The Rocket Racer

By Charles S. Clark

Tony Baron, the son of early racing pioneer and hot rodder Frank Baron. wants to have his flathead powered Bonneville lakester race car set a new record. He listens to a hair-brained proposal from Clark on how to make an engine develop great power by use of rocket fuel. He consents to the plan. Clark, with the help of his buddy John Hager, builds and tests the engine.
An old mine shaft gets salted with cast iron when an early test goes bad. But they persevere and the engine becomes a reality. Tony installs it in the race car. A record is broken but not without consequences ... and the rest of the story is ...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles S. Clark
• Release date: Sep 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9780990352648

Charles S. Clark

I am a retired instrumentation engineer specializing in medical electronics with a lifelong interest in hot rods and high performance cars. I do total restorations of rare classic cars. I currently have restored a 1940 Lincoln Continental convertible which is one of 300 made. Proud to say that it took First place Concourse at the Early Ford V8 Club 50th anniversary meet. I also have restored two 1955 Chrysler C 300 both to factory original specs including the dual four barrel hemis. In my book you will read about the 1940 Ford coupe that I own. I leave it to you to sort fact from fiction as the six stories that you read involve a lot of very authentic action with this car passing from owner to owner each time with a special adventure. Be prepared to run bootleg whiskey in North Carolina and race an old Nazi on the German autobahn. (disastrous result). You will discover that I know a lot of authentic details about the flathead Ford engine and I have been to all the places mentioned in the book. So join the old engineer and go back in time for reading adventure. (Women like the book)

Book preview

The Rocket Racer

Charles S. Clark

© 2014 Charles S. Clark. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, recording, or photocopying without written permission the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations where permission is specifically granted by the publisher or author.

Photo Credit: 1994 Mercedes Benz S600

Courtesy of Mercedes Benz Archives

For bulk sales contact the publisher or author at:

Flathead Press.com

6626 S. Lafayette St.

Centennial CO 80121

Illustrations: Darrell Mayabb, Automotive Graffiti

Cover Design: Darrell Mayabb, Automotive Graffiti; and Nick Zelinger, NZ Graphics

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Publisher: Flathead Press

Publishing Consultant: Judith Briles, The Book Shepherd

Editor: John Maling, Editing By John

Every man should be so lucky as to have a wife like my Sara who has been my faithful love for 53 years so it is fitting that I dedicate this book to her.

Note from the Author

During the startup phase of our medical electronic business, Sara and I drove coast to coast and border to border twice in one year. So what do you do you in the middle of Kansas on cruise control? You think about the people that you know and what fun it would be to write a story and put them in it.

The names you see within each story are, for the most part, actual people cast in very unusual circumstances. I have been asked by some manuscript readers if these stories are really true. Of course they are.

It is just that I made up some of the facts and certain things have yet to happen.

Oh yes, the ’40 Ford Standard coupe is very real.

I bought it 1954 for $500 from Wally who you will meet in Part 2 of The Bootlegger ’40 Ford. As you will find out every time it changes hands, $500 is exchanged.

Now at age 81, I look back in time and sometimes wonder how I ever got to be this old. I did not transport illegal whiskey and I was not a race car driver, but I did go like hell in a ’40 Ford hot rod (and still do). Guess I was just lucky to make it this far.

So … go pedal to the