Art Arfons Drove A Homemade Car To W orld Speed Record
536.71 MPH
In ‘Green Monster’
T here’s m u c h m o re to th e
story of A rt A rfo n s th a n cold
statistics of a m a n w h o d ro v e
^ hom em ade ca r to a w o rld
speed reco rd of 536.71 m iles p e r
hour.
Behind th e sm iling m a s k of
the golden -skin ned , G r e e k Cherokee fro m A k ro n , Ohio, is
^ tale of fear, frie n d sh ip s an d a
long-stinging snub.
It has b een w ell-to ld h o w
Arfons, a m a n w h o n e v e r fin ­
ished h ig h school, co nfou n ded
Scientists w ith his je t-p o w e re d
heap of scrapiron.
Th e s a g a b e g a n w h e n h e
tore dow n a n en g in e a t 11, w as
Nurtured w h e n h e rig g ed u p a
^ o to r on his la n d in g b a rg e a t
Okinawa so no ne of his w in ch oaen w ou ld b e exp osed to rifle
an d g rew into m a tu r ity on
the n a tio n ’s d ra g -ra c in g strips.
Yet h e ad m its p riv a te ly th a t
^ h e n he took his u n te ste d m a ­
chine onto th e B o nn ev ille S alt
^lats he w as a fra id of “th e othm a n ” in side him , asto u n d ed
the te m e rity of “th e w o rld ’s
^sstest h itc h - h ik e r ” a n d sa tis­
fied w h en it w as o v er t h a t h e
settled a score w ith Eng^ n d ’s fo rm e r rec o rd holder,
oriald Cam pbell.
‘I n ev e r sleep th e n ig h t beore a d riv e ,” h e rev e ale d . “Y ou
^hink ab o u t e v e ry th in g th a t
’^ ight h a p p e n . I g et alm o st
f*hysically ill. B u t I w o rry m o st
^bout th e o th e r m a n in side m e
^nd w h a t h e ’ll do w h e n h e gets
llJto the car b ecau se I k n o w
/^st a t th a t p o in t fe a r a n d cauleave him .
It’s th e o th e r m e,” h e added,
^lim bing into th e ca r th e y tell
I’m as w h ite as a ghost. T h en
P A S S I N G SCENE
^nd F illing
fonoM
Export
The first cotton grown in the American colonies
to be exported was shipped from the port of Charles­
ton, S. C. in 1794. Upon arrival in England, the eightbale cotton cargo w as seized by the customs house,
on the grounds that "the American Colonies could
not have produced that much."
Christmas Fact
And Legend
See page
b om bers a t W rig h t Field. W h en
A rfon s w as shoved off on his
first re a l ru n , C h arley, unseen ,
ju m p e d into th e o th e r side of
th e div id ed cockpit. W h e n A r ­
fons re a c h e d th e en d of th e 418m ile -p e r-h o u r r u n h e th r e w up
his h a tc h a n d alm o st fain te d
w h e n C h a rley p o pp ed o u t of
th e o th e r side.
“N ice r u n ,” C h a rle y said. “I
th o u g h t y o u o u g h t to h a v e a lit­
tle co m p any th e firs t big tim e.”
A rfon s looks b ac k on his re c ­
o rd ru n , a n d a h e a d to a sh o t a t
600 m ph, w ith deep satisfaction.
A rt, 38, a n d th e fa th e r of tw o
boys, has a n u m b e r of “f irs ts”
to his credit. H e b eg a n racin g
in 1954 w ith a h o m e m ad e d r a g ­
s te r fash io n ed from airc ra ft
p a r ts a n d a w a r-s u rp lu s P-38
engine. A t K an sa s C ity in 1956
h e w as th e firs t d ra g s te r to
b r e a k th e 150-mph b a rrie r. In
1961 h e b ecam e th e firs t d rag
WORLD'S FASTEST man on wheels. Art Arfons, stands w ith
partner Ed Snyder (right) beside the 17,500-hp "Green Monster"
jet car on the Bonneville, Utah, Salt Flats just before he set a
new world-land-speed record of 536.71 mph this fall. Firestone built
special w heels and tires for the car and furnished engineering and
service assistance to Arfons at Bonneville.
OF THE
^ a r p
flRST
the m o to r s ta rts a n d it ’s a
J e k y ll-H y d e thin g. T h e p o w er
becom es m usic to m e a n d I ’m in
a n o th e r w orld. I ’m stro n g a n d
co n fid en t a n d all I w a n t to do is
p u t m y foot th ro u g h th e flo o r­
board. O nly a fte r it is o v er does
th e fe a r c ra w l in again, lik e a
fog, telling m e w h a t a fool ‘th e
o th e r m a n ’ h a s b ee n .”
T h ro u g h th e q u ie t p erio d s th e
frie n d sh ip s su sta in him .
A rfo ns p u t $10,000 cash into
his car. F ire sto n e p u t $50,000
a n d m ore into his tires. T h eir
en g in ee rs re g a rd h im as a m a n
ap art.
“If h e h a d gone to M.I.T., w e ’d
h a v e h a d a m a n on th e m oon
y ea rs ago,” said one engineer.
