New funding source to move forward the quest for the land speed record.

By Tyler BIDDLE

Kent Fuller, legendary American hot rodder, has been building his final car for over a decade and now it’s only months away from completion. Fuller’s Bonneville Streamliner project began 13 years ago with the help of his family and his life-long friend Don Tubbs. It just needs one final boost to get to the finish line and the car’s creators have turned to crowd funding to get the job done. An online Kickstarter created for the project by Fuller’s granddaughter has set the Streamliner up to be the first ever crowd-funded racecar.

Fuller has built over 300 cars since 1956 and he intends his last one to be the absolute fastest in its class. Over the years he has built a reputation for setting trends, not only within the realm of speed and design, but also for safety. As racing technology advances and speeds get faster, so does the concern over potential dangers. Designs of his, such as the 3-point roll cage, helped protect drivers and save lives in an industry that kept getting faster and faster.

The Kickstarter will help the team bring the car, which is very nearly complete, up to specs for Speed Week, a race event in the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah this August. They will be competing to break the land speed record in the Streamliner XF engine class, which is currently 280.023 mph.

“This particular car is hand rolled steel, 25 feet long, designed specifically to set land speed records at Bonneville,” said Steve Fuller, Kent’s son and project owner. “Just about the only thing you can compare it to is a rocket.”

The project has three generations of the Fuller family working on it.

Don Tubbs, a retired design engineer living in Sparr Heights, serves as the technical director for the project. He is also an instrumental member of the Early Rodders, a group of car enthusiasts that meets early in the morning every Saturday to talk, eat bagels and show off their unique cars. The group meets from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the United Artists Theater on Verdugo where they regularly get about 150 cars to show up. Its members have done significant volunteer work in the past with their Christmas toy drive, the Montrose Christmas Parade, the Montrose Hot Rod Show, and recently the Hometown Country Fair where they had over 100 cars present. Anyone with any type of motor vehicle is welcome to meet up with the Early Rodders every Saturday.

The deadline for their Kickstarter is Wednesday, May 22. The team has been pledged more than $12,000 so far from over 140 different backers and their goal is $32,900. Anyone can become a part of history and help the Fullers set a world record by pledging to fund the project.  Visit www.kentfullerstreamliner.com/share to pitch in before time runs out.

  Tyler BIDDLE