The Lockheed Lakester One More Time

I thought I’d share the an interview of Ed Pettus (previous owner of this unique vehicle) conducted by Dave Rasdal in is column “Ramblin'”  in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa  Thegazette.com.  I’m interested in his next project.

The Crow Lakester

 

When Ed Pettus finished building his bullet-shaped Lockheed Lakester a year ago, he didn’t plan to sell it. But, after a whirlwind tour of the car that’s a cross between a jet airplane, a Bonneville Salt Flats racer and a 1930s biplane, he changed his mind.

“I do all of these projects and when I’m done, what do I do?” says Ed who with son Eddie Pettus Jr. has Eddie’s Rod & Custom in Cedar Rapids.

The Lakester, which I wrote about last July, is built around a wingtip gas tank of a 1950s Lockheed Super Constellation and has a steering yoke from a 1948 airplane. Parts came from 1930s Packards, a 1940 Ford tractor and a 1959 Chevy pickup. It has a turbocharged Toyota engine.

From shows in Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities, it went to Chicago’s World of Wheels, a two-month stay at the Experimental Aircraft Association museum in Oshkosh, Wis., and on display at El Mirage near Long Beach, Calif., where dry lake bed speed runs originated.

“I thought, you know, after that I’m going to take it home and put it in the garage,” Ed says.

But, as a fan of the famous Barrett-Jackson vehicle auction in Arizona, Ed inquired about selling the Lakester. Told it was too late, he sent information anyway and was surprised to become a last-minute entry. It went on the block Jan. 21.

But, this auction doesn’t allow sellers to set a minimum price — if the high bid is $100, the car sells for $100.

Ed had insured the Lakester for $100,000. Bidding opened at $10,000.

“We were a nervous wreck,” he says, referring to his wife, Kathy, and friends in attendance.

Bidding quickly rose, though, to $100,000. Two bidders pushed it to $170,000, the winner from Georgia adding it to his collection.

“We feel so blessed with what we got,” Ed says. He’ll use the extra funds to retire the mortgage on Ellis Boulevard NW property (home and vacant lot) destroyed by the Floods of 2008.

Unsure about what they can do with the property, Ed, 60, isn’t waiting around for another hot rod project. All he says is that it’s a unique truck. “Let people wonder.”

We are going to wonder.  Thanks for reading

Tim

1917 Crow Lakester Custom headed to Barrett-Jackson

I’m pretty jazzed to see this car in person.

From Autoblog:

There will be hundreds of collector cars going up for auction at Barrett-Jackson this month, but few will be as interesting as this custom creation nicknamed the “Lockheed Lakester”. The car, registered for road use as a 1917 Crow Lakester Custom, was hand-built from the wing tip tank of a Lockheed Super Constellation and uses a mix of automotive and aircraft parts. Wedged inside the tank is a 1.8-liter turbocharged Hemi four-cylinder mated to a five-speed manual transmission, and the two-person cockpit features gunner seats and an air-speed indicator in lieu of a speedometer.
 

We’ll be bringing you live coverage of Barrett-Jackson later this month, so be sure to check back for more photos of the “Lockheed Lakester” and more in just a few weeks.

 
The Crow Lakester

            

 

I’ll grap some pic and video.

 

Thanks for reading

Tim