1934 Ab Jenkins Special
Written by Keith Fudge

On August 16, 1934 , David Abbot “Ab” Jenkins headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to break the 24-hour land speed record, and in his 12-cylinder Pierce Arrow he accomplished that and much more. In this special segment of My Classic Car , Dennis Gage meets with John Hollansworth of Hot Springs Village , Arkansas , as he has recreated the famous car and hopes to recreate Jenkins' 1934 feat.

Dennis met John in John's garage in Arkansas and there it was—a recreation of the Pierce Arrow that became known as the “Ab Jenkins Special.” John told Dennis that he pieced this car together from parts all across the country including a chassis that came from California and an engine that came from Tucson , Arizona , and San Antonio , Texas ! Next, he told Dennis a bit about the car including what Ab Jenkins had done to it for his historic run. Jenkins had taken a Pierce Arrow 12 (named so for its 12 cylinders) and added six carburetors, special manifolds, and high compression heads. Then with some special “tweaking” he had raised the horsepower from a factory rating of 175 to 235 horsepower. With this ingenuity, Jenkins then set 77 Worlds Unlimited International Class B and American records, averaging more than 127 miles per hour! Interestingly enough, just four years after Jenkins set records at Bonneville, George Eyston clocked a speed of more than 357 miles per hour!

Concerning the car, John told Dennis about the few of the features and a bit about the legendary run that he was trying to recreate. He said that the gas tank held 150 gallons of fuel and that on the original run Jenkins made ten pit stops. John told Dennis that he was welcome to come to Utah to witness the event and sure enough, Dennis and the crew took him up on it! While they were there John offered Dennis a chance to drive this historic vehicle and for a moment, it must have seemed to Dennis that he was recreating history as well. Without a doubt, John's effort was a fantastic experience and a noble tribute to a great moment in automotive racing history! Thanks, John!