1929 Ford Hot Rod Roadster

Some race cars peak with a single great performance, and this is such a car. It made one record-setting run at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, then went home, never to return. Built in 1946 by Ron Williams with help from brothers Gerald, Herb, and Monte, the Ford roadster began its competition career with a Ford flathead V8 engine, and became a winner at El Mirage dry lake, in the California high desert. It's best-ever run, set in April of 1953, was 140.6 mph. But by then the new overhead valve V8s were eclipsing the flathead, and Ron Williams knew if he wanted to challenge the B/Roadster record at Bonneville he'd need more power.

The answer was the 241 cubic-inch Dodge version Chrysler's Hemi V8, acquired from a Dodge dealer in nearby Ventura, California. With mechanical fuel injection and burning alcohol, the Dodge Hemi propelled Williams to a one-way run of 159.7 mph, almost 20 mph better than the existing mark. His return run was slower, but Williams still went home with the trophy and the record. That was August 30, 1954.

Back home Williams ran the car in a few local NHRA drag races, then parked it in 1956. The roadster sat for 50 years in the Williams Machine Shop. Ron Williams died in 2003, and the family finally sold the car to its current caretaker in 2006. It has since won numerous trophies, including the Bruce Meyer Hot Rod Preservation Award at the 2007 Grand National Roadster Show.