Few things are more iconic in the world of American racing than the belly tank lakesters built and campaigned on the dry lakes and salt flats after the close of WWII. Today there are companies manufacturing fiberglass replicas of the iconic tanks that were found under airplanes like the P-38 lightning but those are weak sauce as compared to the real thing and THIS car is the real thing. The Johnson and Shipley entry achieved a best speed of 263mph on the salt and set a record at 255 in the B/Lakester category with a blown, fuel burning Hemi in it circa the early 1960s. This car is the real deal and it is commanding a real deal price even though it is currently under a museum quality restoration.
Originally built by Car Craft Machine in 1955 as a lay down style car where the driver was literally on their back, it was changed to move the driver into a more upright seated position in 1963 and that is when these guys set their B/Lakester record. In 1964 they went a little faster but were unable to lock down a record when the meet was cancelled and there was no return runs made. It never raced after that 1964 event and began a life of museum stints, a restoration in 1998, and ultimately a trip to Japan where the car lived in a collection until being brought back stateside by an American buyer and put in for another restoration that will literally have the car in a condition that is far, far superior than it ever was when Johnson and Shipley ever had it.
Whoever buys the car now is getting a literal project. The thing is kind of halfway done and it is being done at a very high level. This is not someone in their backyard restoring this car, it is being treated like an amazing piece of historical artwork. A similar car sold for $440,000 not too long ago so there is some obvious investment intention here among the seller in trying to attract a buyer.
While we have no idea what the car is worth, we can say that it is a pretty amazing piece of Bonneville history and when the restoration is complete it will be one of the nicest or perhaps the single nicest former Bonneville racer on Earth.
Check out the photos below and then hit the eBay link –