STOWAWAY • T h ey h a v e
fa ith in his in tu itio n a n d a g re a t
fo n dness for him . L ik e C h a rley
M ayenscheim , his frie n d a n d
chief m echanic. C h a rle y is a
C h octaw w ho w o rk s on h e a v y
L eg en d su rro u n d in g th e cu s­
tom of u sing candles a t C h ris t­
m a stim e is b eliev ed to h a v e
s ta rte d in Irelan d . L o ng ago,
“T he C h rist C hild C a n d le ” b u r n ­
ed in th e w ind o w s of houses
th e re “to lig h t His w a y if He
m a k es a n e a r th ly v isitatio n a n d
in a to n e m e n t for th e n ig h t of
His b ir th w h e n th e re w as no
room for H im .”
F irs t C h ristm as tree s in A m e r ­
ica w e re d ec o rate d by P e n n s y l­
v a n ia D u tch in th e e a rly 19th
ce n tu ry . C o m m ercial p ro d u ctio n
of tre e o rn a m e n ts did n o t b egin
u n til a ro u n d 1890.
T he firs t C h ristm as c a r d
cre ate d for g en e ra l d istrib u tio n
w as etch ed in E n g la n d in 1842.
A long a b o u t th e sam e time,
commercial
p ro d u c tio n of
C h ristm as cards b eg an in A m e r ­
ica.
A ccording to trad itio n , one
w ho b u r n e d a b a y b e r ry candle
on C h ristm as E ve w o u ld h a v e
a long a n d h a p p y life.
Tir^$lon^ ssswg
December, 1964
Page 3
r a c e r to exceed
200 m p h by
r u n n in g 209 a t F o rt W orth. In
1962 h e p o sted th e fa ste st tim e
a t B o n n e v ille’s N a tio n a l S p eed
T rials w ith a r u n of 342.88 m ph.
L ast y e a r h e b ro k e th e w o rld ’s
q u a r te r - m ile acce le ra tio n r e c ­
o rd b y
r u n n in g 238 m p h a t
W ingdale, N. Y.
☆
☆
☆
By Oscar Fraley
AP Sports Columnist
{For Firestone Publications)
☆
☆
☆
A ll of his ra c in g cars h a v e
b ee n called th e “G re e n M on ­
s te r ” — a lth o u g h m o st re g u la r
race d riv e rs a d h e re to th e lon g ­
sta n d in g
s u p e rstitio n
a g a in st
g ree n cars. A r t A rfo n s’ in g e n u i­
ty is rem a rk a b le .
SCRAP-IRON MODEL • S tu ­
d y in g h o w to stre a m lin e his
w o rld -rec o rd car, h e w e n t to a
p la n t on th e w e s t coast an d
looked in aw e a t a $10,000 m a ­
ch in e d esign ed for this purpose.
T h en h e w e n t h om e an d b u ilt
a copy o u t of scrap iron a n d an
old b la c k sm ith ’s anvil.
T h e g o v e rn m e n t sp e n t c o u n t­
less dollars on p erfec tin g an
ejectio n p a ra c h u te d evice to
slow th e descen t of th e a s tro ­
n auts. A rt m a d e one o u t of a
se co n d han d 12-gauge shotgun.
H alf of th e cash o u tlay for
his car w as th e $5,000 h e sp e n t
for a w a r-s u rp lu s J-79 tu rb o je t
en g in e w ith a m u lti-sta g e a f te r ­
b u rn e r. T h e g o v e rn m e n t sp e n t
$276,000 for th is en g in e w h ich
po w ers th e F-104. T he m o to r
h a d only 57 h o u rs on it b u t
so m ehow w e n t to s u rp lu s b e ­
cau se it w as d am aged.
“W e too k a p a r t a n d fix ed
ab o u t 65 d am ag e d b la d es o u t
of th e m o re th a n 1,000,” h e
said. “T h en w e tied it b e tw e e n
tw o tree s to te st it out.”
A ero d y n am ic en g in ee rs scof­
fed a t A rfo n s’ G re en M o n ster
w h e n h e b u ilt it.
“O ne of those fellow s h au led
o u t a lot of books a n d show ed
m e th a t to go 500 m p h I’d h a v e
to b uild th e c a r one inch off th e
g ro u n d for e v e ry foot of len gth
b ecause of th e a ir p ressu re
b u ild u p u n d e rn e a th . T h a t m e a n t
t h a t I w o u ld h a v e to h a v e a
ca r 21 inches off th e g ro u n d .”
A rt also h a d b u ilt a bus to
h a u l his ra c e r to B o nn ev ille an d
he d id n ’t h a v e th a t m u ch c le a r­
ance. A ctu a lly he h a d 3/4 inch
g ro u n d clea ra n ce w h e n finished.
FIRESTONE ENGINEERS •
A rt is p a rtic u la rly ap p re c ia tiv e
of th e h elp w h ich w as given him
by th e en g in eers in F ire sto n e ’s
rac in g division.
