It was uncommon for woody station wagons to be part of a land speed record or event, but here we find this brand new ’47 Ford on the road setting an unusual time and distance record. Ab Jenkins was very good at publicity stunts during his amazing life of a cross-country and land speed racing record breaking. Ab was also the former mayor of Salt Lake City, and a wagon enthusiast. This staged photo, shows Ab with Wilfred Woo, a Mormon historian (C) and the Mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, (R) Lowell Horton, in Burlington, Iowa just 30-minutes into their road trip, examining a map which followed the trail of a 1847 Mormon pioneer wagon journey which took 18-months. Ab, who did all the driving, whipped the V8 Ford long, making the same 1,249 mile trip in just 24 hours! Today, Google Maps quote just 18 hours and two-minutes for the same trip!
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