Every serious Hot Rodder dreams of competing at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah. Munz is no exception. He raced this roadster on the salt with builder and partner Jim Busby, a world-renowned race car driver, and his son David Busby. Richard’s grandsons Robert Munz and Joe Boyle were also part of the record-setting team. Munz was getting ready to take the restored Jim Khougaz Roadster to the Grand National Roadster show in Pomona, California, for its debut in 2007 when Busby asked, “Hey Munz, do you want to partner up and do Bonneville?” Munz says he replied in an instant, “Yup.” On Busby’s computer, there were pictures of a ’32 highboy with a red chassis and a red roll bar. It was primed and flamed, Munz recalled, “with a Cotton Werksman-built Ardun Mercury V-8 in it, and it had been running at Bonneville.” Fortunately, the car was located in Crystal Lake, Illinois, only about an hour and a half from Madison, Wisconsin. “I called the guy up and we had a deal in 15 minutes,” Munz said. “He brought it up to my shop, and I shipped it out to Busby’s shop in Laguna Beach, California, along with the Chuck Porter ‘Platypus’ Roadster, the last of my Bonneville restorations. We got it ready to run, and our inaugural pass was in Speed Week of August 2007. “Busby soon broke the old record for the XXF/STR Street Roadster Class,” Munz said, “but he wasn’t able to back it up (a two-way run is required for all SCTA/BNI records to be official) because he had committed to go to Gordon McCall’s Motorworks August event. So we came back in October 2007, set a new record, and then kept ‘bumping’ our own records.” In preparation for the 2009 world finals, Munz said they installed the blown Ardun engine, which would prove to be a fruitful decision, as David Busby set a record in the street class at 195.457 MPH. Munz said they then removed the fenders and headlights, and they entered the blown modified class, where David set a record of 200.875 MPH. In 2010, Munz’s grandson Robert set a naturally aspirated record of 181.363 MPH. “After the record was set, we decided to have some fun,” Munz said. “We saddled up my 19-year-old grandson Joe Boyle to make a run. I told Joe that he was in charge. If everything felt good, he could run the car to the 5 mile. Joe pulled off at the 3 mile at a speed of approximately 173 MPH. When we picked him up, I said, Joe, you did a great job. We’re gonna run you again. Same story, you are in charge. When we pulled out with the pick-up vehicle, the announcer came on the radio system that the chute was out on the 792, there was smoke and the firetrucks were on their way. Joe was fine, but an errant connecting rod had punched a hole in the block and it went through the oil pan. I told them to save the rod and the piston. We made a trophy for Joe ‘Fireball’ Boyle with a little plaque that read, ‘I blowed up the motor,’ using a famous quote from NASCAR great, Fireball Roberts.” Later, Jim Busby ran 183.422 MPH at the August 2011 meet, taking the record even higher. That mark was subsequently bested by John Lawson, another Bonneville competitor. Munz said they continued to run the 792 car at Bonneville through 2012 and had a lot of fun. Over the years, they managed to get licenses for the crew, including both of his grandsons and Barry Meguiar, who did a “Car Crazy” segment on their experiences at Bonneville. The No. 792 roadster more than did its job on the flats. Cleaned up now and resting in Munz’s garage, it’s a four-wheeled tribute to six fast summers on the Salt.
