There is little doubt this rocket-shaped Belly Tank Lakester would attract enormous attention the moment it appeared on the street or any event. Built in 1962 by Jerry Silverstein along with Julian Doty and Arnold Birner, the racer was named “Something” and competed at SCTA dry lake events in various forms until 1989.
The Lakester’s iconic style arose from surplus WWII aircraft drop tanks. In the case of “Something”, the drop tank was augmented with an extended tubular frame fitted with specially fabricated panels. It features a Pontiac Tempest four-cylinder turbocharged engine attached to a three-speed manual transaxle driving the front wheels. The car has been stored since 1989 but with a little careful restoration “Something” can return to burn up the California lake courses once again. Although the car’s top speed is not listed, there is a record slip showing “Something” cracked off a 361.7 km/h. run in 1986.
The racer is currently being auctioned on the Bring a Trailer website and the bidding period ends on August 4th. Act quickly if you would like to own this living dry lake racing artifact.
