making a really hard thing harder.

believe me

Did somebody call a doctor??

[Stainless1]

Hey Dan, there is an instructional video...
John Boy and I helped Al Teague, Charlie Hamilton and Tim McNees make it.
I suggest going to the dry lake or Bonneville and look at all the possibilities.  Grab the best ideas from all of them and have fun.

[pookie]

Factory racer, about 1 or 2 years ago Jesse James built a bellytank lakester on Monster Garage. It was kind of informative and could give you an idea or 2 about what is involved in a build  of a bellytank lakester. I think you can still buy the tape or DVD from the Discovery channel website.

[Reverend Hedgash]

Factory Racer

The problem I see is that the rules have changed between when your dad ran and now so an exact replica is not a viable option.

The rule with the most visual impact I believe is that concerning the rollcage requirements. The rest are pretty well concealed.

With our belly tank we have tried to build a contemporary belly tank replicating the spirit of the originals as opposed to just the look, which includes making a the best looking vehicle that complies with the current rules.

As such we have taken a lot of time to incorporate the rollcage into the design and not have it just stick out like the proverbial!

You can check out our build diary elsewhere on this site.

Good luck with it. It is certainly sounds a great project.

And thanks Mike for posting that link. That is one very neat looking build.
I have been collecting Belly tank images on the web for years but hadn't seen that one before.

How's its sister going Elmo?

Reverend Hedgash.

[dwarner]

:Hey Dan, there is an instructional video... "

Yeah but, I heard you guys mounted the fire bottle upside down.

DW

[Elmo Rodge]

Rev, it's going just fine.   With any luck I just posted a photo. Wayno

[Reverend Hedgash]

Wow!!

Looks great!

There is a very nice simple elegance to the whole frame.  We have gone overboard we know on the steel, but we thought it better to use steel for strength rather than just ballast.

You guys all have such big and neat sheds too... we still have to chase the chickens out of ours, at least the incontinent dog is dead. Just one 18 y.o. incontinent cat to go and we'll be free...

Are you having an enclosed canopy?

Keep us posted.

rH+

[Elmo Rodge]

First, regarding the "shed". This is in my house. I have just moved into an old schoolhouse in Utah. I'm about 4 hours from Bonneville. I like to keep my priorities straight.    The shed is under construction in my back yard.
This chassis had a roll cage protruding from the top. I am going down inside and looking through the nose in an effort to be just as kind to as many air molecules as possible on my way by. I still have a bit of bitchery to do and some structural members to add but this is where I am right now. Wayno