PaulHail
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2017
- Messages
- 357
After graduating college in '92 but before starting work I had the unique opportunity to help design and build a somewhat unique streamliner that could take a generic V8 small block of various displacements, fuels, naturally aspirated or blown, modern of flathead, etc. with the goal if getting my friend Jack and myself into the 300 mile an hour club. A club that requires one to break and existing record over 300 miles an hour with times averaged on the down run and return run. I ended up getting married and moving to Alaska so never had the opportunity to run the car and get my own record.
Long story short we achieved that goal with a naturally aspirated 305 cu in engine in 1997 with a new record of 304 mph and clocked at 340 mph out the end of the timing trap. The vehicle has set an additional 30+ records at Bonneville and El Mirage with various engines and was and still might be the worlds fastest flat head V8 powered vehicle.
I've kept in touch with Jack off and on over the years and since moving from California to Alaska it has been more off than on.
Jack called me out of the blue at the beginning of Speed Week to let me know the car we'd built had made it's fastest run to date and was set for it's back up run the following day.
I anxiously checked the record slips to see when the August 13th results were posted and long story short, with a 260 cu in turbo small block Chevy his partner Rick absolutely shattered the previous record of 334.260mph by averaging 384.657mph and exiting the final quarter mile of the long course with a blistering speed of 398 mph!!! Not only that, it is currently the worlds fastest gasoline burning car.
He destroyed the engine in the process, but needless to say we're pretty stoked about the continuing success of a car we built over 25 years ago that just continues to get faster and set additional records.
There is talk of a possible new partner in the mix that will provide an influx of cubic inches, horsepower and a bid to be one of the few wheel driven vehicles that have set records in excess of 400 mph. More hp seems simple enough, but that will require upgrades to the drive train, so a lot more work and money to get the extra 16 or more mph to get our car in the 400 club.
Long story short we achieved that goal with a naturally aspirated 305 cu in engine in 1997 with a new record of 304 mph and clocked at 340 mph out the end of the timing trap. The vehicle has set an additional 30+ records at Bonneville and El Mirage with various engines and was and still might be the worlds fastest flat head V8 powered vehicle.
I've kept in touch with Jack off and on over the years and since moving from California to Alaska it has been more off than on.
Jack called me out of the blue at the beginning of Speed Week to let me know the car we'd built had made it's fastest run to date and was set for it's back up run the following day.
I anxiously checked the record slips to see when the August 13th results were posted and long story short, with a 260 cu in turbo small block Chevy his partner Rick absolutely shattered the previous record of 334.260mph by averaging 384.657mph and exiting the final quarter mile of the long course with a blistering speed of 398 mph!!! Not only that, it is currently the worlds fastest gasoline burning car.
He destroyed the engine in the process, but needless to say we're pretty stoked about the continuing success of a car we built over 25 years ago that just continues to get faster and set additional records.
There is talk of a possible new partner in the mix that will provide an influx of cubic inches, horsepower and a bid to be one of the few wheel driven vehicles that have set records in excess of 400 mph. More hp seems simple enough, but that will require upgrades to the drive train, so a lot more work and money to get the extra 16 or more mph to get our car in the 400 club.
