Photography by The Author
Photography by The Authort’s a very rare occurrence when such a unique group of hot rods get together like they recently did at the Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana, California. For hot rodders who understand their history, the name “Santa Ana” should mean something, as the inland Orange County town is where the historic ’50s-era Santa Ana Dragstrip was located—the first organized dragstrip in the country.
The land the dragstrip occupied sat on the southern section of Orange County Airport, renamed John Wayne Airport (SNA) in 1979. Currently, on the west side of the facility is the Lyon Air Museum, named for its founder Major General Michael Lyon, and its contents includes a special collection of World War II airplanes and war machinery. So, it is perhaps fitting that a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of war-era dry lakes and Bonneville Salt Flats belly tank racers would be held on the grounds.
This display of historic belly tanks (made from the empty external fuel tanks that would drop away from the World War II bomber’s wings or fuselage they had been attached to) was curated by Old Crow Speed Shop and its 50-year-old owner Bobby Green. Green’s passion for the ’40s and ’50s exemplifies itself in many ways, from his restoration of vintage bars, bowling alleys, and eateries in the Los Angeles area to his eclectic collection of cars, motorcycles, and race cars—some of which are patina’d survivors while others were recently built to look that way. Plus, he was co-owner of T.R.O.G. (The Race Of Gentlemen) that has produced vintage hot rod racing events on the beaches of New Jersey and California in the past few years. Clearly, he has found his niche.
With many war equipment manufacturers having once been located in Southern California there was an untold amount of post-war surplus material that could be had for pennies on the dollar after the war. Add to that the fact when a handful of servicemen came back to SoCal they used their knowledge and familiarity with certain parts and pieces to develop some of the earliest speed equipment components.
Stuart Hilborn used his experience in the service to develop his mechanical fuel injection for race cars of all sorts. A component inspector at Northrop Aircraft named Phil Remington also enlisted but, after the war, teamed with Carroll Shelby to create a racing and automotive dynasty. Lake’s racer Ray Brown’s use of military seatbelts in his cars led the way for him to create his Impact Auto Saf-Tee Belt—a precursor of today’s automotive seatbelts.
But the DNA of all belly tanks can be traced back to Bill Burke’s #23 yellow racer. Built in 1946, it was the first belly tank racer built and the only one where Burke used the engine up front in the chassis, necessitating a bicycle seat be welded to the rear axle housing for the driver. The original is gone, but a faithful reproduction (built under Bill Burke’s guidance before he died in 2015) greets patrons when they first walk into the museum.
In the late ’40s SO-CAL Speed Shop founder Alex Xydias was so inspired by Bill Burke’s success with the tank shape Xydias had Burke build the chassis for what could arguably be the most famous belly tank of all time: the SO-CAL Speed Shop lakester, which was featured on the cover of Hot Rod magazine in January 1949. Xydias recently commented the belly tank’s benefit was they were a ready-made body and came with an Air Force design that you couldn’t improve upon. (The restored SO-CAL tank is now owned by Bruce Meyer.)
Some of the other belly tanks displayed between the warplanes include the 280-mph Markley/Varni/Barnett lakester, another of Burke’s 13 tank builds: the Burple P-38 from the Aug. ’49 cover of Hot Rod, and the King & Hansen streamliner (last raced in 1950 and untouched since), plus others. Augmenting the special exhibition inside the museum organizers set up a one-day car show that allowed participants to drive their traditional-inspired vehicles onto the tarmac of the airport and park amongst the museum’s warbirds. About 120 invited hot rods did just that and, judging by the crowd and the enthusiasm seen on everyone’s faces, this event was an unequivocal success.
Overseeing this faithful recreation of the first belly tank was its initial creator, Bill Burke. Burke built his original groundbreaking vehicle with a solid-mount suspension mounted to a modified Model T frame and was able to attain a speed record of 131.96 mph with it in 1946. Burke went on to build more than a dozen other belly tank racers—all of them with a rear engine layout. This racer is currently owned by The Justice Private Automotive Collection.
After passing through several hands Ed Godshalk now owns the circa ’51 Fornaciari-Adams lakester, which ran at El Mirage in the early ’50s. The display at the museum shows the top half of the racer removed so folks could see just how much stuff can be crammed into such a tight space.
The Burple (another Bill Burke–built racer) tanker came about after a Bill Burke and Don Francisco collaboration. It became the World’s Fastest Hot Rod in 1949 with Bill Phy driving it to a speed of 164.83 mph, and soon after it was featured on the Aug. ’49 cover of Hot Rod. It is currently owned by Bobby Green of Old Crow Speed Shop.
