Land Speed Record | International SyTy Registry

LSR Syclone’s New Home

SyTyRegistry — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 16:18:05 +0000

In July 2020, we posted about finding and seeing the Syclone LSR in person. It was sold by the Motorsports Hall of Fame and placed into a private collection in Florida. Since then, it has been brought to multiple SyTys@Carlisle events and put on display in Building Y for all to view. Now 4 years later, there has been an update and the LSR Syclone’s new home is now in Pennsylvania! We give congratulations to Zack Staples who is now the new caretaker of the truck. His plans? To get it running and back into a driving condition.

The LSR Syclone became famous for its naturally aspirated V6, setting a record average speed of 210.069mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats. This speed awarded the truck the title of the world’s fastest truck in 1990, leading to the launch of the 1991 GMC Syclone production truck. After the 1989-90 land speed record project led by Gale Banks of Banks Performance was completed, the 4 trucks used were dispersed to museums and the NHRA where they were used for both racing and display pieces. During that time, 1 of the trucks was destroyed which was parted and used to build an NHRA-specific drag truck called the “Super Coupe”. Eventually, this truck would end up dismantled leaving only 2 trucks in existence. The other Syclone LSR truck is located in storage in Michigan.

Since taking ownership, Zack has been working on removing the motor and taking a deeper look into how the truck was built. Unfortunately, many of the components were removed or were installed as display pieces and do not function. We assume that this was done due to it was unnecessary to keep valuable parts in the truck that’s retired and being used for show purposes only. This is one of the main reasons why this truck has not run since 1990. Zack, who has been part of the SyTy community for many years is working to inventory some of his late father’s parts collection which includes some period-correct components as well as looking into sourcing possible NOS or spare parts that may still exist from the companies who were involved in the original project.

Stay posted as Zack continues the process of rebuilding and reviving this historical truck. We can’t wait to be able to hear the motor fire up again and watch it move under its own power!

The post LSR Syclone’s New Home first appeared on International SyTy Registry.

LSR Syclone FOUND

SyTyRegistry — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 14:01:56 +0000

Back in December 2019, ISTR reported that the famed and record-holding LSR (Land Speed Record) Syclone had made a southern move from its long-time home in Michigan to Florida by the Motorsports Hall of Fame. With very little information on where the LSR Sy had been relocated, it was assumed the location was close to the Daytona Beach area where the Motorsports Hall of Fame is located in Florida.

The search was on to find where the LSR’s new Florida home was set in motion. After 8 months, ISTR is proud to be the first to announce it has been located. Today on Friday, July 17, 2020, ISTR members and committee representatives Adam Ribakoff, Tom Mandrov, Dennis Harmon, Zain Bassage, and Nate Kent where treated to a private visitation to see the LSR Syclone in person after a very long time in storage and away from the public eyes.

Built by Gale Banks and driven by Don Stringfellow, it’s been over 31 years since the LSR Syclone broke records as being the fastest pickup and first pickup to break 200mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats. While some information has been available and documented over the years, there is still much to learn and further research regarding the history and story of the LSR Syclone. Now that the truck has been located and access has been granted to continue to document it, we will be able to collect more data than has ever been previously allowed.

There are still details to be worked out but we will be working diligently to put together as much information and historical data in the next few months that will be available here for all to access and read. We will be posting more updates soon as some plans are being set up with the truck to further document its history.

Thank you to Ken Debol for the initial notice of the LSR’s relocation. A very big and appreciative thank you goes to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America for allowing us to visit their facility and enjoy a piece of their collection.

UPDATE – The LSR Syclone has a new home! Upon being able to visit the LSR Syclone, a deal was made with the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Part of the move was to sell off some of the Hall of Fame’s assets which included various vehicles, displays, and printed memorabilia. and the truck has been sold to Dennis Harmon. The truck will remain in Florida and will be making a debut at SyTys@Carlisle 2020 where it will be on display in Building Y at the Carlisle Truck Nationals.

The post LSR Syclone FOUND first appeared on International SyTy Registry.

Gale Banks Talks Syclone

SyTyRegistry — Tue, 24 Dec 2019 18:27:39 +0000

In a recent CarCast podcast, co-host Matt D’Andria bought a 1995 Ford F-150 Lightning equipped with a Ford Motorsports supercharger. He brought it to Gale Banks to run it through its paces on the dyno and gather some data.

Before the action starts, the GMC Syclone is brought up in conversation and Gale briefly speaks about some of the story behind the LSR (Land Speed Record) Syclone and how it came to be along with some edited footage of the LSR at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Of course, Gale goes on to let Matt know that the Syclone was much faster than the Gen 1 Lightning (he’s right you know!) which Matt leads into mentioning that Jay Leno owns a Syclone and tells the famed Christmas tree story of how Jay bought a Syclone to haul his Xmas tree home.

So does Matt have a SyTy slaying Lightning which he so desires to have? Watch to find out, you may be surprised at the results!

The post Gale Banks Talks Syclone first appeared on International SyTy Registry.