The Story of Challenger IV, By Rory Ward   It was mid to late 1977 when Mickey Thompson (MT) decided it was time to build yet another new race car for the desert.  I’m speculating that he was not too happy with the performance of his single seat “Marines” sponsored class 1 buggy so he [...]

Check out this awesome vintage photo of the sand dunes! Do you have more vintage sand dune photos or movies? Photo via The Hamb

Check out these two great photos of Marina Dunes in 1965! Love the whitewalls! Anyone else have any 60’s sand dune photos or video?

Let’s just admit it. Steve McQueen is a guys guy. There is very few men in his caliber of coolness. He had the beautiful women. Hell, I am not to proud to admit that he was a damn good looking guy. He could race anything with two or four wheels. He had it all! Check out the video below of McQueen and Faye Dunaway blasting through the sand dunes in the movie “The Thomas Crown Affair”. As Steve McQueen states in the video, “Crown lives at the beach, and he has a sand Dune Buggy. I helped them design it, so I’m kind of proud of that. What it is, it’s set on a Volkswagen chassis, with great old wide weenies – big wide tires on it with mag wheels. Corvair engine stuffed in the back, and a semi reclining position, somewhat like my formula 1 car. It’s very light, you know, I think we are around about 230 horses, and the vehicle weighs about 1000 pounds.”

#75Race has posted a few more photos that he found of his dad desert racing his off road buggy in the 70’s and 80’s on Race Dezert. Do you have photos that you would like to share?

Do you remember the Funco tandem off road race buggies from the late 70’s and early 80’s? This Funco desert racing buggy is the infamous Patrick & Bowers buggy that won the Score 1980 Class 2 championship. It has won such races as the Mint 400 and Baja 500. If being a tandem buggy is not enough, it has the typical 80’s parts like yellow Bilstein shocks, Cibie lights and a windshield. I am not sure I would like to be the passenger in this one…what do you think?

>#75Race has posted some more photos of off road race buggies and a Baja Bug that his dad was involved with or drove during the 70’s. The old school photos thread on Race Dezert has become epic in so many ways. Do you have any vintage desert racing photos that you would like to contribute?

Here is a great vintage photo from the midwest short course racing vault. I have heard comments that it is Rod Attig’s buggy in the front with his brother Sid’s off road race buggy in the back. Also, it may have been taken in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Can anyone confirm this or provide more information?

Rory Ward and Jeff Furrier recently purchased Mark Stahl’s vintage 1977 Chenowth 1000 desert racing buggy with plans on racing it in the NORRA 1000 vintage off road rally next spring. The buggy has a well decorated past, having won Class 1 in the infamous Baja 1000 three times, including twice overall. Stahl also received the Ironman award for driving the Baja 1000 solo. He first raced the Chenowth buggy in the 1977 Baja 500 and his last race was the 1981 Baja 1000. The car was sold to Jim Travis, followed by a few other owners until Ward and Furrier picked it up. Follow along on Race Dezert as the rebuild this vintage off road race car from the frame up.