Thread: A Little Trivia

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The first drag car to exceed 150 MPH in the quarter, who was it, what was the car called and what powered it?

The picture will give you a hint.

Oops, forgot picture!!

Bustle Bomb
Cad in front, Olds in rear

You were too quick for me on that one, Robot.

What other top notch dragster, from that same era, is now living in Tucson?

Robot got it right, an MIT professor broke out his slide rule (remember those?) and determined that it would be a physical impossibility for a wheel driven car to exceed 150 MPH in a standing start quarter mile. About three months later the Bustle Bomb went 151 MPH. The car used an Olds engine in front connected to a three speed stick, and a Cadillac in the rear with direct drive.

So much for the slide rule crowd!!

The "Speed Sport "special ???

Not the glass slipper.

I don't know if the earliest Speed Sport Roadster still exists. Both of the cars running today are recreations. I did own the second body for a while, which had become a mold plug for the blown car. Tried to give it to Garlits for the museum, but he already had a recreation near completion. It eventually found it's way back to Red Greth, of Fisher & Greth, the owner/builders of the Speed Sport cars.

I'll give Robot a chance to "name that car", before I post it.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Don't know for sure HOTRODPAINT, but would guess the Glass Slipper.

It's in the NHRA museum, I believe

the glass slipper was powered by a 301

Okay, I'll tell you. It is the Arfons Green Monster 2. It was last shown publicly about 1975-80, but I understand the owner still has it. It won the Olympics of Drag Racing in Lawrenceville, Illinois in '53, and I think it may have run Jack Moss for T/E at an early Nationals .

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

Not the glass slipper.

I don't know if the earliest Speed Sport Roadster still exists. Both of the cars running today are recreations. I did own the second body for a while, which had become a mold plug for the blown car. Tried to give it to Garlits for the museum, but he already had a recreation near completion. It eventually found it's way back to Red Greth, of Fisher & Greth, the owner/builders of the Speed Sport cars.

Jay, It's funny how some "little things" just seem to stick with you through life. As a kid, I saw (heard) the original Speed Sport Roadster run at Mel Larson's Phoenix Dragway. This early dragstrip was nothing more than an abadoned WWII Luke Air Force training strip in the middle of the desert. This was not at the current Speed World location. I would guess the year to be around 1960. I will never forget the sound of the exhaust on that fuel roadster with eight pipes. And Johnny Loper had his "Ole Hoss" red Willy's which he towed to the track "with a tow bar".

It's nice to see recreations of these early cars so we can share them with our kids. The Speed Sport Roadster is a regular at Bakersfield nostalgia meets.

Red is a good guy. He is also racing a Funny Car.

I also saw one of the originals run, at Indy.

I am glad to see people willing to build updated and safer "tribute cars", which makes history a more "real" experience for younger enthusists.

You cannot look at a picture of "Old Noisey", and imagine what it sounded like! :-)