The Ralph Schenck Streamliner

Ralph Schenck with the streamliner at an early dry lakes event. Photo courtesy of Sondre Kvipt, from the Kustomrama Photo Collection.

The Ralph Schenck Streamliner at a dry lake event. This photo was published in a gentlemans magazine. Photo courtesy of The HAMB.

A photo of the streamliner at an SCTA El Mirage meet in 1948. At the time, the car was raced by Heinrich and Seaton of the Quarter Milers club. Photos Courtesy of Jill Durkee-Burgoyne.

The streamliner at a Rosamond event. At the time, the streamliner was owned by Culver City Screwdrivers member Bob Arner. The caption written on the back of this photo reads: "Being towed in Rosamond". "69'er" is written on the cowl of the streamliner. Photo from The Chuck and Joanna Quesnel Photo Collection.

Another photo of the 69'er carrying the number 75B on the side. This photo was taken by George Shugart, and the year 1949 is printed on the back of it. Photo by George Shugart, courtesy of Reed Shugart.

Another photo George Shugart took of the 69'er. This one was also marked 1949. Photo by George Shugart, courtesy of Reed Shugart.

A third photo George Shugart took of the 69'er. Reed Shugart, George's son, remembers that his pop used to tell stories about the dry lakes runs. "One was that he blew a front tire in the 69'er while traveling fast on the lake and spun the car to keep it from flipping." George ran a PDQ Dealership at 9801 West Washington Blvd, across from Culver Theater, in Culver City, along with a partner named "Bob" in 1949 - 1950. Reed believes that could have been Bob Arner, but he is not sure. Photo by George Shugart, courtesy of Reed Shugart.

Arner's streamliner as it appeared when it was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine July 1950. The flames on this version were painted by George Hale. Photo courtesy of Hot Rod Magazine.

A photo of Bob Arner's Streamliner at a dry lakes event, after it had received a flame paint job. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

Arner's streamliner in front of George Hale's 1934 Ford 3-window coupe. George was also a member of the Culver City Screwdrivers. Photo courtesy of HotRodHotline.com.

Sometime after the streamliner was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine July 1950, Bob threw the body away. Terry Baldwin rescued everything that was left, and over a period of 12 years he rebuilt it. The rebuilt version of the car made it's debut at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Photo courtesy of HotRodHotline.com.

The Ralph Schenck Streamliner was owned and raced by Albata car club member Ralph Schenck. Ralph built the car in 1939, and it first ran in 1940. It recalled Barney Oldfield's Golden Submarine that was designed in 1917.

Ralph's streamliner was powered by a Chevrolet four cylinder engine that Ralph had previously used in his modified. In 1940 it turned 126.93 mph. According to Albert Drake's book Flat Out, the car was allegedly driven on the streets during WWII. In 2016 Terry Baldwin told Kustomrama that Ralph never put lights or a license plate on the car and drove it on the street or to work.

In 1948 Quarter Milers club members Heinrich and Seaton raced Ralph's old streamliner at an SCTA meet, where it ran 112.07 mph.

The Ralph Schenck streamliner was later owned by Culver City Screwdrivers member Bob Arner. When Bob owned the car, it had the name "69'er" painted on to it. While Bob owned it, the streamliner was called "The Screwdriver". Later on it received flames, painted by George Hale. There are rumors about Von Dutch painting the flames, but that was not the case according to Terry Baldwin. The flamed version was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine July 1950.

Sometime after the streamliner was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine July 1950, Bob threw the body away. Terry Baldwin rescued everything that was left, and over a period of 12 years he rebuilt it. The rebuilt version of the car made it's debut at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Hot Rod Magazine July 1950