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Re: Fw: Slick Gardner

To: land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Fw: Slick Gardner
From: pork.pie@t-online.de (Pork Pie)
Date: 07 Mar 2003 11:43 GMT
Yeap, Ugo measured the car, after I cleaned them up (2 1/2 work) two
days before from all the bird shit in 1998.

The car is still owned by Slick. Some Australian guys - not Roscoe -
tried to rent the car some years ago - Slick request $500 000 - this
was too much for this guys.

The car, as Ugo wrote, build from Art Arfons as a replacement for the
1966 crashed and destroyed car (Green Monster #14) is not anymore in
the original configuration. They changed the tire to aluminum wheels
and add a higher fin on, also the green was changed to blue.  He runs
the car twice 78/79. Due to extreme acceleration, the power was
reduced to 60%, but this was still too much, at last Slick left the
course in a 45 degress angle and he quite. The highest measured speed
was 500+ mph in 1978.

His son Racin drove the Indy 500 one time - in 1996 - and tried than a
career in Busch series (may be Mike Nish can tell more - he was in
Indy too).  Some information said that Racin drove the Green Monster
in 1994 at Black Rock - but this is not true, as Racin told me, the
car never left the shed after the attempt in Bonneville.

Slick tried to sell the car in 99/00 for the same amount as he tried
to get for the rent - later he reduced the price to $300 000 - but was
never sold. In the 78/79 the car was sponsored by Anderson Pea Soup -
Pea Soup Anderson Monster - the famous pea soup place in Buellton
CA. Try a Cesar salad with the pea soup - great combination. Slick is
a farmer and as Ugo wrote he earn his his money with horses.  He
bought the car from Art Arfons. Art sold the car after he quit speed
and bracket racing - after his bad accident in 1971 in Texas when the
Super Cyclop crashed due to a tire failure during a quarter mile run,
and a newspaper reporter - he was in the second seat as a passenger -
was killed. The accident was not Art's fault, but he stopped all
activities in this part of motorsport and went over to the tractor
puller (which he start in 1970) where he was very successful (his
daughter Allison was also very successful with her tractor). Art told
me, that the acceleration from the car was much more faster than the
66 destroyed, due to this that the new car was smaller and much
lighter. The old (#14) accelerated by his attempt in 1965 from 0-550
mph in 9.9 sec. oops. This was simple to much for Slick - I don't like
to write Art's original words. The other problem was the solid wheels
- the design was simple a copy of a real rubber tire - this shape
can't work and today, after John Ackroyds solid wheel design, we know
how a so wheel has to look.

Ellen - If you need picture from the car, I got some good scans from
picture I done in Buellton.  If you need more information - his
ph. 805 688 4922 his fax 805 688 8742.

Also you can contact Evelyn Roth - evey@travelexit.com - or go to her
website www.oilstick.com - she is a good friend of Slick and was in
78/79 at Bonneville. She lives in Buellton, too - her ph. 805 688
1523.

See ya

Pork Pie

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