Speed trial racing is addictive (as Bobby Green found out at the turn of the last millennium) and he collected period-correct parts (including a Grumman drop tank, 18-inch Kelsey Hayes wheels, and a Model B four-cylinder with an overhead cam conversion) and assembled this ode to the golden era of belly tank racing. It wasn’t built just for show though as it received a speed record of 168 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Bronze Star recipient Fred Lobello paid $7 for his smaller Corsair 165-gallon drop tank shell and, using an inline four-cylinder, was able to reach 144 mph with his Ladybug in the early ’50s. This tank is currently in the Bill Lattin Collection.
Sitting unrestored and unmolested since it last raced in 1950, the King & Hansen Streamliner uses a P-38’s drop tank for the body that was outfitted with a 133-inch V8-60 Ford powerplant. At El Mirage Dry Lake in Southern California the tank topped out at 118.89 mph with the tiny V-8. This streamliner’s home is in the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum.
The B&S Garage (Gus Sommerfield and Robert Baldwin of the Bungholers of Hollywood Car Club) ran this P-38 drop tank all through the ’50s and early ’60s. Originally powered by a Model B four-cylinder (running 146 mph) it would eventually receive a Tempest four-banger in 1964 and reach 214 mph. This historic vehicle is part of the Bill Lattin Collection.
One of the few non-belly tank cars on exhibition in the museum is the Williams Brothers roadster. The sharp-looking Model A was less aerodynamic than the belly tanks, but the brothers used a 250-inch Red Ram Hemi Dodge engine, 13:1 compression, Hilborn injectors, and a Herbert cam to pilot it to a Bonneville B Roadster record 150.90-mph speed, topping out at 159.57 mph.
A period-inspired tribute to the race cars of old, the Barillaro 555 belly tank is the recent work of speed shop owner Mike Barillaro of Tennessee. Set up “like they usta” with a modified Model T frame, a 221-inch Flathead Ford, a ’35 banjo rearend, and no suspension, Barillaro uses his ride for exhibition runs, including the New Jersey T.R.O.G. throwback events.
Illustrating the design advancements of only a few years on the tanks of the ’40s, the Markley Brothers Lakester (with its fully enclosed cockpit) was featured on the Dec. ’62 cover of Hot Rod when it was equipped with a supercharged 259-inch Plymouth motor with Dodge Hemi heads. With its 100-inch wheelbase the yellow bullet attained a 280-mph one-way speed in 1963 and was competitively raced well into the ’90s when it was raced/owned by current owner Dennis Varni.
What better setting is there for vintage hot rods than being parked in front of a vintage warplane—in this case a Douglas A-26 Invader? This plane flew in Korea and was rumored to have been piloted by Howard Hughes when it was owned by Hughes Tool Company.
“Hothead” Lou Stands is an obsessed hot rodder and has built a handful of outstanding rides in the past few years. He retooled his most current ride, a ’32 Ford roadster, after buying it in one guise and creating a new street/strip persona with the inclusion of the 4-71 blower atop the small-block Chevy (which Stands says is a nod to the inspirational Tom McMullen Deuce roadster).
Parked in front of the Mitchell B-25 is show organizer Bobby Green’s driver: a ’31 Ford roadster built with vintage parts, including an Auburn dash filled with Stewart-Warner gauges.
This roadster pickup was built by one of the unsung pioneering heroes of hot rodding: Tommy Sparks. He bought this ’29 in 1943 and owned it for 68 years, which included attending the first dry lakes meet after World War II at Rosamond Dry Lake in October of 1945. Sparks, along with contemporary Eddie Meeks, was the go-to guy on Flatheads for decades and died in 2012. Parked in front of the Mitchell B-25 is show organizer Bobby Green’s driver: a ’31 Ford roadster built with vintage parts, including an Auburn dash filled with Stewart-Warner gauges. This roadster pickup was built by one of the unsung pioneering heroes of hot rodding: Tommy Sparks. He bought this ’29 in 1943 and owned it for 68 years, which included attending the first dry lakes meet after World War II at Rosamond Dry Lake in October of 1945. Sparks, along with contemporary Eddie Meeks, was the go-to guy on Flatheads for decades and died in 2012.
Inside the Lyon Air Museum the “Fuddy Duddy” Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress easily dwarfs the ’31 Ford Phaeton under one of its wings.
Inside the Lyon Air Museum the “Fuddy Duddy” Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress easily dwarfs the ’31 Ford Phaeton under one of its wings.