INFO NEEDED: AB JENKINS

[Guest MeteorIII]

I am contacting you from the Price Museum of Speed in Salt Lake City, Utah. We are the current owner of the Mormon Meteor III. I have several questions and comments I need to get out to the world:

1. We are interested in acquiring an Indy 1931/32 Studebaker Indy car to add to our Ab Jenkins collection. Does anyone have info to help us find the current owners of these cars?

2. We are currently in post production of "Meteor" a feature documentary on Ab Jenkins. If anyone has motion picture film of Ab driving Studebakers, Auburns, Pierce Arrows or Duesenbergs, we would like know. We have an extensive film collection from the Jenkins family, but we are always interested in seeing everything.

3. Does anyone have any letters, journals, memorabilia and/or correspondence directly related to Ab Jenkins? If so, we would like to speak with you.

Please send this email to your contacts. If anyone is interested in seeing our collection, please visit our website at Price Museum of Speed

We can set up an appointment if you would like to come to Salt Lake City to see the collection.

Thank you,

Price Museum of Speed

Salt Lake City, Utah

[West Peterson]

My father had original 1935-193? letters (telegrams, correspondence, past due bills) between Ab Jenkins and Augie Duesenberg, when Ab was at the salt flats. These letters were sold to Randy Ema several years ago (perhaps 20 years). I can't help but believe that these would be extremely valuable for your film.

Ab would address the letters to Augie, "Dear gentile:"

The letters came out of the Duesenberg's Indianapolis home (attic), and my father bought them from the heirs of the then owner of the house.

[1937hd45]

Nice website! I can't add to the Ab Jenkins info but I do have a few bits that relate to the Tommy Milton MILLER when it lived in Philadelphia. Is your 1907 Renault the car that was once in the Jimmy Melton Collection?

[Ivan Saxton]

Late 1970's or early 1980's there was a wonderful account written by Alex Tremulis in the ACD Newsletter of an extraordinary 24 hour high speed trip he had to make, chauffeured by Ab Jenkins in a Cord. This was to visit suppliers or internal body hardware to select items suitable for a show car or cars. In this was description of an incident when the headlights failed at high speed; and also related advice by Ab Jenkins on how to handle another sort of emergency.

[Guest]

In the book "75 years of Pontiac" by John Gunnell , page 275 show a picture of 73 year old Bonneville racer Ab Jenkins at the wheel of his 1956 Pontiac Chieftain after he set the worlds record for a 24-hour speed run. He covered 2,841 miles at a average speed of 118.37 MPH, then the same car was then used to set a 100 mile distance/speed record of 126.02 MPH.

Soon after establishing his records, Jenkins was being chauffered around Salt Lake City by a Pontiac Motor Division executive in a new 56 Pontiac. The company representative stopped to use the rest room at a gas station. When he returned to the car he found Ab Jenkins slumped behind the dashboard. The famous race driver was dead.

Don

[Guest MeteorIII]

Late 1970's or early 1980's there was a wonderful account written by Alex Tremulis in the ACD Newsletter of an extraordinary 24 hour high speed trip he had to make, chauffeured by Ab Jenkins in a Cord. This was to visit suppliers or internal body hardware to select items suitable for a show car or cars. In this was description of an incident when the headlights failed at high speed; and also related advice by Ab Jenkins on how to handle another sort of emergency.

We have an original drawing of a concept endurance car Alex Tremulis sketched. It was intended to be built in the 1960's to attempt breaking Ab's Meteor III records. Where can I find the ACD Newsletters from the late 1970's to Early 80's? We need some more great stories to add color to the overall Ab character.

[alsancle]

We have an original drawing of a concept endurance car Alex Tremulis sketched. It was intended to be built in the 1960's to attempt breaking Ab's Meteor III records. Where can I find the ACD Newsletters from the late 1970's to Early 80's? We need some more great stories to add color to the overall Ab character.

All the ACD club newsletters are available on CD from the club.

[jeff_a]

Thanks for the post about the Price Museum of Speed. I've never been there yet but have looked at the first-rate website several times. Quite a stellar collection of high-performance machines! ----Jeff

[Guest streamliner]

We have an original drawing of a concept endurance car Alex Tremulis sketched. It was intended to be built in the 1960's to attempt breaking Ab's Meteor III records.

Actually, Alex Tremulis' "Spirit of Ab Jenkins" was only intended to break the 200mph mark for 24 hours. As Alex stated: "When Goodyear asked about the 36 and 48 hour records I said “no”. The 36 and 48 hour records are to be forever memorialized in the record books by Ab Jenkins. They were made by him single handedly and where on earth could we ever find such a man. However if a competitive company had the audacity to attack the 36 and 48 hour record, let’s say on Flintstone Rubber, then naturally I would bring the Goodyear S. A. J. out of retirement to take them back."