Early Speed Records (trivia time)

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

OK you trivia buffs time to put your thinking caps on. . .



Ever since the good ol' days mankind has had this need to see how fast he can go. Whether it is for pure exhiliration or to set a new record, the faster you can go the better. Doesn't matter if you're trying to set the LSR at Bonneville or opening up your aluminum powered '73 Vega on an open stretch of highway . There has always been a need for speed!! Fast = Fun The other day I was bombin' along the open road and I put the hammer down. But I was annoyed at the artificial speed limit in the form of my speed limiter that stopped the fun at only 118mph LOL. Man, what would we do without fast cars or powerful Cummins-powered Rams? We are all lucky to live in this moment of human history to get some of the best thrills of all time



Anyway let's see how much you guys know of the early pioneering efforts of speed that really got the ball rolling. . .



1) Who knows when the mile-a-minute barrier was first broken



2) The first time 80+mph was achieved



3) 100mph was exceeded



4) Surpassed 120mph



Let's see what you come up with and I'll give you the answers in a day or so. Have fun!



Vaughn

 

[illflem]

Some French Count broke the mile a minute barrier in 1898 at 39 mph. Seems I remember Henry Ford broke 100 mph mark on a frozen lake and said he would never get in a race car again. The only other records I know of are Mickey Thompson broke 400 in '60, it was one of the last cars with a non-jet engine to break records, it had four V-8 engines. Then Craig Breedlove drove Spirit of America to break 600. Current record is 763 mph set by a RAF pilot, many say he was just flying a jet airplane on the ground.

 

[wcaldwell]

illflem,



How could that French Cound have broken the mile-a-minute barrier at 39mph? Last time I checked, a mile-a-minute was 60mph (Just pulling your chain)

 

[illflem]

Whoops, metric system got me, it was 39 kph.

 

[Boldt's Wagon]

illflem, strike 2.

Hint 1 mph = 1. 609 kmph.

Step up to the plate and take a third swing.

 

[wcaldwell]

Illflem,



Hate to tell you, but 39kph is real close to 23mph. I was stationed in Europe for just under 9 years (almost 5 in Madrid, Spain, and 4 in Naples, Italy) and drove an American car there having to convert from miles to kilometers.

 

[tgbol]

Illflem

Go the other way 60 kph = 37 mph

Summers Brother went 406 in 1963 powered by four Chrysler Hemis,

Al Teague finally bumped it up to 409 in 92 with a single Kieth Black Hemi went 425 later but didn't back it up.

Don Vesco bumped the record to 458 in October 2001 using a turbine engine but still driveing the wheels.

It does make any difference what you drive if there is another one next to you the race is on. At Bonneville there are records for classes that start 50mph all of the way up to the big boys.

One of the longest standing records (17 years) was 100 mph with a 100cc open frame bike.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

illflem, you're doin' good today aren't you LOL



Well you guys aren't doing too bad for starters, at least you know of some pretty cool land speed records. I have always been more interested in LSRs set by piston-powered vehicles But who knows about the first time the speeds above were broken by anything that runs on wheels, period . . . no class this or that or anything



Vaughn

 

[illflem]

Damn metric system the only problem is converting it. I'll start over. Some French dude broke the kilometer per minute barrier in 1898 at a speed of 37mph. What do you expect, I was just a kid when it happened.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

These are the NHRA's Records. Odd how old they are, yet still stand.



ROCKET: 1/4 mile

Sammy Miller 6/77 4. 40

Brad Profitt 8/78 328. 46



ALL TIME EIGHTH MILE:

Sammy Miller 7/85 1. 91

Sammy Miller 7/85 298. 50



ALL TIME QUARTER MILE:

Sammy Miller 9/85 3. 58 Zanvoor, Holland

Kitty O'Neil 8/77 412. 74 El Mirage Salt Flats, California





Does anyone know who Sammy Miller is ?

 

[tgbol]

Kitty O Neil's car was a rocket! The fastest wheel driven car at El Mirage I believe is 316. That is 1. 3 miles under acceleration in the dirt. Stopping is a whole other bag. In 1979 my partner drove a 300" chrysler powered Studebaker to 199. 054 at El Mirage. Ran 239. 886 at Bonneville in 1982.

 

[WOWZY]

Originally posted by HEMI®Dart

Does anyone know who Sammy Miller is ?

I don't know but it looks like he did a helluva job breakin' the "Oh Sheeiit" meter!!

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Well with all these speed records you're posting about it is obvious you're not interested in no hokey pokey 60 or 80 or 100mph records LOL



But you guys are waaaayy off, so I'll give you a little hint. . . a "999" appeared on the side of one of these record-breakers, so let's see if anyone has any ideas



Vaughn

 

[tgbol]

FORD

 

[illflem]

Wasn't 999 the one Ford set records on the ice with?

 

[Ramboy]

I thought Dr. P held all those records

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Nope, it wasn't a Ford. No one knew what the heck a Ford was when the 100mph barrier was smashed.

Mr. Charles H. Hogan was at the wheel. . . er, throttle, when he blasted past 100mph between Batavia and Buffalo NY.



Vaughn

 

[Power Wagon]

The old number 9 was driven by one Barney Oldfield, I believe, and was the first to break 60 MPH...



That's my recollection, anyway. Haven't read about any of this since grade school... and that was 2/3 of my life ago!

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

OK you guys, here goes. . .



60mph . . . In June 1848 (yes, 1848 ) the 2-2-2 steam locomotive Ixiom [/b] reached 61mph on a run between Didcot and London, England on the Great Western Railway.



80mph . . . In June 1854 steamer No 41 of the Bristol & Exeter Railway reached 81. 8mph near Somerset, England



100mph . . . On May 10, 1893, the conductor of the Empire State Express engine #999 was instructed to open up the throttle of his locomotive and attempt a new speed record. With 5 cars in tow, he opened up the throttle on a straight streth of track and "let 'er rip!" Charles H. Hogan's train covered 1 mile in 32 seconds flat, which comes out to 112. 5 mph. This record stood for several years. The engine went on to serve another 40 years before retirement and it still exists today. It can be found in the Museum of Science and Insdustry in Chicago, IL.



So there you have it, the very first speed records of any sort were accomplished on the early British and Amercian railroads The 100mph barrier was smashed long before ol' Henry tried going fast in his version of the 999. I wonder where he came up with that number?



Vaughn

 

[illflem]

Just wondering. Would it be breaking the rules to set the land speed record nowadays if the rig is on tracks? Sure would take a lot of the skill out of it, wouldn't really even need a driver.