Mad Fame

Here's a little interview that Chris and I did with the ambassador of all things altered wheelbase, Steve Magnante. Steve literally wrote the book on how to build an altered wheelbase and we followed pretty closely while building El Chupacabra. It turns out that he is not only a real human being but also comes across as just another gear head like us who loves to talk about obscure drag racing history (among other things).

Vegas Baby

And without further adieu, It's the "Vegas Baby". Our chief maniac of the WOSN team (Chris) is heading to Vegas in the middle of March for a family wedding and since the "oh so famous Mopars at the Strip" race is happening a few short days later; he decided that it would be a brilliant plan to trailer the race car the scant 1250 mile journey so we can represent. This is where the whole "Vegas baby" thing comes into play. Chris and Ronni recently made themselves a cute little rug-rat and thought it would be important for the child's future to be exposed to a high profile drag race weekend before reaching 5 months of age. New parents rock. I decided that we would all continue to be friends if I flew down. I also decided to recruit a few friend to take the trek as well and help fly the banner of Wagons of Steel. I'm thinking that this will shape up to be an epic event and I'll try to post more once the cover comes off the car.

Shirts for Sale

We can't be expected to wait on other people to make us famous, so we decided to create our own fame. Be a part of Wagons of Steel history and own one of these amazing 100% cotton Gildan tees. El Chupacabra front image is a five color print with a three color Wagons of Steel logo on the back for $30.00 plus $3.00 S&H in Canada and the lower 48. We also did a run of the WOS logo only on black tees for $25.00. I currently have sizes L,XL and XXL but will be printing M & S soon as well as XXXL by request.
Contact me at alligatorpie@telus.net for size and color requests and a paypal invoice.

 

This Never Gets Old

The match race weekend was a blast and the first time ever racing against Gaffo Jones and the Wagons of Steel stock eliminator flag ship. It was a bit of a knife to a gunfight scenario given their experience and car set-up but we embraced the challenge of duking it out like wide eyed children with nothing to lose and the competition was tight. Alas, the Americans prevailed in a two out three victory but the saga will continue and the next time we meet in a heads up battle we'll be faster and wiser. Just seeing these two wagons lined up together gave me chills. The opposing stance  in both cars makes them look like an ad for a suspension shop.

Enjoy some video and don't be afraid to crank the volume.

Match Race!!!!!

We've officially thrown down the gauntlet to our class racing wagons of steel brothers from the American contingent. A stock vs altered; '64 Dodge vs '64 Plymouth; wagon on wagon showdown. weights are similar for the two cars, as is power but their behemoth is set on kill when it comes to chassis tuning for the highly competitive stock class racing that they sometimes enjoy, whereas our jalopy is set up like a hot rod shopping cart. The '64 Savoy, aptly named Britney Spears (so named during their drinking days) had better be wearing her big girl shorts cuz El Chupacabra is coming for her. This will be the first time these two heavy hitters line up against each other and the stakes couldn't be higher. No seriously, the loser buys steaks and probably near beer if memory serves. This race goes down July 11-13 at Pacific raceway for their Wild West Nostalgia weekend. The match bash will probably take place on the Friday for the test and tune evening so we can be sure that they won't try to sneak into a different lane to avoid a heads up race!!!

                                                                      VERSUS

                                                We're coming for you Gaffo Jones!!!!!

And We're Back

Mr. Carlson and I made the long journey to Ashcroft B.C. last weekend for the Langley Loafer's Old Time Drags. Weather was perfect all weekend although the air was a bit dense and it's surprising to see clouds in this video since it was almost always blue skies and scorching sun with a reasonably consistent tail wind.
We did a few upgrades over the winter that really tightened up our program; first and foremost we ditched the sleepy 4.11 gears for some aggressive 4.89s. We also sent out our valve body to Turbo Action to have it converted into a full manual reverse pattern which meant that I also had to switch the buttons around on our push button shift panel. Not an easy task but it looks and performs pro. Another upgrade we did, which may sound trivial, is to replace the chrome, period correct looking tach with a monster tach and functioning shift light. It looks wrong in a car like ours but we want to win some races.

 Old Chubby Cobra was working like a thoroughbred stallion this weekend, pulling a foot of air under the front tires (not quite yet in this shot) with 1.55 60' times. and averaging 11.13-11.17 E.T.s. Of course when it came down to eliminations on Sunday we were pitted against a fellow in our class with a '55 Chevy straight axle car that ran a 10.50 on a 10.50 dial in with an .020 reaction time. I may as well have stayed at home with a run like that. We ran an 11.16 on an 11.15 dial and I cut my best light of the weekend with an .027. A great run by most standards but that, my friends, is drag racing. We packed up the camp in record time, cracked a beer (and a near beer), said our goodbyes to our racing family and Chris put the hammer down on the Duramax as we headed for home. It's funny that I still classify this as a phenomenal weekend, even going out in the first round but going racing is sometimes more than racing. We see friends that we haven't seen in a long time, we went fishing on the way and I brought two of my Swing Bikes which offered a 100% chance of hilarity with a side of road rash. Did I mention that I love my life?

Remember These?

I was feeling a bit nostalgic this morning so I decided to flip through some old pics. Can you believe El Chupacabra came from this beast? Not only that but I still had a carport before it was overtaken by snow load which ultimately lead to the fantastic garage that I have now. Thanks nature.

 

 Uh Oh!!!The consequence of this post crushing the roof of our car was also a blessing since it was rotted beyond repair from years of mouse piss deteriorating  all of the vertical supports. Everything happens for a reason.

 

The Monkees wish that they had a '64 Dodge altered wheelbase convertible wagon.

 

Mmmm rotisserie Dodge...I'll take mine medium rare.

 

Couple of dorks having a dork off with their new hoopty

 

 Then the standard issue "getting the bugs out" scenario which involves melting down a couple of tired big blocks before we sell our first born to buy....

 

This!!!!

Now you should be all caught up and ready for another stellar year of racing in 2014.

The track schedules don't generally come out until the new year but you will be the first to know when they do.