The Classic 1935 Mormon Meteor I

The Mormon Meteor I is the one true racing car in this book. Fittingly it is a Duesenberg, from the remarkable American company that made quite a name for itself in the early 20th century with both elegant street cars and successful competition cars. In fact, this car was first called the Duesenberg Special, and was constructed specifically for Ab Jenkins. Jenkins had set various speed records at his home state’s Bonneville Salt Flats, many of them endurance records set while circling an enormous oval laid out on the Utah salt.

Jenkins looked to Duesenberg to produce this massive, fast roadster that could travel at high speeds for hours, or even days. It was built on a 142-inch Model J chassis. J. Herbert Newport designed the car’s narrow aluminum body, with its raked grille and windshield and dramatic fairings, for its occupants as well as for the four wheels. A flat belly pan and a tapered tail further streamlined the car.

The car’s 6.9-liter straight-eight Duesenberg engine had dual overhead cams, and two Stromberg carbs fed an intake that was boosted using a centrifugal supercharger. A standard Duesey SJ engine made 320 bhp; with the help of cam-grinding legend Ed Winfield, the Jenkins car’s mill pumped out 400 bhp.

Jenkins, co-driving with Tony Gulotta, managed an average of 135.580 mph for 24 hours to set a new record, but that record was soon surpassed. Jenkins knew he needed more power, so he installed a Curtiss Conquerer V-12 aircraft engine more than twice the size of the Duesenberg engine, subsequently dubbed the car Mormon Meteor II, and eventually set a 157.27 mph 24-hour mark, among other records.

Jenkins felt this was probably the limit of the chassis though, so he soon constructed the Mormon Meteor III, which carried on with a Curtiss engine.

He retired the old car’s chassis, installed a Duesenberg engine, and drove it on the road for more than 20,000 miles. It is now restored to its 1935 configuration.

Mormon Meteor I

Mormon Meteor I Specifications

Engine : Straight eight, 4 valves per cylinder, 419.6 ci/6.9 liters
Supercharger : Centrifugal, gear-driven
Compression : 5.2:1
Tires : Firestone 18-inch/46cm
Weight : 4,800 lbs/2,177 kg
Transmission : Warner Hy-Flew three-speed manual