“T h e y ’ve w o rk e d w ith m e a
long tim e an d I ask ed th em for
a tire th a t w ou ld s ta n d u p to
550 m p h ,” h e said. “T h ey b u ilt
one w ith a ‘red lin e ’ of 600 m ph,
ju s t to be on th e safe side.”
T h e n th a t “o th e r m a n in sid e”
took th e tire o v er a n d th e re d
line an d A rt still cam e th ro u g h
safely.
Art's tires had only 2/lOOths
of an inch of rubber on them.
Strength w as in the beading
and the fabric.
H ow does this tr a n s la te into
b en e fit in th e b u ild in g of F ir e ­
sto ne tires for th e public?
“It gives us room for a g re a t
deal m o re e x p e rim e n ta tio n ,” e x ­
p la in ed F ire sto n e e n g in e e r Bob
M artin. “We need g r e a te r tire
stre n g th d ue to speeds on th e
m o d e rn su p e rh ig h w a y s. T h e
B o nn ev ille p ro jec t allow s us to
e x p e r im e n t w ith new m aterials,
d iffe re n t typ es of n ylons and
ev en fiberglass.”
A rfo n s p aid F ire sto n e en g i­
neers th e ir g re a te s t com plim en t:
“I ju s t h a n d e d th e m a hu b . I
k n e w th a t th e y ’d com e up w ith
th e an s w e r,” h e said.
Now th e y ’re all aim in g a t 600
m iles p e r hour. A n d i t ’s going
to be a to u g h team to beat.
Elijah And The Story Of His Wooden Pegs
U p c o u n try b e y o n d th e B ru sh y M ountains, folks
tell th e sto ry of E lijah C o lb ert w ho se pio neer
g rain -p ro cessing m ill w as a successful e n te rp rise
by th e tim e of th e W a r B e tw ee n th e S tates, a n d
a going co ncern as re c e n t as a score a n d 10 y ea rs
ago.
B u t if th e m ech an ics of th e m ill h a d b ee n d e ­
p e n d e n t upo n th e te ch n ic al k n o w led g e of th e
fo u n d er-o p e ra to r, th e old m ill su rely w ou ld h a v e
gone a-w an tin g , said n eigh b ors w ho p assed dow n
th e story.
E lija h ’s mill m a c h in e ry h u m m e d along, tu rn e d
by a w ooden tu r b in e p o w ered fro m th e im p o u n d ­
ed w a te rs of Cold P ro n g C reek. T h e w h o le m e ­
ch an ical se tu p w as a w o n d er in its day.
A n d folks passed along th e recollection th a t
th e o w n er w as a p r e tty good b usin ess m a n b u t
one w h o d id n ’t kn o w m u ch ab o u t m echanics.
H e ’d h av e left th e m a n d re l b e a rin g s unoiled, h ad
his w o rk m e n no t conv inced h im of th e n ee d of
such detail.
B u t th e re w as one p ro je c t E lijah w o u ld ca rry
ou t him self. U n d e r th e m ill above th e cre ek w ere
g ia n t b o u ld e rs w hich stood in th e w ay of som e
e q u ip m e n t h e w a n te d to in stall d o w n there.
DYNAMITE w as a n e w -fa n g le d th in g a t th a t
tim e. E lijah h ire d ste el-d riv in g m e n to d rill holes
in th e rocks, J o h n H enry-fash ion . H e th e n p u t
th e m e n to sh ap in g an d d riv in g w o od en pegs in ­
to th e holes.
H e k n e w th a t m ost w ood e x p a n d s w h e n w et,
so h e reaso ned th a t d ry y ello w p o p la r w o uld
sw ell th e fiercest. T h e m e n tric k le d w a te r on th e
pegs—u sing b u c k e ts a n d b y p assin g such co n­
triv a n c e as a sp o u t w h ich could h a v e b een r ig ­
ged fro m th e flu m e ov erflow a t a rm s-le n g th
aw ay.
H ou rs on end, w a te r trickled . No b r e a k in g of
sto ne to ok place.
So E lijah ab a n d o n ed a costly a n d lab orio u s e x ­
p e rim e n t, co nv inced t h a t it ta k es m o re th a n w e t
p o p la r pegs to b r e a k big ston es . . . th a t y ou
h a v e to h a v e tools a n d m e th o d s eq u a l to th e
ta s k a t han d .
WHY RELATE this story? C ould E lija h ’s im ­
p rac tic al e x p e rim e n t call o u r a tte n tio n to job
skill? C ould it re m in d us th a t w e n ee d to u se o ur
heads as w ell as h a n d s to keep u p w ith o u r
jobs, m a k in g im p ro v e m e n ts as w e go along?
T h e sto ry of E lija h a n d his pegs also touches
on th e su b je c t of ideas w hich F ire sto n e people
sh a re w ith th e co m p an y S ug g estio n Board.
If ideas a re practical, th e y sta n d a good chance
of b e in g a d o p te d a n d p u t in to effect.
L ook ai'ound. L a y ho ld on ideas. T h in k th in g s
th ro u g h a n d w o rk th e m out. Ideas th a t w ill w o rk
can m e a n cash a w a rd s for y o u a n d a b e t te r co m ­
p a n y fo r us all.