So-Cal Belly Tank Lakester

Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock 9"x 4"
� Paul Chenard 2008

Gary Grant Collection

The American hot rod scene developed very quickly after WWII. G.I.�s with speed on their minds picked up surplus WW2 fighter belly fuel tanks, and build hot rods around them.

One of the best known is the So-Cal Speed Shop �Lakester�, built by Alex Xydias. It was built using a P-38 belly tank, with a flat-head v-8 stuffed in the back.

In 1951, at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the So-Cal team ran the racer at 145.395 mph, a new record for their class.