Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit This short film, produced for Wynn Oil Company by So-Cal Productions, shows the time trial races at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1957, where the Wynn’s Friction Proofing Streamliner car set a new American speed record, and promotes the company’s Friction Proofing line of products. The film opens with a shot from the POV of a car driving from Denver (home of the race team) toward Wendover, UT; the film then shows the bleak landscape of the Great Salt Lake and surrounding area as team continues to the Bonneville Salt Flats (00:58). Men set up the speed trials timing system for the course at the salt flats. Viewers see officials place the photoelectric units and portable generators (02:30) on the nine-mile course. A Utah State Highway truck marks the course and another truck smooths out the surface. Men register for the race and have their cars inspected. The film shows the trophies for the different race classes (03:44). Trucks move the hot rods to the pit, and crews make final adjustments to the vehicles. Cars with special nitrogen-filled tires are rolled to the starting line (04:47). The film shows the Wynn’s Friction Proofing Streamline car, the pit crew, and lead mechanic and engineer Bill Kenz. Someone pours Wynn’s Friction Proofing oil into the car’s engine. The film shows the standard preparation of the car by the pit crew, including lubricating the wheel bearings. There is a good shot of the cars lined up for the race (08:25). The first car to race is a Chrysler-powered Lister (No. 5), which races across the flats at 207 MPH. Other cars featured in the race are a Ford V-8 Roadster (09:30), the “Half-Fast” coupe (No. 20), a modified Model T (No. 404), and a Mercury-powered Roadster. Driver Roy Leslie climbs into the Streamliner and races past the speed traps (10:55). An aerial view shows the camps, pit, and racetrack at the Bonneville Salt Flats (11:26). Viewers see a super-charged DeSoto engine in a Roadster (12:02). Men pour fuel into their cars, a hybrid of methyl alcohol and nitromethane. A 1956 Victoria races down the course, followed by a 300 SL Mercedes Benz, and a modified B-class Roadster. A 1957 Plymouth coupe races (14:13). A modified Studebaker is pushed out to for its time trial (14:47). Leslie climbs into the Streamliner, and the push car begins moving the yellow race car. The Streamliner flies past the speed traps, clocking 269 MPH. The pit crew change some gears on the car after rains make the course slower than normal (16:58). There is more footage of cars racing on the course. The Streamliner moves out and races past the timers, failing to repeat 269 MPH (18:48). Leslie talks with Kenz about racing the car one more time (19:44), and the pit crew sits to plan strategy. A man stacks cans of Wynn’s Friction Proofing oil on the car, then someone pours it into the oil tank. Leslie puts on his racing suit and helmet, climbs into the driver’s seat, and runs through the cockpit check (22:09). The Streamliner begins its final time trial (22:38), and Leslie manages to set a new American record at a speed of 270.473 MPH. Leslie and the crew celebrate the new record. They pose with the car and the Bonneville trophy, concluding the film.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
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