Book Review: Goldenrod: The Resurrection of America’s Speed King

Author, John Baechtal, published by Landspeed Media Group
Available for $99.99 or less through http://goldenrodbook.com and fine bookstores

by Phil R. Elliott

The Summers Brothers’ Goldenrod holds a very special place in my heart. As I read about during its construction phases, my young and highly impressionable mind believed it to be the coolest hot rod ever conceptualized, let alone brought into fruition. Two decades later, during several northwest car shows, one of my duties was to keep Goldenrod dusted and presentable to the paying public. I’ll never forget running my fingers over those sleek golden lines and realizing that that thin aluminum shell had been propelled to over 400mph.

A year or so previous, my maternal grandmother had asked the inevitable question of my mother, “What would Phil like for his birthday?” Mom probably told her that since I was always hounding her to buy me a car magazine, maybe a subscription would be a good choice. Suddenly, I was receiving a shiny Hot Rod in our mailbox every month. And, I read each one cover to cover, absorbing every article (some a dozen times), every ad, every letter, every classified.

Unlike in later years, Hot Rod covered in depth just about every aspect of motorsports, and that included something called Bonneville, a place that seemed as remote as the surface of the moon. The articles said brave men had been setting speed records there for decades. Strange cars were pictured, every one so very different from what I’d seen before, and dissimilar to each other. Their builders had fashioned each from scratch, or at least transformed them into shapes far swoopier than when they’d rolled off some assembly line.

One detailed article was about a peculiar little car, designed, built and raced by Bob and Bill Summers. It was wider in front, and narrow in the rear – in fact, it’s two rear wheels were mounted in tandem, one behind the other. I discovered that it was front-wheel-drive, rather odd for the time, and featured a Potvin-blown nitro Chrysler. Every aspect of the car was wholly unique. That included its shape which earned the nickname “Pollywog.” In later event coverage, it was said that these obviously genius Summers Brothers and their Pollywog reached speeds of over 300mph. Big stuff, and I was fascinated.

During 1964, HRM really picked up on coverage of the exploits of a handful of men, destined for greatness in the arena where the ultimate Land Speed Record was held dear. These were not rich foreigners with national backing like Sir Malcolm Campbell, Major Henry Seagraves, Captain George Eyston, or Sir John Cobb, to whom these records had belonged for decades. Instead, they were backyard DIY-ers, junkyard digging, dyed-in-the-wool hot rodders. None of them had deep pockets at all. In fact, the places their cars were built were more humble than they were; mom’s single-car garage, a chicken coop, and for the Summers, a converted fruit stand.

And, Hot Rod covered it all! From GMC truck underpinnings, to first attempts on the salt flats – some successful, some not so – and all the way to two-way record attempts. I learned names like Dr. Nathan Ostich, “Jocko” Johnson, Walt and Art Arfons, Craig Breedlove, Athol Graham. Their ambitious scrap-drive creations included WWII V-12s like Allison and Rolls-Merlin and Korean War era jets and even rockets. It was all so enthralling to this 13-year-old who spent most of my spare time trying to achieve similar exploits and speeds on my single-speed Schwinn!

Though the pure thrust machines were thrilling, they were basically earthbound jet fighters with clipped wings. It was the wheel-driven salt flat attempts that were the stuff of my daydreams and the Summers’ next vehicle really stimulated my frontal lobe.

It was 32-feet long to encompass four engines, and where Pollywog had been rather wide in front, this one measured only 48-inches. Its nose presented just 8-1/2 square feet to the wind, and the articles stated that its drag coefficient (a subject I was learning from my father and his airplanes) was more slippery than a bullet! Heady stuff for a youngster to fathom.

It took about a year for the Summers’ “Goldenrod” to go from sketches to operating under its own power. Some backing came from George Hurst, Chrysler, Champion, Firestone, and Mobil Oil, but was truly the effort of two brothers from Ontario, California.

After initial teething problems during initial testing, and several trips to Bonneville, Goldenrod streaked across the salt and achieved its goal of becoming the fastest wheel-driven vehicle on the planet. The record it set on November 12, 1965, a two-way average of 409.277mph, remained for nearly 43 years, an LSR record in itself. It became the first wheel-driven, automotive powered, non-supercharged vehicle to set a record of more than 400mph, and on one run it exceeded 425mph. It was also the first American car to hold the wheel-driven land speed record since 1928!

In an era when the moonshot was still being planned, Goldenrod and its driver Bob Summers and his brother Bill were elevated to hero status, a stature they never planned for themselves. The car was sought for displays worldwide, and has remained an icon to speed-crazed individuals ever since. But in reality, it was neglected, picked over and abused.

In 2002, what remained of Goldenrod was purchased by The Henry Ford museum and, supported by a federal grant, it was lovingly, tirelessly and painstakingly brought back to as good as the day Bob Summers stepped out of her for the last time.

The restoration/conservation – a recreation in many areas – was performed by a dedicated team of numerous volunteers, led by Bonneville veteran and promoter Mike Cook. One of his team was veteran writer, ex-Hot Rod editor, author and photographer John Baechtel, himself a salt-flats member of the prestigious red-hat wearing 200 MPH Club.

While armpit deep in the process, Baechtel conceived a detailed history of Goldenrod, and full-color documentation of its resurrection. Goldenrod: The Resurrection of America’s Speed King must be John’s crowning achievement because it chronicles in phenomenal detail the extent of the deterioration the crew found during disassembly, as well as ever nuance of bringing the creature back to life.

These 304 pages are far more than photos of rotted metal and the pretty pieces that replaced each. The records are all there, yes, but go beyond arid digests of salt appearances and sterile FIA documentation. The hardbound volume also includes rare family photos, a section on the aerodynamic work-up by Walter Korff, another on the super tuned Chrysler hemi engines, still another on the complicated drivetrain. It is all there for perusal and posterity.

Although its creators are gone, instigator, designer, fabricator and driver Bob Summers died in 1992, and Bill Summers passed away in 2011, Goldenrod itself remains to be admired for its impeccable engineering and achievements for many years to come.

And, for those that cannot visit the actual car, the literary masterpiece Goldenrod: The Resurrection of America’s Speed King is available, the perfect gift for wannabe speed demons or seasoned engineers in your life. Each will enjoy it beyond previous wildest imaginings. It is a must have for libraries and coffee tables, an amazing conversation starter in most circles.

Post script: My copy of Goldenrod, as well as the accompanying collector car, were gifted to me by my close friend Butler “Buzz” Baylis. Over the decades of literally thousands of conversations, the Summers Brothers and Goldenrod must have come up and Buzz must have somehow gotten the idea I was still enamored. He could never have given me a more thoughtful, or treasured, gift.