Three States Celebrate Blue Flame Day

When this story was sent to my attention, I thought it was because it was going to be about Blue Flame Diesel Oil from Champion. (If interested, you can read about the oil below, after the Proclamations.) Turns out, the article was about another Blue Flame, a rocket car that became the world's fastest vehicle when driver Gary Gabelich recorded the World Land Speed Record of 622.407 mph (1001.667kph) for the "flying mile" and 630.388 mph (1014.5111kph) for the flying kilometer. 

This feat was accomplished on October 23, 1970, fifty years ago last month. Three states--Utah, Wisconsin and Illinois--celebrated the Half Centennial by declaring it Blue Flame Day.  

The rocket car was designed, in part, by students and professors at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Enthusiasts at Reaction Dynamics in Milwaukee fabricated it to get it ready for racing by the Blue Flame Team in Utah.

The beast, weighing more than 6500 pounds, was 37 feet long with the aluminum cylinder nearly eight feet high and wide. For power, the rocket engine produced 58,000 horsepower with 22,000 lbs. of thrust by burning a combination of hydrogen peroxide and liquefied natural gas pressurized by helium. They say that this remains the fastest American hot rod and fastest vehicle ever driven at Bonneville.

The first land speed records were measured and set in France from late 1898 to Spring of 1899. All six of these were achieved with electric vehicles. In 1902 a steam-powered car shattered the previous record by achieving 75 miles per hour. 

The first world speed record set in the United States was in 1904 in a Ford 999 Racer, driver by none other than Mr. Henry Ford himself. The internal combustion engine propelled the vehicle to more than 84 miles per hour. But by the end of that year cars driven by a Belgian and an Frenchman were flying faster than 100 mph.

In the 1920s and early 30's, while Babe Ruth was setting home run records, U.S. competitors were setting records at Daytona. It wasn't till 1935 that the Bonneville Salt Flats became the premiere place to showcase land speed capabilities, and in that year it was a Brit who did it. Malcolm Campbell became the first to blast through the 300 mph threshold. It must have been breathtaking at the time.

I used to subscribe to Sports Illustrated in the 1960s and remember reading about Craig Breedlove's efforts in the turbojet-powered Spirit of America. On one of those occasions his vehicle lost control and spun round and round in what must have been a terrifying experience for Breedlove. At the speed he was flying it took 6 miles to come to a complete stop. His best effort was 594 mph in 1965. Five years later the Blue Flame cracked the 600 mph barrier.

Congratulations to the Blue Flame team and their colleagues that helped design, construct and race this timeless vehicle.

As soon as I write these words, I find that additional records surpassing Gary Gabelich's have been produced, not at Bonneville but at Black Rock Desert, Andy Green's ThrustSSC being first to break the speed of sound, a jaw-dropping 760 mph.

For what it's worth here is the SEMA News account about the Blue Flame Day celebrated in three states. These are the proclamations honoring this event, from Wisconsin, Illinois and Utah.

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CHAMPION CLASSIC BLUE FLAME SAE 15W-40 synthetic blend heavy duty diesel engine oil is purpose built for the protection and performance of pre-2007 diesel engines. Champion brought back the anti-wear, detergent, and dispersant additives, proven over decades to deliver superior protection and lubricity in pre-2007 model year diesel engines, and moved diesel engine oil performance to a higher level by combining them with shear stable synthetic base oils.

Champion also included its exclusive TVS® (Thermal Viscosity Stabilizer) polymer chemistry borrowed from our CHAMPION RACING motor oil technology. This proprietary technology delivers unmatched film strength at high temperature, better piston ring seal for maximum compression, and increases the foot-pounds of torque in most engines. It is designed to specifically address extreme performance demands of turbo or super-charged pre-2007 model year diesel engines.

KEY FEATURES:

• Synthetic blend SAE 15W-40 formula
• Exceeds API service categories CI-4 Plus, CI-4, and CH-4 performance levels
• Advanced viscosity and soot control technology for shear stability and engine cleanliness
• High reserve alkalinity controls acid formation reducing corrosive wear and thermal viscosity breakdown

• Part# 4359H 12/1 QT.
• Part# 4359N 4/1 Gal.
• Part# 4359U 2/2.5 Gal.
• Part# 4359AN 55 Gal.

70-Year-Old Diesel Is A Thoroughbred at Pike's Peak Hill Climb

I heard about this last week and thought, "Cool." Now that I have more details, I realize it is a very cool story. The CarBuzz.com article by Sebastian Cenzo is titled 70-Year-Old Truck With 1,400-HP Just Broke A Pikes Peak Record. That's one hefty power plant.

When I was in school years ago I read a biography of Zebulon Pike, the explorer after whom Pike's Peak is named. When the U.S. bought the territory nicknamed The Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, Thomas Jefferson inaugurated several expeditions to the West, Southwest and Upper Midwest. Lewis & Clark's expedition across the Rockies to Oregon is probably most famous, but Zeb Pike's exploration of Colorado and the Southwest has left us with a piece of geography as famous as the Bonneville Salt Flats for race fans.

Like Bonneville, there's plenty of prestige associated with Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Minimizing weight is one key to success on this hill. That's not exactly easy to do with a 1400-horsepower Cummins diesel power plant. Nevertheless, "Old Smokey" showed that a 1949 Ford F1 doesn't have to play by the same rules as everyone else. Super-congrats to Scott Birdsall for showing the world what a diesel can do.

Cenzo's article goes provides details about Litespeed Racing's lightweight forged wheels and the compound turbo setup on the Cummins diesel. "When you can get up the legendary hill in just 11:24.065 for a new world record, you'd also be happy to sacrifice economy," Cenzo writes.

And then there's the black smoke. Or rather, the lack of it. This is a truck running biodiesel and it's up to 90 percent cleaner than traditional diesel, with little to no modifications for a modern diesel engine to run safely.

Here's a video from YouTube to give you an idea of what Scott Birdsall and Old Smokey as all about. Not the sharpest imagery, but you have full camera control, so you can look left, right, up and down. If you've never run Pike's Peak, this might be your best first look. Up, up and away.

Here's the full article by Sebasitian Cenzo:
https://carbuzz.com/news/70-year-old-truck-with-1400-hp-just-broke-a-pikes-peak-record