Graham liner restoration
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The car rode on Firestone tires and magnesium wheels. One of the theories about Graham's crash is that the wheels were improperly cast and one came apart at speed (most likley in the rear) which raised the nose of the car
to a point where is became a lifting body and left the surface of the salt.
His wife was approached by a lawyer who suggested that she sue Firestone (who had been involved with making the wheels) but she declined, stating essentially that he husband had had a good relationship with Firestone and they'd treated him well.
Apparently she thought that there was no reason to bite a helping hand, although she had quite a battle with an insurance company to pay up on her husband's policy.
The Salt Lake Tribune article from March 2010 that covered the story is no longer available without archive subscription fees.
There's a lot more to it. The car was rebuilt and raced twice more, Once by the young man who had helped build the original, Otto Anzjon. Otto was dying of leukemia when he made his licensing passes and finally got the go ahead to make a full-speed run.
A rear tire shredded and ended his hopes. He died 4 months later. At another time, it was run entered by Zeldine Graham (Athol's widow) and driven by Harry Muhlbach who had (at SCTA's insistence) mounted a huge "gunsight" device that stuck out at
least 4 feet in front of the car so he would have some idea if the rear end started to move around. I guess it didn't help much. The car ended up on its head anyway.
Both times it suffered some sort of damage and had to be rebuilt.
The car ended up in Las Vegas, buried up to its axles in dirt. Butch and a couple of friends brought it back to Utah and then it moved around a couple of times before the restoration project started.
August 1, 2010 will mark the 50th anniversary of Athol Graham's death. His son is committed to have the car painted and on display at that time. It'll only be a roller, but eventually the Allison and the torque converter will be rebuilt and reinstalled.
Butch told me that he just wasn't looking forward to doing a valve job on a motor that has 12 cylinders and 4 valves for each one. The valves themselves could almost be used as pistons in a motorcycle engine.
After the car's restoration is completed, its future is uncertain. It may go to a museum, or it may go on the show car circuit. One place it won't go is down the salt toward another record.
Butch has seen enough in others' attempts with the car to dissuade him from attempting his own land speed record attempt.
This is only a small part of the story. Today alone, I heard and saw enough to fill a book. Several others have included the story in books and articles, but none have gone so far as to follow the restoration effort.
I hope to be able to continue this and add a happy ending to the story.
Butch is financing his restoration project through the sale of T-shirts. The're available at the address/phone number shown in the link below. You can get a one-of-a-kind shirt and help this car return to the state it was in when it hit the salt in 1960.
T-shirt sales are helping to fund this project. If you'd like of 'em (they're really kool) the info is here.
© 2010 Ray the Rat